God is difficult. God is unseen. God can be hard to find sometimes.
God is a symbol, a metaphor. God represents our deepest aspirations for ourselves and the cosmos. God is a vision of what could be, and the strength to make that vision a reality.
God is the energy of electrons vibrating. God is the constant expansion of the universe, and God will be its collapse. God is photons. God is whatever magic that turns sunlight into food. God is breath, God is the mechanism that turns glucose into movement. God is the energetic connection between people. God is love.
God is healer and God is healing. God is our immune system and herbs and doctors.
God is justice. God is listening to the marginalized and oppressed. God speaks in their voices. God's righteous indignation pours out upon the oppressor and the unrepentant.
God is Black Lives Matter. God is a dead black body, shot in the back 7 times. God is the tears of a bereaved mother. God is the child whose parent lies in a grave. God is the signs held high, God is the sweat that falls for hours in the hot sun, God is the water and powerade donated buy strangers. God is the fire that demands we see and hear the enslaved, just as God was the fire on Mt. Sinai.
God is reconciliation, repentance, forgiveness. God is a new path through the wilderness. God is a shadow by day and pillar by night. God is the Rock that gives Living Water. God is our food, our drink, our strength. God is our refuge, our shelter, our very present help in time of trouble. God is our comfort, our peace, our joy. God is the smile of a friend.
God is the sovereign king over all the earth, whose we welcome with trumpets. God calls us to repentance, to change, to transformation into the image of Christ. God gathers us in as we gather the fall harvest. God is judge, attentive to our deeds and sealing us in the Book of Life. God is atonement - the opportunity to change, make things right, start anew.
God is near, within every cell. God is every song I sing and every tear I cry. God is life itself.
In the darkness of waiting, it appears that God has abandoned God's people. There is silence, there is oppression, there is darkness over all the face of the earth. In first-century Judea, God has promised so many things and has not delivered on the promise. The people suffer under Roman occupation. The people remember the glory of King David and Solomon's temple. The people remember how God has been mighty! But it is not so now. Stricken down, the people have long waited for God's promises to be fulfilled. Has God forgotten? Has God abandoned us? How long, Lord, will we suffer so?"
It appears that God has abandoned God's people. Yet - it appears. It is not truly so.
In the darkness of despair, the people wait for God. The people cry out, "How long?”
“How long, O Lord, wilt thou forget me? for ever? How long wilt thou hide thy face from me?” (Psalm 13:1-2)
“How long, O Lord, wilt thou look on? Rescue my soul from their destructions” (Psalm 35:17).
“How long, O Lord, shall the wicked triumph?” (Psalm 94:3-4)
“How long, O Lord, shall I cry, and you will not hear?” (Habakkuk 1:2)
How long, God, will we be left alone in the dark? How long will You watch silently? How long will You see us suffering and not act? How long will evil prevail? How long will you ignore us?
Advent is for the waiting. Advent is for the asking. Advent is for the soul-wrenching despair and grief. Advent is the time to lay bare our struggles and doubts. Advent is the time we ask, “Has God abandoned us? Has God had enough of our sinfulness? Will God refuse to aid us?”
Christmas is the answer. Christmas says, “God has not abandoned us. God has not left us alone in darkness.”
Christmas says, “Behold! The day is coming.” Indeed, even, the day is here. The Kingdom is at hand. The Lord is come, with healing in his wings, to save us all. God came before. God will come again.
We don’t know how long we will wait here below. We don’t know how long darkness and wickedness will prevail. But we have the promise - Christ will come again. Light will break forth over all the earth. Our darkness will have an end.
All information below is general suggestions and ideas.
Always adapt to your family’s situation and beliefs and the needs of individual children.
Content Warnings:
Animal violence
Alcohol, drunkenness, tobacco (cigars)
Some scenes may frighten or trouble more sensitive viewers.
Dumbo and Timothy Mouse get drunk (a clown pours alcohol into the animals’ water, the two drink it unknowingly) and hallucinate “Pink Elephants on Parade.”
Discussion Questions
How do the animal parents feel when the stork drops off their babies?
Talk about how children are a blessing and gift. The Bible says, “Children are an heritage of the Lord.”
How did Dumbo’s Mother feel when the stork brought babies to the other animals but not to her? How did she feel when the stork finally came with the baby elephant? What was a time you had to wait for something you wanted? How did it feel to wait and to receive what you had waited for?
It doesn’t take long at all for people to start making fun of Dumbo for the way he looks. How do you feel when people tease you? Why is it important to think about the way we treat others?
How does Dumbo’s Mother react when others tease Dumbo? We might feel angry when we witness unkindness or injustice. When we feel angry, we must be careful to avoid hurting others. How can we use our anger to help others?
One theme of Dumbo is equality/inequality and justice/injustice. Talk about examples of this theme in the film and in your own life. Ideas from the film include:
The opening song, “Look of for Mr. Stork” includes these lyrics: “He'll come along and drop a bundle in your lap. You may be poor or rich; it doesn't matter which -millionaires, they get theirs like the butcher and the baker.” What things are similar among all people, despite differences in social class?
The stork drops off babies to all the different animals. Later, when they board the train, each animal has a different car, designed just for them. With younger children, discuss how each animal’s car is different. With older children, discuss equity versus equality (equality aims to provide equal treatment to all, while equity provides different accommodations so all have equal opportunities for success).
The circus master profits by depending on laborers who work long hours for little pay and animals, both of which are treated poorly. What examples do you see of this in the film and in real life?
The adult elephants often tease Dumbo and exclude him from their groups. How do you see this happening in real life? Think about small-scale examples (like the group of elephants excluding one person) and large-scale systemic examples (like segregation).
The adult elephants decide Dumbo is “no longer an elephant.” What happens when we decide humans are “no longer humans”? What examples can you think of of dehumanizing others, individuals or groups?
Timothy Mouse is a friend to Dumbo when no one else is. How does it feel when someone is a friend to you? Who do you know that might need a friend? How can you be a friend to them?
Consider the crows. What is the controversy about the crows? The crows are stereotyped blacks (dialect and accent, plus the leader’s script name is Jim Crow). How have depictions of ethnicities and races changed since this movie was made? Can people still enjoy movies that contain dated stereotypes? What stereotypes and prejudices do you see in our world today? How can we confront stereotypes and prejudices?
How do the characters in Dumbo demonstrate courage and empathy? Why are these important character strengths?
Scripture Connections
Children & Family. Gen 1:28; Ps 127:3-5; Mt 18:10, 19:14; 3 Ne 17:11-24, 18:21
Equity. 2 Sam 8:15; 1 Chron 18:14; Ps 9:8, 33:5, 98:9, 99:4; Prov 1:3, 2:9; Eccl 2:21; Isa 11:4
Patience. Rom 2:7, 8:25; Gal 5:22; 2 Thes 1:3; Alma 7:23, 26:27, 34:40; D&C 24:8, 67:13
Kindness & Friendship. 1 Sam 18:1; Prov 17:17, 18:24; Matt 7:12; Luke 10:25-37; 1 Cor 13:4; Eph 4:32; 1 Pet 1:7; D&C 4:6
Ideas for Further Study
Choose an animal from the movie to learn more about. What does this animal need to have a happy and healthy life? Compare to how you see the animals in the movie. Do you think the circus is doing a good job of caring for the animals?
The Casey, Jr. men sing while they set up the circus tent: "We work all day, we work all night . . . When other folks have gone to bed, we slave until we're almost dead . . . We don't know when we get our pay . . . Muscles achin’ back near breaking . . . Boss man houndin’ Keep on poundin’ . . . There ain't no let up, must get set up. Pull that canvas! Drive that stake! Want to doze off, Get them clothes off but must keep awake.” Research Labor Day and unions that fight for fair working conditions, in the past and today. Teens might read Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle.
Dumbo’s mother was put into solitary confinement as a “mad elephant” after she tried to protect Dumbo. Sometimes people today are put in jail for standing up for others (examples include members of civil rights movements, Martin Luther King, Jr., Joseph Smith, Dakota Access Pipeline protesters, DACA and immigration reform protesters, and more). Find an example that interests you and learn more about them. Research justice issues in your area and see how you can get involved in standing up for what’s right.
Research the Jim Crow laws and era. Find primary source documents from African-Americans living in Jim Crow South. Visit a museum or find someone who lived under those laws to learn more about what it was like.
There are many examples of harmful stereotypes and prejudices in our world today. Research a group to dispel stereotypes about them. Visit a cultural or religious event different from your own.
References
Brett Willis, “Movie Review: Dumbo,” Christian Spotlight on Entertainment. <https://christiananswers.net/spotlight/movies/pre2000/dumbo.html>.
Nell Minow, “Dumbo,” Common Sense Media, <https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/dumbo>.
The way I understand God has changed the way I do some things. It's caused me to be more intentional about the things I do, rather than just going with the flow of what's popular or easy (and our culture does so much simply because it's "easy").
Here are some things that I’ve been interested in, gotten interested in, started considering, changed in my life, care about because of who God is, etc. These are things that might (hopefully!) start popping up on the blog. These are things that may seem trivial or unrelated, but are tied up with my experience and understanding of God.
Fair Trade - if every person on this planet is God (and the author of the Gospel according the Matthew assures us they are), then every person deserves to be treated with dignity. They deserve to work reasonable hours, receive reasonable pay, and be safe on the job.
Organic food - Eating organic, for me, is not about nutrition. Studies show that organic foods don’t really have more nutritional value than other farming methods. I choose organic when possible because of the way it cares for the land. We should all care better for the land. It’s our home. For folks claiming Abrahamic religions, God said a lot about how to treat the land in the Hebrew Bible!
Minimalism - As I grow deeper in my understanding of God, the more I realize that STUFF won’t make me happy. We don’t need more stuff! Our consumeristic and throw-away culture tries to convince us that we need the newest stuff all the time - whatever bought last week isn’t good anymore so we should throw it away and buy this new toy! So people work themselves ragged to afford the new, cool stuff that they “need” to have, but no one’s happy with that. My goal is to do more with less. To spend less time working for money to buy stuff. To make enough money to buy what I need, and spend the rest of my time actually enjoying life, rather than running on the treadmill to get more things.
Low Waste - This kind of goes along with the previous point. A consumeristic culture is a wasteful culture. Our culture encourages us to throw things away at the first sign of wear (or even before that!) and buy something new. We mistreat our planet by taking more resources than we need, mass producing goods in factories creating pollution and abusing workers, and then dumping those good in landfills to buy the next thing. It’s ridiculous! Lately, I’ve been trying to reduce waste where I can. And surprisingly, it’s been easier and more unintentional than I intended! I might say the Holy Spirit is leading and encouraging me in the work - showing me simple ways to reduce waste. Really, it’s easier than I thought, and I find myself transitioning to low-waste alternatives almost without thinking about it!
Feminism - If we’re all one, then men and women are one. We’re the same. That’s about it. Sushi rolls, not gender roles.
“Natural” movement - We are gods and goddesses, y’all. Kings and queens. We are existence itself, we have the breath of the Almighty in our lungs. We have evolved over millennia into one of the most complex creatures on our planet (the most complex? I'm not a scientist). However you swing it, we are divine. I think our bodies pretty much know how to operate. I won’t say we’re perfect, because things DO go wrong. But for the most part, I believe that our bodies know what they’re doing. When we’re ill, I believe the power of our bodies to heal themselves. When we’re giving birth, I believe the power of our bodies and our babies to know what to do. When our body does something without us thinking about it - like heart beating or hair growing or uterine lining building up and being shed - I think it’s probably a wise thing for our body to do and that maybe we should let it do its thing. I believe in the power of living things to feed and heal other living things. I try to eat food and use “medicine” that’s as close to being alive as I can get it - fresh fruits and veggies (grown locally is ideal!), meat and from local farms, teas and other herbal remedies for minor illness.
Social Justice - This one is so broad. Some of the above bulletpoints can be included in this one (fair trade, feminism), but I needto include it because it encompasses so much more. Racism, economic inequality, and more. Biblical religions should be fighting for social justice because the Hebrew Bible so clearly calls for it. And religions like Hinduism or other indigenous traditions call for social justice in their claim that every person is a manifestation of God. We are called, whoever you are, whatever you believe, to care for others. And that can't always happen individually. Greed and pride have woven a system in our society, a system that benefits some at the cost of others. In order for a truly just world, these systems have to be broken down. We can't fix the problem simply by handing out sandwiches on street corners (though that is GOOD work and it is a vital part of the solution) - sandwiches are not the whole solution. The whole solution calls for people to come together and fight systemic injustice and work for the establishment of a new system.
There’s more for sure, but that’s what I can think of right now. God, y’all. God has changed me. Believing in God and surrendering to the idea that I’M NOT IN CONTROL has been life changing. Understanding that we are all one and trying to live in a way that honors that belief has been life changing.
I’m young and I haven’t been been doing this faith thing for that long. I know I have SO MUCH to learn. I know I won’t know it all even before I die. And that’s become an okay thing for me. I’ve surrendered my need to understand it all.
Instead, I trust. I trust that there is a Ground of all Being. I trust the Way. I trust that what has happened was meant to happen. I trust myself to know what to do. I trust others to do what they need to do. I trust the universe to cradle me or break me as fate would have it. I trust the earth to provide my needs. I trust my body to heal. I trust my mind to learn, grow, understand, feel. I trust Jesus. I trust salvation. I trust that there is a salve for our hurts. I trust that there is saving from calamity. I trust that I AM my brother and sister’s keeper, that I am God to them. I am responsible for comforting them. And I trust that the God who is within my brothers and sisters will be the God I need in times of trouble. We are One.
I have not been so faithful about writing weekly during Lent. I had grand aspirations. My hope was to write the whole series before Lent began and schedule the posts to ensure this series actually got finished!! But, sadly that didn’t happen, and life did happen. So here we are, a series half finished and Lent on its way out. Oh well, I guess.
But this week is a week commonly referred to by Christians as Holy Week. A specially sacred time set apart (holy) to remember the myths of our traditions and meditate on how they apply to our lives.
Holy Week begins on Palm Sunday.
For weeks we have reflected, fasted, prayed, served. We have slowed down, quieted down, made room.
This week we remember deeply.
We remember Passover, when God led the Israelites out of slavery and bondage in Egypt.
Remember Jesus’ final Passover meal, when he remembered, celebrated, and taught his friends that God’s salvific and redemptive work did not end in Egypt.
Remember the day Jesus was arrested as a rabble-rouser, as a troublemaker, as a threat to the state. Jesus’ followers claimed that he was the messiah, the king of the Jews, come with power and a sword to bring deliverance from the Romans! Passover had long been a remembrance of deliverance and a hope for deliverance. The Romans knew Passover was the ideal time for a reformer to rise up among huge crowds and excite them to rebellion against the authorities. Thus, they were on strict lookout. Jesus was a threat. The prefect Pontius Pilate dealt with political threats swiftly and without remorse. Jesus was no different.
We remember the day that Jesus died for love, the day when the powers of greed, selfishness, and pride arrested this man of love. Remember the day when he did not back down from his message of redemption and radical acceptance. Even unto death, he did not forsake God’s love and truth. As he hung on the cross, his oppressors mocking, still he loved them. This image of God loved even unto death.
We remember darkness. Remember sadness. Remember grief. Acknowledge the darkness, sadness, and grief in our lives and in our world. Acknowledge all the ways that we kill Christ over and over and over in our thoughts and in our words, in what we have done and in what we have failed to do.
This week, we see darkness. We feel darkness. We remember darkness. We welcome darkness. Pain is not bad, and we will not run from it.
~ ~ ~
On Sunday, Palm Sunday, we celebrated. We celebrated Jesus entering the holy city, the capitol, to the welcome of a king. We celebrated joyfully and welcomed Christ into our lives.
Tomorrow, the crowd will shout, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” Historical accuracy aside, I am concerned with what we can learn from this story, what this story teaches us about who we are.
This story speaks to the ever-changing nature of humanity. We shout loud hosannas one day, only to crucify God the next.
We march for justice one day, only to go home and yell at our children.
We cook at soup kitchens one day, only to drive past the homeless the street corner the next.
We welcome Christ in so many wonderful ways, but forget to keep Him with us. We welcome Christ, and then in small and simple ways, crucify him over and over again.
We are not faithful. We are not steady. We are not consistent.
But God is.
God IS faithful.
God IS steady.
God IS consistent.
And more than that - God’s LOVE is faithful, steady, consistent.
And that’s what next Sunday is about - Easter. Easter says that no mater how bad it gets, no matter how dark, no matter how hateful - love and life will reign victorious. We killed this Christ, and he rose again, exalted on high. He rose to even greater power. He rose and gives us another chance to welcome him. On Sundays we welcome. During the week, we so often fall short and crucify him.
We are not faithful, but God is faithful. God’s love abides whether we are welcoming him or crucifying him. God loves us wherever we are on the journey. This is a cyclical journey, not a linear one. We will welcome and crucify Christ many times over the course of our lives. We will never get it right. But God will love us through our weak human efforts. And God will love those who are hurt by our lack. Sunday will always come. Jesus will rise victorious, ready for us to welcome him into our hearts and homes, ready to give us another chance.
On the Sundays of our lives, we are joyful and triumphant in our welcome of Christ and our proclamation of Love. On the Thursdays and Fridays of our lives, we kill the Christ and mourn for the darkness of our world. But all hope is not lost, because Sunday will always come back around, giving us another chance. God is forever tries.
"The Holy Spirit has put you in charge of these people . . . God himself thought they were worth dying for."
Acts 20:26
This week, I've been working on seeing people how God sees them. As you can imagine, this is going great!
...Not.
If you're like me (a human) you probably struggle to see people in their best light. we're quick to judge people for cutting us off in traffic, being rude in line at the grocery store, taking too long at the DMV, etc, etc, etc. All kinds of things get us irritated with the people around us.
I've started praying something simple each day: "Lord, give me Your eyes and Your heart. Give me a mind and a heart to do Your work. Show me Your heart. Let me see people how You see them."
I pray this in the morning and get in my car. I have this thought fresh in my mind when I start my day, but it doesn't take long for my mind to wander and completely forget this goal.
I find it's especially hard to see God's love in those closest to me. It's easy to look at a stranger in the car next to me at a red light and think, "Wow. God loves them so much." But when those nagging habits come out in my family members, it's easy to get frustrated and focus on that. I never seem to remember to look with God's eyes at those closest to me.
But let me share that verse again: "God himself thought they were worth dying for."
Wow. "Remember, when you see these people, God died for them. God loved them so much that God went to the ends of the earth, even to death, to show that love."
The New Testament indeed preaches a universal gospel. This library of scripture is no longer a story of a chosen people called to slaughter cities and take the survivors as slaves and concubines. Jesus preached and his earliest followers continued preaching a universal gospel - one where every single person is loved by God.
No more do we see a tribal god who knew before they were formed in the womb only his own people. Now, we see a God who created and knows and loves the whole world.
Further, Jesus told us that every person we see is not only loved by him, but like HIM.
"Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."
Matthew 25: 34-40
Actually, he said that every person we serve IS him.
Mother Teresa famously served the poorest of the poor in India. When people asked her how she did it, she responded, "This is Jesus in his most distressing disguise."
When we feed those who are hungry, we feed Jesus. When we welcome those who are strangers among us, we welcome Jesus. When we clothe those in need of clothing, we clothe Jesus. When we visit those who are sick and in prison, we visit Jesus. When we serve those in need, we serve Jesus. When we love anyone, we're loving Jesus.
And when we turn any of these away - we reject Jesus.
Every person we see is Jesus. Every person should be treated as if they are the God of the universe.
Wow.
Started with a goal to "see others as God sees them." Then realized "everybody is Jesus."
Guess I'll have to work a little harder to overcome that road rage.
TITHE. Whether it's to your local congregation or to your favorite charity, reclaiming the Old Testament practice of tithing the first 10% of our income to the work of the Lord is a powerful way to affect our world for good. Check out my favorite charity here. They partner with local organizations to help Syrian refugees, hurricane victims in Texas and Puerto Rico, low-income schools, and more - and because they're run completely by volunteers, 100% of donations go to those in need.
