Nov 16, 2008: 33rdSunday-Ordinay-A
Few weeks ago on Halloween, our children at school were treated to some famous movie characters. No, it wasn’t Spiderman or Incredible Hulk. On that Friday morning at the school assembly, children saw their teachers dressed up as the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, the Cowardly Lion, the Wicked Witch, and Dorothy. Which movie am I talking about? The Wizard of Oz. All of the characters, except one, were so much alike the real characters of the movie. Then there was the most beloved character of the movie, Dorothy. When she came out of the stage, the children shouted and screamed with delight. It wasn’t exactly Judy Garland who originally played the character in that 1939 movie. This person was a little taller, robust, and muscular; it was none other than our own principal. The adjective, ’cute’ would not exactly describe the outfit, but he was definitely the steal of the show. What a good sport! How fortunate we are to have him as our principal.
If you remember from that movie, each of the character had something missing that they wished they had. What was Scarecrow missing that he wished he had? A brain. He wanted to be smart. What was the Tin Man missing? He felt he was missing a heart; he felt he was unable to feel and to have emotions. How about the Cowardly Lion? I think his name says it all. In the movie, he says: “Courage! What makes a king out of a slave? Courage! What makes the flag on the mast to wave? Courage! What makes the elephant charge his tusk in the misty mist, or the dusky dusk? What makes the muskrat guard his musk? What puts the "ape" in apricot? What have they got that I ain't got? Courage!” This brings to the question, what did Dorothy feel that she was missing? We see a clue when Tin Man, after receiving a heart made of velvet filled with sawdust, asks, “What have you learned, Dorothy?
Dorothy replied, “Well, I - I think that it - it wasn't enough to just want to see Uncle Henry and Auntie Em - and it's that - if I ever go looking for my heart's desire again, I won't look any further than my own back yard. Because if it isn't there, I never really lost it to begin with!”
We can find the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, the Cowardly Lion, and Dorothy in all of us. We feel something is missing in our backyard, and we start looking for it everywhere else. Some students say I’m not smart enough or never good enough. Some young ladies say I’m not pretty enough or thin enough. Some elderly say that they are useless and feel like they’re burden to everyone. Some feel like they are unlovable despite their best efforts.
If you remember from that movie, each of the character had something missing that they wished they had. What was Scarecrow missing that he wished he had? A brain. He wanted to be smart. What was the Tin Man missing? He felt he was missing a heart; he felt he was unable to feel and to have emotions. How about the Cowardly Lion? I think his name says it all. In the movie, he says: “Courage! What makes a king out of a slave? Courage! What makes the flag on the mast to wave? Courage! What makes the elephant charge his tusk in the misty mist, or the dusky dusk? What makes the muskrat guard his musk? What puts the "ape" in apricot? What have they got that I ain't got? Courage!” This brings to the question, what did Dorothy feel that she was missing? We see a clue when Tin Man, after receiving a heart made of velvet filled with sawdust, asks, “What have you learned, Dorothy?
Dorothy replied, “Well, I - I think that it - it wasn't enough to just want to see Uncle Henry and Auntie Em - and it's that - if I ever go looking for my heart's desire again, I won't look any further than my own back yard. Because if it isn't there, I never really lost it to begin with!”
We can find the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, the Cowardly Lion, and Dorothy in all of us. We feel something is missing in our backyard, and we start looking for it everywhere else. Some students say I’m not smart enough or never good enough. Some young ladies say I’m not pretty enough or thin enough. Some elderly say that they are useless and feel like they’re burden to everyone. Some feel like they are unlovable despite their best efforts.
I want to give you an image to hold onto to explain why this happens. Those of you with little children know how important your presence is. Whether they are in the playground or in our case this weekend at our parish fair, they always check or glance back to see if their mom or dad is watching. Occasionally, they run back to momma or daddy, get a quick hug or a kiss, and run back to whatever they were doing. There is in us this innate need to affirm that we are loved. And this need is not only in the little ones, but applies for all ages. Husbands and wives, you know how many times you verbally affirm your love by telling each other how much you love each other. This is also true for those who are at nursing homes waiting for their families to visit them. Let's make a spiritual parallel here. Why is it that we come to church at least weekly? It's not only to keep our Sabbath holy, but God in His wisdom has allowed us weekly to receive that affirmation of hug or a kiss from Him. Think about this. Who is God? Pope Benedict XVI wrote his first encyclical on this topic. "Deus Caritas Est"--God is Love, the Perfect Love.
Human love, is in many ways lacking and limited. And sometimes due to that limitation, we have fear of getting hurt. We put up our guard or take the wait and see approach. When we trust or love someone, we gladly do anything for them. But when we have fear of them, we become paralyzed. Although we may have the gifts and talents to do what's being asked, fear keeps us from using those gifts and talents. In our Gospel, how does the servant who receives one talent from his master respond? 'Master, I knew you were a demanding person...so out of fear I went off and buried your talent in the ground.' Master is upset that the servant would distrust and fear him to the point that the servant would not use his given gifts. This is imperfect love. And we see it in all of us--our relationship with others and especially with God.
What is the remedy? To run back to the Perfect Love for a quick kiss or a hug so that our fear will be driven out. In the First Letter of St. John, he says the following: "There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment, and so one who fears is not yet perfect in love. We love because he first loved us." (1 John 4:18-19) What we experience as the weekly obligation for us Catholics to attend mass is really Heavenly Father's reminder for us to fill up on His Perfect Love so that we can go about our activities for the week. How else are we going to accomplish all that's on our plate demanded by our various roles? With fear cast out, we're not going to look everywhere else like Dorothy and her gang did for the gifts and talents they already had in their back yard.
