EPIPHANY 3, C, 2010
SCRIPTURES – Psalm 139; Nehemiah 8:1-10; 1 Cor. 12:12-31; Luke 4:16-30
Dear website reader: the book of Nehemiah, chapter 8, tells us that Ezra the priest brought out the Book of the Law of Moses and read it to the people, so that they might know who they were as God’s people and what their Lord would have them do. That we might know who we are as God’s people and what our Lord would have us do, I read a parable from the book of Seuss, titled, “Horton Hears A Who,” and supplemented it with passages from God’s book, the Bible. The story of Horton is summarized here, but you would do well to read it yourself and then read along with it the Scriptures cited here.
The Dr. Seuss story, “Horton Hears A Who,” begins with Horton the elephant relaxing in a pool. Suddenly, he hears a small noise, someone calling for help. He sees no one around, however, nothing but a speck of dust floating by. He concludes that there must be someone on that dust speck, and so determines to help him. He says:
“I’ll just
have to save him. Because, after all,
Ps. 139:13-16 – “You formed my inward parts; you knitted me
together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and
wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very
well.”
So, Horton carefully takes the dust speck and places it on a very soft clover, where it will be safe. But, a kangaroo, along with the young kangaroo in her pouch, see it and call him a fool. There can’t be anyone on a dust speck that is as small as the head of a pin! When they jump in the pool, causing a big splash, Horton protects his small friend by grabbing the clover with the dust speck on it and hustling away.
“What terrible splashing!”
the elephant frowned.
Proverbs 31:8-9 – “Speak out for those who cannot speak, for the
rights of all the destitute. Speak out, judge righteously, defend
the rights of the poor and needy.”
1 Cor. 12:24-26 – “God has so composed the
body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there
may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the
same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer
together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.”
The news quickly spreads throughout the jungle that Horton is talking to a dust speck. He is out of his head! As he holds the clover carefully and walks along, Horton suddenly hears a voice tiny from the speck:
My friend,” came the voice, “you’re a very
fine friend.
Shocked that there’s a city on the dust speck, Horton tells the Mayor not to worry:
“You’re
safe now. Don’t worry. I won’t let you down.”
Luke 4:17-20 – “The scroll of the
prophet Isaiah was given to [Jesus]. He unrolled it and found the
place where it was written, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He
has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of
sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to
proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." And he rolled up the
scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of
all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to
them, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."
Matthew 5:7 – “Blessed are the
merciful, for they will be shown mercy.”
But then, the Wickersham Brothers, three big jungle monkeys, came up and shouted:
“What rot!
This elephant’s talking to Whos who are not!
They snatch the clover and give it to an eagle, which flies off with it. Horton does not give up, but follows the eagle all that day and night, even though his journey is painful, taking him over stones which “tattered his toenails and battered his bones.” Finally, at 6:56 the next morning, the eagle drops the clover into a field of clover a hundred miles wide. “Find THAT! But I think you will fail,” the bird sneers as he flies away.
Horton in undeterred by the daunting task he begins plucking one clover at a time and calling out, “Are you there?” Finally, on the one millionth clover, he finds them. But, they have sustained much damage, the Mayor tells him.
“So
Horton, please!” pleaded that voice of the Mayor’s,
1 Cor. 13:6-8 – “Love does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices
in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all
things, endures all things. Love never fails.”
Again, the kangaroos show up, and along with the Wickersham brothers berate Horton for believing that there are people on the speck of dust. They now decide to grab Horton, tie him up and cage him, and then boil the dust speck in a kettle of Beezle-Nut oil.
Luke 4:28-30 – “When they heard these
things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. And they rose
up and drove Jesus out of the town and brought him to the brow of
the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw
him down the cliff. But passing through their midst, he went
away.”
John 15:18-20 & 16:1-3, 33 – “If the world hates
you, be aware that it hated me before it hated you. If you
belonged to the world, the world would love you as its own.
Because you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out
of the world-- therefore the world hates you. Remember the word
that I said to you, 'Servants are not greater than their master.'
If they persecuted me, they will persecute you; if they kept my
word, they will keep yours also… I have said these things to you
to keep you from stumbling. They will put you out of the
synagogues. Indeed, an hour is coming when those who kill you will
think that by doing so they are offering worship to God. And they
will do this because they have not known the Father or me… I have
said this to you, so that in me you may have peace. In the world
you face persecution. But take courage; I have conquered the
world!"
“Boil it?” Horton gasps. “Oh, that you can’t do! It’s all full of persons! They’ll prove it to you!” He then calls out to the Mayor to round up everyone in Who-ville and have them call out loudly so they’ll be heard. Otherwise, they will die! The Mayor gets everyone together and they raise as much noise as they can, crying out:
“We are here! We are here! We are here! We are here!”
It is not enough, however. The kangaroos don’t hear them, and Horton is grabbed and tied up. But, he manages to call out to the Mayor:
“Don’t give up! I believe
in you all!
John 15:12-17 – “This is my commandment, that you love one another
as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay
down one's life for one's friends. You are my friends if you do
what I command you. I do not call you servants any longer, because
the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have
called you friends, because I have made known to you everything
that I have heard from my Father. You did not choose me but I
chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that
will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him
in my name. I am giving you these commands so that you may love
one another.”
All in Who-ville make as much noise as they can, but still, Horton is the only one with ears sharp enough to hear them. So, Horton urges the Mayor to check and see if there is anyone who is not shirking and making noise.
James 2:14-17 – “What good is it, my
brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have
works? Can faith save you? If a brother or sister is naked and
lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace; keep
warm and eat your fill," and yet you do not supply their bodily
needs, what is the good of that? So faith by itself, if it has no
works, is dead.”
The Mayor runs through town and finally finds one shirker who is doing nothing, a little boy named Jo-Jo. He grabs him, brings him up the Eiffleberg Tower, and says:
“This is your town’s darkest hour!
Proverbs 24:11-12 – “If you hold back
from rescuing those taken away to death, those who go staggering
to the slaughter; if you say, "Look, we did not know this"-- does
not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who keeps
watch over your soul know it? And will he not repay all according
to their deeds?”
Proverbs 20:15 – “Gold there is, and
rubies in abundance, but lips that speak knowledge are a rare
jewel.”
When he gets to the top of the tower, Jo-Jo shouts out, “YOPP!” It’s not much, but it is just enough to make their voices heard and save their lives. Horton smiles and says:
“They’ve proved they ARE persons, no matter how small.
The kangaroos agree, and the story ends with them deciding to help keep the Who’s safe:
“From
sun in the summer. From rain when it’s fall-ish,
Pastor’s Comments:
Our hearts go out to the people of Haiti right now, and rightly
so, as the death toll from the earthquake may be in the hundreds
of thousands. People are opening up their wallets and giving
generously; some are giving of their goods and talents to help;
many are opening their mouths to the Lord in prayer for them. This
is good.
But, who laments the 50 million killed in our country since 1973
through elective abortion? Who speaks out for and works to save
the defenseless unborn; the elderly and infirm; and all those who
are a burden in this world?
Christ does. He came to proclaim good news to the poor, liberty to
the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind. He came to set
at liberty those who are oppressed, and to proclaim the year of
the Lord's favor. He came for the lowly and despised, for those
who are crushed under the burden of their sin and all the sorrows
that sin brings into this world. He sacrificed His life for us
all. In Him, our sin is forgiven, our burden if lifted, and our
lives are made new. “In one Spirit we were all
baptized into one body, and all were made to drink of the one
Spirit” (1 Cor. 12:12). And so, we are one, whole and new,
in Christ.
We are the body of Christ: not only people who have been “fearfully and wonderfully made,” but by Holy Baptism remade in Him, born anew. May the
prayer of David in Ps. 139 now be our prayer:
“Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts!
See if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way
everlasting!”
Or, to put it another way:
Let us pray, speak, and help out,
