Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then it was said among the nations, "The Lord has done great things for them." -Ps. 126:2

Imagine my surprise when I returned from leading a Family Retreat at Monte Toyon for the San Ramon Valley UMC to find a plate of Green Eggs and Ham on my desk! Of course I knew the first person with whom I should speak was Pastor Cindy. She’s usually the one who would know about pranks but I was aware of the title of her May sermon series. I wondered if she served this for Communion on Sunday morning! She assured me that even Jeshua would not eat them on Sunday when they were fresh and not 48 hours stale!

I appreciate the way that Cindy brings insight and nourishes our community through the use of humor. When we laugh, we relax and are able to hear things we can’t hear when we are stressed or distracted.
I enjoyed listening to a recorded version of her first sermon in this series about the ways we are invited to consume Jesus even though we may be put off at first by the whole idea.

I certainly appreciate Dr. Seuss more now than I did when I was a child! C. S. Lewis makes a similar point when he writes the dedication of his series, The Chronicles of Narnia, to his goddaughter Lucy. He tells her that by the time he fi nishes, she will be too old to read fairy tales but he takes hope in the fact that she’ll return to them again when she is old enough to appreciate fairy tales again.

I’ve been listening to recorded versions of The Chronicles of Narnia on my iPod this spring. I was inspired to return to this series when I found a Spanish-language copy of “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” when I was studying in Guatemala a couple of summers ago and also from the film version of the book. I read them in high school but I wasn’t yet mature enough to fully appreciate Lewis’ craft of
story-telling and his great insights about the power of the Gospel in our lives.

With the renewed interest in this series, book reviews abound that criticize and respond to criticism about the sexism and racism contained in the books. Some Christians renounce Lewis’ work for its inclusion of magic and mythology. Certainly there is some merit to the critical analysis. When we read literature from other periods, we must be mindful of how our views about such things have progressed. Yet we need not reject literature from the past because it has some things to which we object. I still find the series worth reading!

I appreciate the way Lewis depicts the lion Aslan simultaneously as compassionately loving and terrifyingly fearsome. Our Biblical writers have described God and the returning Christ in similar ways. We 21st century Christians are sometimes put off by divine images that evoke fear in us. We rightly critique the ways fearful images have been used to manipulate people and keep them in their place when they strive to give voice to injustice and oppression or that leave us hopelessly separated from God. Yet too often we are tempted to treat God as a lap dog whose sole function it is to entertain and comfort us at our beckon call. A domesticated God is stripped of power in our lives and world to
confront and overcome evil and injustice.

One scene I particularly appreciated was what I think of as Eustace’s conversion experience in “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.” Eustace was an annoying child – pompous, contemptuous and cruel toward his
cousins. At one point, he is mysteriously transformed into a dragon. He begins to try and participate with the other adventurers and help them even as his own loneliness and isolation deepens. One night,
Aslan comes to him and invites him to take off his clothes and enter baptismal-like waters. Of course the dragon Eustace isn’t wearing clothes but he realizes he can shed his skin like any reptile. Three times he sheds his skin only to find himself still a dragon. Finally Aslan, with a mighty claw, cuts into his dragon hide and rips him to the core. It hurts but Eustace also experiences relief as the dragon hide gives way to his true human self.

Everyone does notice the difference in Eustace but he still slips back to his fearful ways at times… just like all Christian disciples do! Eustace’s experience reminds me that not one of us is able to save ourselves or transform our own brokenness. We need God’s grace. As you worship together this month and encounter the gospel through the lens of children’s literature, may you experience that life-changing intervention of God’s grace.

Walking with you as we follow Jesus,

Debra