Here's Mud In Your Eye

Yesterday after our morning exercise routine (Dee at Contours and me at the treadmill), we decided to go to the movies.

We saw Spiderwick Chronicles, a story about a family that moves into an empty house that is occupied by an invisible good goblin. One of the children finds a hidden room and a sealed handwritten manuscript called a field guide that is referred to in the movie as "The Book." The book has a warning note attached to the outside. The note says that anyone who opens the book and reads it will see things differently from then on. They'll never see things the same again and their life will be changed forever.

There is also a ring shaped stone for people to look through. As they look through it, they discover that it makes the invisible visible. And for people who don't have a "stone", there's hobgoblin spit which when applied to the eyes, makes the invisible visible all the time.

As Christians we too have "The Book." It too has changed our lives and causes us to see things differently than the rest of the world. The story from John 9 (last Sunday's sermon) was about a man born blind who was able to see again because Jesus applied some mud made from spittle to his eyes.... humm. And of course St. Paul refers to Jesus as the one who makes the invisible God visible. humm.

The subplot of the movie is really about the reconciliation between the mother and one of her three children. There's also the subplot of a father who was so caught up in his work of discovering the other worldly, that he forsook loving his daughter. It's a magical story to be sure, but from a theological perspective it has ingredients that echo what we've come to see as real and True.

By the way, if your preacher uses the "Common Lectionary" of prescribed readings from "The Book" for this week, he or she will most likely read Romans 8:6-11 (about spiritual mindedness) and/or John 11:1-45 (the story of Lazarus). If you read them ahead of time and reflect on them a bit, it'll be as if Someone has spit in your eyes. Then, when the preacher talks about them, you'll find that as you apply their Truths, your life, too, can be changed forever.