HELLO!

If you had to describe yourself, using a Muppet character as a comparison, which one would you select? I found this fun quiz to take: https://www.buzzfeed.com/jenlewis/which-muppet-are-you

I came to this question pondering the Gospel text for Sunday, Matthew 5:13-16, being salt and light in the world. How do I offer the world around me the saltiness and light of the Gospel? The world we live in has more than its share of sameness, the power of suggestion (as Lucian, Kim and I name it) is ever-present. Choosing the norm makes sense, it is the norm for a reason, that choice has wide appeal. Most of my choices are the “norm”, from how I dress, to where I live, to my politics, to my religion, even the sport teams I like. As Lucian would say when they were a child, “Father you look like every suburban Dad” (yes, they do call me father). To break through, to offer a voice, a witness, an alternative, to the world as we know it, is to be “salty”, to be “the light”.

Sadly, the church has a widespread reputation for those who look at us from a distance as Sam the Eagle, judgemental, overly serious and intense, a representative of what some call “God’s chosen frozen”.

My traditional/conservative friends suggest the world needs pious words, demonstrations of personal integrity, work hard and play by the rules. My progressive/liberal friends suggest the world needs allies who will stand with the marginalized, vote-work-advocate for justice, not just us. The irony, for me, is both these groups define the world as “other” or “them” and yet…“the world” would hardly recognize them in their words, thoughts and actions as different than the norm. When I ponder the world of Sesame Street, I think we resemble Bob or Susan most of the time: kind, approachable, virtuous. Who could argue with that witness? Except, there are times when, as Bruce Cockburn sings, “the trouble with normal is it only gets worse”. There are times, if call ourselves a follower of Jesus, we need to witness to the world as Jesus did, that is offer a different way to believe (we are all kin), a different way to act (if I have two shirts and you have none, we share) and a different way to care (“who is my mother, who is my brother”, “as you did for the least of me, you do for me”). Are we ready to add the salty flavour of justice to our world, to shed light on those who otherwise live in the darkness?

As valedictorian of the 1990 AST graduating class (Val Kingsbury and I were the only extroverts in a class of 25, she was close to giving birth, so withdrew her name from consideration), I named all the faculty, giving thanks for their saltiness and the light they revealed to us and specifically compared each to a muppet character. Later, they returned the favour.

Peace, Kevin “a cross between Gonzo and Grover” Little