The release of the movie “Wicked” in the United States last week is good enough cause as any to reflect on the 1939 masterpiece “The Wizard of Oz,” which is my favorite movie ever.
Because of my love for the film, during the past 21 years since “Wicked” opened on Broadway, I have studiously disregarded anything about it except, obviously, the song “Defying Gravity.” It’s been hard to avoid that melodic anthem – and I do appreciate it.
But you see, I feel about “Wicked” as I do about “Scarlett,” the sequel to “Gone With the Wind” that came out in 1991, written by a completely different person than the original author, in a completely different time period. I was afraid “Scarlett” would undercut many of the things about GWTW that I appreciated – and there are many (even though I now realize that some things in the film are problematic – but that’s another story).
Yes, I love “The Wizard of Oz” so much that I couldn’t chance anything possibly impacting my view of it in a negative way. I was leery of the unknown. In fact, I had almost forgotten that “Wicked” was even based on Oz.
Until Sunday, when our minister’s sermon centered on the 1939 classic, with a brief mention of “Wicked.” Once more, I feel the need to share the main points with you. A summation: Whatever the main characters in TWoO needed, the church needs as well.
– The Tin Man needed to find a heart. He didn’t think he could be a real man until then.
The church needs a heart, too. “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples” – John 13:34-35. What’s more, we need to love God above all – although we sometimes don’t. We need to fall in love with Christ.
In the end, of course, it turns out that the Tin Man had a heart all along; he just didn’t know it.
– The Scarecrow needed to have a brain. But like the Tin Man, he actually possessed what he had longed for all along; he just needed something to help him recognize it. That happened when he got his diploma and immediately began quoting a complex mathematical formula.
So how can we increase our own brainpower in regard to spiritual matters? “Study to show yourself approved by God, a workman who need not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” – II Timothy 2:15. One of the main ways that faith grows is studying scripture, so let’s not ever stop studying God’s word. Let’s involve ourselves in the word of God – and use our brains. “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” – Romans 10:17.
– The Cowardly Lion needed courage. As with the other two, he actually already had it; he just needed to be recognized for it – and that came with the presentation of his medal for bravery.
“For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and love, and self-control” – II Timothy 1:7. Wow. Naturally, I had heard this verse before, but Sunday it sank in more deeply. I put a star by it in my notebook. Then I drew a circle around the star. Repeat: God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and love, and self-control.
Realize that if you’re afraid, it’s not coming from God. Think of those people in the Bible who exhibited courage – starting with Jesus, and then Peter (after his denial), Paul (admitting he had been disastrously wrong), Nicodemus (before the Sanhedrin), Joseph of Arimathea (asking for the body of Jesus) and many more.
They had courage, and we can as well. But only because God gives it to us. “If God is for us, who can be against us?” – Romans 8:31
Now, back to our movie characters. All three had to work together to get down the Yellow Brick Road, by using an oil can, adding more stuffing and being dragged reluctantly. And Dorothy had to follow the Yellow Brick Road along with them to get home.
As for us, we’ve got to follow Christ to get home. When we’re scared, when we get the stuffing beat out of us, we in the church can hold hands – and we can make it down the path. God promises to take his children home. He promises them a crown of life … “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.”
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Sallie Rose Hollis lives in Ruston and retired from Louisiana Tech as an associate professor of journalism and the assistant director of the News Bureau. She can be contacted at sallierose@mail.com.
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