Of all the images that Jesus uses to describe the kingdom of Heaven, the one that is used most often is the image of heaven being like a feast, specifically a wedding feast. Now think about it, at weddings, what do we do? We laugh, we talk, we dance, and we eat. Generally at wedding feasts, we don’t argue over politics or religion. We gather to celebrate and in a sense to play. I love it. In a few years will be the 100th year anniversary of the creation of beloved children’s books (which were turned into Disney cartoons). So in that playful spirit I have a song for you . . .
Sing “House on Pooh Corner”
Verse 2) Winnie the Pooh doesn't know what to do
Got a honey jar stuck on his nose
He came to me asking help and advice
And from here no one knows where he goes
So I sent him to ask of the owl if he's there
How to loosen the jar from the nose of a bear
So help me if you can, I've got to get
Back to the house at Pooh Corner by one
You'd be surprised, there's so much to be done
Count all the bees in the hive
Chase all the clouds from the sky
Back to the days of Christopher Robin and Pooh
What I like about the song is that it is playful. Playing is important. Psychiatrist Stuart Brown says, “Without play, we don’t have the same optimism, resiliency and well-being,” “Play is the exuberant expression of our being. It is at the heart of our creativity, our sexuality, and our most carefree moments of devotion. It helps us live with absurdity, paradox and mystery. It feeds our joy and wonder. It keeps our search for meaning down to earth.”
For kids, free play with peers is important. This is different from organized sports play. For with free playing, the kids themselves need to figure things out. That is, to negotiate among themselves how to play (if there are rules, boundaries etc.). Organized sports (which is also important) has someone else figure out the rules and acts of referees.
So think of the kingdom of God as a place to play . . . to laugh, and dance and feast. “Play is a sign of God’s nearness, a mark of fulfilled time.” says John Mogabgab, editor for Henri Nouwen.
Howard Clinebell, who was a Methodist pastor and pastoral counselor wrote, “Taking a playful attitude toward your faith helps liberate your spirituality from shallow legalisms and moralisms, thus releasing your ethical energy to use for justice and other important values that guide a Christian lifestyle.”
So what about the guy in the story who doesn’t come properly dressed for the wedding? Again, it is a parable, story, a metaphor that Jesus made up. One way to think of it is to think of how God invites us to relax more, to have more fun . . . and to remember that we are invited to come dressed for an openness to God. And not that we have to control things. As St. Paul said in the second reading, “God will supply whatever we need.” And Paul said that he has figured out how to live with abundance or need . . . putting his complete trust in God.”
But still there are terrible things that happen in the world, like the conflict in Israel (with the slaughtering of innocent people) or the recent shooting this past week, of five Police Officers that occurred just a few miles from here. Well interestingly Psychiatrist Stuart Brown and other investigators researched the shootings back in 1996. Where a 25 year-old man opened fire from a university Texas tower in Austin. He killed and injured dozens. They uncovered several possible contributing factors, including a childhood controlled by a “sadistic and somewhat cruel father, who surpassed the shooter’s natural tendency to play.” Interesting.
Now I am not saying that more playing will solve the conflict in Israel, nor was it the magic solution to prevent the shooting this past week. But I am saying that Jesus invites us all into the Kingdom of Heaven. A kingdom where we are called to a different way of being/thinking about life. Where we don’t have to have everything perfected. We don’t have to perform so much. Where we don’t have to be in control. “When we play, we express who are in God,” says Episcopal Priest Tilden Edwards,
“Sometimes we play so well that we simply forget we are playing. We think our play is reality . . it is. Sometimes we play so badly that we forget we are playing. We think our play is work . . . It is.” David Miller, Gods and Games: Toward a Theology of Play
Whatever you are working on currently, maybe you just need a simpler approach. To laugh at yourself more.
Trust God. Come to the feast. And play.
Verse 1)
Christopher Robin and I walked along under branches lit up by the moon
Posing our questions to Owl and Eeyore as our days disappeared all too soon
But I've wandered much further today than I should
And I can't seem to find my way back to the wood
So help me if you can, I've got to get
Back to the house at Pooh Corner by one
You'd be surprised, there's so much to be done
Count all the bees in the hive
Chase all the clouds from the sky
Back to the days of Christopher Robin and Pooh