‘Follow that Yellow Brick Road’

In keeping theme, let’s go with another film analogy. Only this time I will begin with reference to a rather unusual sermon. Yes, a while back, a friend of mine delivered an incredible sermon on ‘The Wizard of Oz’ and until then, I had never viewed this movie under this light. I hadn’t seen this movie for quite some time but since then, it doesn’t seem possible that I could have missed these messages all these years. I will not recap the actual sermon for I could not do it justice, but I will point out a few things that I have recognized since then:

1) There is a definite ROAD that we must all be on. Veering from this road will, not only cause us harm and heartache, but it will cause us to wander aimlessly into dry and dusty terrains . . . sometimes for long periods of time.

2) We are all born with an innate drive to SEEK OUT the one that has all the answers. Most of us have no clue what or why we feel the initial need to seek.

3) Just like Dorothy, most of us spend so much time looking to specific things to help us get ‘HOME’. The power was never in her efforts but rather in the gift that she received when she first arrived. Dorothy was given a gift of RED SLIPPERS – a covering to keep her safe on her journey, without which, she would perish. She found peace and guidance in Glenda and eventually realized the mighty power of 3.

4) Scarecrow just wanted a BRAIN. He felt because he was just made out of hay – a simple stuffing, that he was somehow less in his abilities. When he initially tried to THINK too much, he got frustrated. He ended up being the wiser one because he eventually allowed the knowledge to come from WITHIN.

5) TINMAN just wanted a HEART. He convinced himself that because he felt empty inside, he didn’t have one. Oddly enough, when he placed himself in situations that needed one, he always had the biggest heart. Scientific fact – the heart is a muscle – when a muscle is not used regularly, it becomes weak and even hardens – atrophy, it’s called.

6) LION just wanted COURAGE. He kept to himself and feared stepping out but once he had others to think about, he was able to rise above his fear to act courageous. His initial fear also gave him a reverence for things greater than he.

7) While each one had his/her specific goal, they were ALL willing to sacrifice for the greater good. Each one for Dorothy and Dorothy for each of them. Sacrificing for the others was imperative to their journey.

8) The witch, while seeming obvious - look again - for her character was troublesome during the stint in OZ, but when Dorothy awoke, her troubling neighbor was actually quite kind - having a change of heart BECAUSE of the example of Dorothy and her family.

The questionable character was TOTO, you know her ‘little black dog’ - while appearing all cute and cuddly . . . he was often the source of many of Dorothy’s problems and derailments . . . perhaps we’ll save this one for a later time.