I watched Mister Rogers as a kid like I’m sure many of you did. This past week I saw the documentary, “Won’t You Be My Neighbor,” about the children’s television ministry of Fred Rogers. Watching the film was a spiritual experience for me and I was deeply moved by several of the scenes . . . including the one I am about to show you.
Mister Roger’s Neighborhood was all about being honest about feelings and affirming children with the message that they are loved and accepted just as they are. Fred Rogers was a Presbyterian minister who never preached from a pulpit but lived and expressed the heart of Christianity. As part of this ministry, he wrote all the scripts, composed all the songs and played all the music for the show. He did a segment with puppets for each episode in which he provided the voices for all of the puppets! The one puppet Mr. Rogers said he identified with most was Daniel the Tiger.
In this scene from the show, listen as Daniel confesses his feelings of inadequacy to his dear supportive friend, Lady Aberlin. Hear the vulnerability in his voice as he wonders if he is some kind of mistake since he does not seem, in his own mind, to measure up to others. I can relate to Daniel. Perhaps you can too.
In response to Daniel’s song, Laby Aberlin sings back to him, in a counter melody, how much she values him just the way he is. She assures him that he is not a mistake or a fake. That he is, in fact, her best friend. The affirmation she sings to him is a beautiful way to quiet the insecurities Daniel is having about himself. But here’s the brilliant thing Mister Rogers does: Daniel’s song of doubts and Lady Aberlin’s song of affirmation are sung together as a duet in beautiful harmony.
Daniel’s doubts do not instantly and magically go away just because Lady Aberlin had a different perspective! Rather, she sings another tune at the same time and her words are placed alongside of his so that he hears more than just what he tells himself.
In today’s reading from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians we have words of God to place alongside our doubts about ourselves. Specifically these three words. “He chose us.” Those three words are good news – they are pure Gospel. And we need to hear them over and over again.
God chose us. He chose to love us. He chose to make us his. He chose to forgive us. He chose to give us life. He chose US! This is remarkable news. It’s shocking, actually. This is what makes grace so amazing! When Jesus walked this earth, he looked his friends in the eye at one point and said pretty much the same thing, “You did not choose me, but I chose YOU!”
Now Jesus’ friends provided plenty of reasons why they were not the best choice to serve as Jesus’ closest allies and disciples. But Jesus chose them. Like Daniel the Tiger, we can think of many reasons why we are not the best choice. Daniel thought he was too tame. Too small. Too quiet. Compared to other Tigers he knew. Maybe you think I’m too old. I’m too young. I’m not attractive enough. I’m not smart enough. I’m not successful. I’ve made mistakes. I’ve got too much baggage; too many skeletons in the closet. I’ve got too many doubts and questions. And I’m not like anyone else . . .
But the words of Scripture today tell us that God chose us before the foundation of the world! That means he made his choice BEFORE we had time to screw things up. It also means he chose us before we had any opportunity to prove ourselves worthy of it. So God’s choice of us is unique. It is not based on anything we do or don’t do. It’s not based on our compliance with arbitrary standards imposed on us by others. It’s not based on performance or character or talent or beauty. It is most definitely not based on us being anything other than who our Creator made us to be. God’s choice of us is not something we can qualify for or be disqualified from. It is, according to the words of Scripture today, something we were destined for.
A lot of people thought that Mister Roger’s approach was just a lot of feel good fluff. And I am completely aware that talking about God’s unconditional love can feel like wishful thinking and nothing more than positive self-talk. But there’s the thing we cannot deny or ignore: There’s a cross. And the cross is real. Jesus, Gods’ only Son, actually died on a cross. Voluntarily. To set God’s choice of us in permanent and eternal reality. That cross confirms God’s choice.
See, God sent his deepest expression of love – his own beloved – into this world not just to live on this earth but to go to the ends of the earth for us – to go to the deepest depths for us – to go to the darkest places for us. So that nothing could separate us from his love. And then he placed that cross on us as proof of his choice. Paul says in our reading today that we were marked. (SLIDE) He marked us with that cross. That’s what happens in Baptism. We are marked. That makes God’s choice undeniable and irrevocable.
When we see people we think are more normal or just generally more awesome than what we see in the mirror, feelings of inadequacy are hard to overcome. Perhaps doubts and insecurities about ourselves are, in fact, impossible to silence. But today God sings alongside those doubts. He says, “I love you just the way you are, my child.” Today God looks us in the eye and says, “I’ve made my choice. And I know what I’m doing.”
Some have leveled the criticism against Mister Rogers that he and others like him helped create a whole generation of kids who, having been told over and over again how special they are, now feel “entitled.”
But here’s the thing: you ARE entitled. You are entitled, according to today’s word of God, to an identity as God’s own child, you are entitled to a divine inheritance, you are entitled to forgiveness and redemption. Just like God’s choice, these things are not conditional on what you are or what you say or do or think or how you well you fill a pre-defined mold. These are not things we wish for or hope for or ask for. These are things to be claimed; they are already yours. And you are entitled to hear the affirmation of that counter melody, “I choose you” especially when you feel like something less.
I am convinced no one can hear this message enough. No child can hear this enough. No child of God can hear this enough. Because of the very nature of our broken world and our broken selves, this is a message that bears repeating. In fact, in order for it to be fully believed and its impact fully realized in our lives, it MUST be repeated.
So let the words, “I choose you” run perpetually alongside your doubts. Because, by God, you are NOT a mistake. And, by amazing grace, you ARE God’s choice.
Excellent as usual!