Hopping & Hollering
Long ago a famous wise man entered a crowded town square.
He entered hollering, “Ha Ha Ha Hoo! Ha Ha Ha Hoo!” over and over again. He entered hopping on one leg and flapping his arms like a bird. Three dozen disciples trailed him hopping and hollering just like the wise man. The ridiculousness went on for a loooong time.
Later, when the square was quiet and the disciples had gone, a friend of the wise man pulled him aside and said, “What was going on with the disciples and the hopping and hollering?”
The wise man said, “Those disciples came to me seeking enlightenment.”
The friend said, “Really?!? How do you know when one of them reaches enlightenment?”
“Well, he doesn’t show up in the next day. He realizes the hopping and hollering is stupid and pointless.”
What’s our hopping and hollering?
What do we do that we thought was going to help us become more complete people more deeply connected to God, but turns out being unhelpful and pointless?
Remember: The first disciples expected a Messiah who would destroy the Romans. They didn’t expect one who would receive death from the Romans and so overcome the rule of sin and suffering over the world.
Remember: The first disciples didn’t expect Jesus to rise from the dead. If a thing like resurrection was part of God’s “plan” it was for far in the future. Not right then. Not with this guy Jesus.
In both these cases (and in many more) if, after encountering Jesus, the disciples had kept believing that the Christ was going to kill their enemies and that hope ends with death, they would’ve just kept on hopping and hollering.
They would have missed the good news.
Stop hopping and hollering. Start fresh. Receive the good news.
He entered hollering, “Ha Ha Ha Hoo! Ha Ha Ha Hoo!” over and over again. He entered hopping on one leg and flapping his arms like a bird. Three dozen disciples trailed him hopping and hollering just like the wise man. The ridiculousness went on for a loooong time.
Later, when the square was quiet and the disciples had gone, a friend of the wise man pulled him aside and said, “What was going on with the disciples and the hopping and hollering?”
The wise man said, “Those disciples came to me seeking enlightenment.”
The friend said, “Really?!? How do you know when one of them reaches enlightenment?”
“Well, he doesn’t show up in the next day. He realizes the hopping and hollering is stupid and pointless.”
What’s our hopping and hollering?
What do we do that we thought was going to help us become more complete people more deeply connected to God, but turns out being unhelpful and pointless?
Remember: The first disciples expected a Messiah who would destroy the Romans. They didn’t expect one who would receive death from the Romans and so overcome the rule of sin and suffering over the world.
Remember: The first disciples didn’t expect Jesus to rise from the dead. If a thing like resurrection was part of God’s “plan” it was for far in the future. Not right then. Not with this guy Jesus.
In both these cases (and in many more) if, after encountering Jesus, the disciples had kept believing that the Christ was going to kill their enemies and that hope ends with death, they would’ve just kept on hopping and hollering.
They would have missed the good news.
Stop hopping and hollering. Start fresh. Receive the good news.