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SUMMARY by Rev. Leanne Rose
In 1900, L Frank Baum published The Wonderful Wizard of Oz—a story of Dorothy, a young girl pulled from depression and drought of Kansas into a magical world. Baum had spent years involved in the theater, joined forces and The Wizard of Oz musical was first staged in Chicago in 1902, and on Broadway in 1903.
In the 125 years since, there have been nearly 120 adaptations or media influenced by Baum’s story including but not limited to: The Oz Kids, Tom and Jerry and the Wizard of Oz, and The Muppet’ of Oz.
But most of us haven’t seen most of those, or the read the book, or the 13 sequels Baum wrote. No, what you probably know is the 1939 movie musical with Judy Garland. The movie became a stage show in 1942 and re-written again in 1987 with songs from the movie musical. And is probably the one performed by most local theater companies. In 2011, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Time Rice reunited and wrote a new stage musical of The Wizard of Oz adding new songs to the ones from the original movie. While it toured, it saw an official Broadway stage.
Dorothy and the Wizard returned to Broadway in 1987 in The Wiz—a retelling of the story from the black community, filled with references, language, and Motown music.
So, in case you don’t know, Dorothy is a young girl, living with her aunt and uncle on a farm in Kansas. She feels out of place, maybe she misses her home, misses her parents, feels her life is more than this dry country farm. She gets caught up in a tornado that lifts her home and drops it in the Land of Oz, and on the Wicked Witch of East.
That is when she starts meeting people: Munchkins, Glinda—the Good Witch of the South, and then her traveling companions: Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Lion—each longing and looking for something that they think would make them whole, while Dorothy starts asking to go home. The four follow the yellow brick road to meet the mighty and Wonderful Wizard who says he can get them what they want… if they kill the Wicked Witch of the West. So they do. And it’s about that climatic.
Turns out the Wizard is a fraud—just a man pretending. And it turns out everything they wanted and needed were already in them, and Dorothy already had what she needed to get home.
A new version of the story returned to Broadway in 1995 with a loose adaptation of a book that’s not worth reading. It tells the story of the Witches of the West, Elphaba, and South, Glinda—school mates who began as enemies and eventually became best friends. Elphaba feels out of place in her world and believes the Wizard can help her find her place, her home. The Wizard is a fraud and Elphaba becomes a political dissident. Dorothy is used to kill Elphaba, who fakes her death and goes on to live a full life elsewhere.
For more than a century, this story has been read, told, sung and danced, imagined and re-imagined. It captured the hearts of those who felt out of place in the world, whose lives have been uprooted and tossed about only to find themselves on a new journey. This story has been beloved by those who have made new friends along the way, who have had their heads filled with other people’s ideas, who have had their heart broken and think feeling nothing is better, who have been on this journey of life and been afraid, and who learn who they are along the way. The story of Dorothy and Oz is a reminder that the magic was in us all along and even if we end up where we started, we have been changed… for good.
REFLECTION by Jeanne Phelan “There’s No Place Like Home”
Some of you might recall a few years ago when a group of us would meet weekly at The Roots Coffee Bar in Oconomowoc, wearing our Emmanuel T-shirts and working on jigsaw puzzles. One memorable puzzle was of ladies in a garden, and while we struggled to get the pieces in the right place, we’d scour faces pictured on the puzzle box, trying to find women from our church. “Look, there’s Francine, and, oh, there’s Marian Pike, and do you see Donna over there with the hedge clippers?” We had a blast!
Similarly, as we look around our tables this morning, do we see ourselves or others in the OZ characters here? Do you have a Miss Gulch in your life? Anyone identifying with the Cowardly Lion or the hard-hearted Tin Man? Are there lovable little Munchkins in your life? Any Wizards or Flying Monkeys among us? What a fun way to look at each other and, of course, ourselves. I’m pretty sure I’m a Munchkin at heart—and not just because I’m short! Actually, I can at some point relate to all the OZ characters, since their struggles seem to mirror those in real life.
Today’s Scripture from Paul admonishes us to run with endurance the race laid out in front of us, noting that we need to let go of the things that hold us back, trust on the “great cloud of witnesses” that somehow surrounds us, and fix our eyes on Jesus and the example He set for us. There’s a lot there, so let’s look at it a bit more closely before bringing Dorothy, Glenda, and the Wicked Witch into it.
What strikes me is that while Paul speaks of a race, he is not talking about a competition. Nor is he talking about something that we each do alone. Throughout the years there have been wonderful tales of athletes who stop mid-race to help another runner who has stumbled or somehow lost the strength to go on. I can’t offer any specific example, but I know that news stories following marathons often highlight these small acts of compassion. Little League baseball games often see this, too, as do most sporting events—except, of course, when the Packers are playing. So, running the race does not mean winning at all costs; it means staying on track and persevering with whatever we encounter along the way.
Another thing about races is that the runners are not the designers of the route, much like we are not the ones who tell God which path we prefer to follow. Remembering that God’s will for us is whatever is best for us, can help to keep us moving forward when doubt and fear try to lead us astray. If we do not run blindly, we will see the obstacles that impede our progress, and, if we’re honest, we’ll be able, as Paul says, to “throw off any extra baggage, get rid of the sin that trips us up, and fix our eyes on Jesus.”
Remember, though, that we are not running in isolation—that a “great cloud of witnesses” supports us on our journey. For some, these witnesses might be family and friends who walk beside us—or the spirit of those who have passed from this earthly life but remain close in our hearts—or those in our Emmanuel family whom we can trust as loving witnesses to our race. Remembering that I am not alone and that God has prepared me for life’s race helps me live one day at a time with the questions and uncertainties of my journey. I love the saying, “Fear not tomorrow, for God is already there.”
So, looking now at the story of a young girl who killed a wicked witch and then fought with the witch’s sister over a pair of shoes, what does it tell us about today’s reading? It reminds me, for one, that those visiting OZ formed a community that accepted each other despite whatever shortcomings each might have. It did not matter one iota that there were different limitations among them—that the Scarecrow believed he was brainless; the Tin Man could not feel his emotions; the Lion was so cowardly he could never imagine himself as the king of the jungle, and Dorothy was lost and threatened by a wicked witch, and only wanted to go home.
Let me interrupt myself here for a couple of questions I’ve been pondering. First, how did the Wicked Witch bathe, when water would immediately melt her? Secondly, why are so many people afraid of the Flying Monkeys when, in the end, the moneys were overjoyed to be free from service to the Wicked Witch? Do we allow people to grow and to change, or do we cling to old ideas about who they are and always see them as scary or flawed in some unacceptable way? And, why do we give the Wizard a pass even after he was exposed as a total fraud? Is it because there is good even in the worst of us? Afterall, he did help Dorothy and her friends to see a way to overcome their limiting views of themselves. Lastly, is Toto the true hero of the story—Dorothy’s small companion who pulled away the Wizard’s curtain for all to see? Do we know from our own experiences that God works in such mysterious ways, through those who seem small in the eyes of the world? Are we alert to these “God moments” in our lives? I hope so.
I wish we had time here to look more at other adaptations of L. Frank Baum’s beloved story. The Wiz is a dramatic interpretation of the story from the Black perspective. It stresses Black culture and the perseverance of Black people in adversity. It has been described as “a rallying call for racial liberation,” one that is “unapologetically black, political, joyful, current, [and] queer.” It sounds very powerful!
And Wicked gives a different perspective of the Wicked Witch of the West—showing her to be a social justice fighter who refuses to use her power to further enhance the fraudulent Wizard’s control of OZ. I look forward to one day seeing this story of El’phaba and Glinda, but our focus today is on Paul’s admonition to stay faithful as we run the race God has set out for us.
I suspect you might be wondering why I’m wearing a Wizard of Oz 5K T-shirt and clutching two medals. It’s because recently I had my own Cowardly Lion experience. Let me explain. On June 1, there was an annual OZ 5K walk/run in Oconomowoc. I completed it and was given my participant’s medal. Then they were awarding 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place medals by five-year age brackets. The announcement of the female winners ended with the 70 to 74 age group, so I marched my tired body up to the announcer and asked, “What about the 75 and over group?” After much consultation and scurrying by the officials, one of them came back and gave me a 1st place medal. In that moment, I fully understood how the Cowardly Lion felt—how empowering it was to be given that simple medal.
However, as Paul Harvey would say, “And now for the rest of the story.” Well, the next day I got a picture of me from the event’s organizers, showing me crossing the finish line. The picture noted, though, that I was actually #109 out of 114! (I’m assuming the last five never finished the run.) Being #109 didn’t matter to me! I had my 1st place medal and felt like a champion. —Correction: I AM a champion!
I/we don’t have to complete the race perfectly, we just have to run the race that is laid out in front of us, remembering we are supported by our great clouds of witnesses as we focus on the prize—which is a life centered more fully on God, dedicated to growing spiritually closer to God and our fellows.
Let’s end here with Glenda’s words to Dorothy as she was searching for a way home, and these same words God has for us, “You had the power all along, my dear.” May we find strength and power deep within us as we run our race toward God. Amen.