The Gospel According to Dr. Seuss: Green Eggs and Ham

I Kings 17: 8-16

July 5, 2015

Mark S. Bollwinkel

Theodor Seuss Geisel (March 2, 1904 – September 24, 1991) was an award winning American writer, poet, and cartoonist, author of 46 children's picture books written and illustrated under his pen name ”Dr. Seuss”.   He studied for a PhD in English Literature at Lincoln College, Oxford. He did not complete the degree program and was never officially a “doctor”.  So significant have his books been in the movement to encourage literacy among children that the National Education Association set his birthday, as the annual date for “National Read across America Day”, an initiative on reading.  He was the recipient of two Academy awards, two Emmy awards, a Peabody and a Pulitzer Prize and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. 

In the never ending attempt to gain a congregation's attention and hold it, this July we will explore the writings of Dr. Seuss to discover if they can assist us in understanding and applying the lessons of Christianity to our lives.

Dr. Seuss' book Green Eggs and Ham (Random House, 1960) has sold over 500,000 copies (2009).  In it the cartoon character “Sam-I-Am” tries to convince an unnamed character to eat green eggs and ham, the color of which is unusual to say the least.  The unnamed character refuses, insisting over and over again that he does not like green eggs and ham.  But Sam-I-Am will not be deterred and with persistence offers multiple options of location and dining partner to coax the unnamed character to eat them; “in a house, a box, a car, a tree, a train, in the dark, in the rain on a boat with a goat, with a mouse or a fox.”

In honor of the Fourth of July, let's ask our President to read the conclusion of Dr. Seuss's Green Eggs and Ham (YouTube.com: The President Reads "Green Eggs and Ham", White House Easter Egg Roll, April 2010)…

The President and Mrs. Obama are well known for their passion for healthy eating and exercise.  They used the occasion of the White House Easter Egg Roll in 2010 and the book Green Eggs and Ham to make an important point.  "At least you've got to try it..."  

 

This is also Dr. Seuss' point as well.  Appearances can be deceiving.  An undiscovered treasure can be right in front of us if only we will give it a try.   That's true of food.  That's true of people.  That's true of God.

In our Hebrew Scripture lesson this morning, Elijah’s miracle with the last flour and oil of a desperate mother is testament to God’s all inclusive love.  The widow of Zarephath is a Gentile Phoenician.  Widows had no social claim or rights after the death of their husbands.  She is not a member of the Hebrew people, the Chosen People of God.  On top of that she is a foreigner, a citizen of another nation often an enemy of Israel.  Yet following God’s instructions, the prophet extends grace beyond measure even to her and her son; much to her surprise!  

This story not only describes God’s hand in the life and ministry of Elijah.  The future promise of God's salvation will be offered to all, even those not entitled to it by birth, class, religion or gender (Luke 2:25-35).  Such an expansive and inclusive grace was outrageous to those convinced their nationality and religion entitled them exclusively to God's favor.  In his first sermon when Jesus announces the Kingdom of God is available even to the likes of the widow of Zarephath, the good and pious people of his home town Nazareth want to throw Jesus off a cliff (Luke 4:26-30).

You can't judge a book by its cover, their nationality, race, religion or gender.  You can't judge a person's character by their appearance.  You can't judge another's faith by their outward piety but only by the way they live their lives.  

Green Eggs and Ham reminds us that what is unfamiliar to us may at first glance seem unappetizing but in the end is delicious indeed.  Sam-I-Am will not give up on the opportunity to discover something new and wonderful even when out of the ordinary set of expectations.  And God is like that too! 

After all we've said and done, after all we've not said and done, God hasn't given up on us yet.  That is what that little morsel of bread and swallow of grape juice in Holy Communion really mean.   It is offered to us not because we are entitled to God's blessing.  It is offered because God's love is so complete that God will offer it even to the likes of us; so often like the unnamed character stuck in the expectations of the status quo.    In the sacramental symbols of death and resurrection...in the broken body and shed blood of God's son Jesus of Holy Communion…we are given the opportunity to open our eyes and heart to something new.

God’s love can come in a variety of surprising and unexpected ways.  That love may be extended to the least likely of people.   The “gospel of Dr. Seuss” might suggest that we can be like Sam-I-Am, never giving up the opportunity to offer such love to others.  The example of the unnamed character may remind us to discover God's love even when it arrives in unexpected packages. 

Say!

I like green eggs and ham!

I do!! I like them, Sam-I-am!

And I would eat them in a boat!

And I would eat them with a goat...

And I will eat them in the rain.

And in the dark. And on a train.

And in a car. And in a tree.

They are so good so good you see!

 

So I will eat them in a box.

And I will eat them with a fox.

And I will eat them in a house.

And I will eat them with a mouse.

And I will eat them here and there.

Say! I will eat them ANYWHERE!

 I do so like

green eggs and ham!

Thank you!

Thank you,

Sam-I-am

 Amen.