Sermon Text: Genesis 1:1--2:4a
In the beginning, Pinocchio was formless, a large, dead,
log, void of any life or personality.
But like any good artist, Geppetto could see the life of possibilities
within the wood. It was evening, the
Geppetto's workshop was lit by candlelight, and the moon and stars watched him
get to work.
With hammer and chisel in hand, Geppetto quickly stripped
the log of its rough, outer bark, revealing a smooth surface underneath. He carefully studied the grain of the wood,
and sketched with pencil the rough outline of the head, trunk, and limbs of his
creation. Geppetto worked quickly, and
quietly, chips of wood flying as the form of a boy began to appear. The chisels Geppetto selected got smaller and
smaller, as he refined the details of his puppet--a round head, with round
cheeks, a button nose, and a mischievous smile.
A slender neck connected Pinocchio's head with this cylindrical
body. Two arms were jointed at the
shoulders, elbows and wrists. Two legs
jointed at the hips, knees and ankles.
The chisel and hammer were set down, the rasp and file
picked up. Then sandpaper, from coarse
to fine, made the wooden puppet as smooth as skin.
And, at last, Gepetto put down his tools and rested. Pinocchio sat before him, and Gepetto the
Artist surveyed his Artwork. The Woodworker,
his Woodwork. The Creator, his Creature. And as the sun rose outside the workshop,
Gepetto looked at Pinocchio bright in the morning sunlight, and saw that what
he had made was good. Very good.
But Pinocchio was no ordinary puppet. Gepetto had created him in his own
likeness. He had poured his heart and
soul into his project. So Pinocchio was
a living puppet, a marionette without
strings. When Pinocchio ventured out that
morning to explore the world beyond the workshop, no one was controlling him,
no one was making choices for him, no one was pulling the strings. Pinocchio strolled down the streets of the
village, amazed by all he saw. By and
by, Pinocchio met "Honest" John, a sly fox, and his associate Gideon. "Honest" John--who was not so
honest--Gideon tempted Pinocchio lured him and all the other boys they could
find to "Pleasure Island," where there were no adults and no rules
and no curfews. So with no one to stop
them, Pinocchio and the other boys enjoyed all the pleasures of Pleasure
Island--gambling, smoking, vandalizing, getting drunk...
When Pinocchio awoke the next morning, he realized he had
made an jackass of himself. I mean, he really felt like a donkey. He felt long donkey ears coming from his
head, and he reached back and felt a donkey tail on his behind. The other boys too were turning into donkeys.
Frightened, Pinocchio left Pleasure Island and ran, fast as
his wooden legs would take him, back to the only home he had ever
known--Gepetto's workshop. He cried as
he ran, his sobs becoming "hee haws," and his run becoming a trot as
his transformation from puppet to donkey was nearly complete. Finally, he reached Gepetto's workshop. Hot tears ran down Pinocchio's donkey snout, tears
of shame and fear. He told Gepetto his
story, hee-hawing his guilt, his regret, his remorse, as Gepetto listened.
Gepetto held Donkey Pinocchio and embraced him in his strong
arms. "I created you. I love you.
I forgive you." Gepetto
said. And as Gepetto held Pinocchio,
Gepetto's grace, love and forgiveness transformed Pinocchio. Not from donkey to back to puppet, but from
donkey to real boy.
And together they lived, Artist and Artwork. Woodworker and Woodwork. Creator and Creature. Father and Son.
And they lived happily ever after.
The End.
* * *
Sometimes a story like this one, or a fable, or song, or
poem, are able to carry deep truths better than a news report or a piece of
non-fiction. The story of Pinocchio and
Gepetto carries deep truths about our own relationships with our Creator, our
Heavenly Father.
The same is true of our First Reading
this morning, from the first chapters of the Bible. In the poetry of Genesis one, we hear, "In
the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth...
God is the Creator... of Day and Night,
Sky and Sea, Vegetation and Fruit, Sun and Moon. God is the Creator of Flying Creatures,
Swimming Creatures, Creeping Creatures.... And the Creatures known as Humans. God is our Creator.
"God
created humankind in his image,
in the image of God he created
them;
male and female he
created them."
And God's creation, God's creatures,
were good. Very Good.
But also, very bad.
As the story of Genesis unfolds, we
hear of humanity's failures: Adam and Eve tempted by the serpent in the
Garden. Cain killing his brother
Abel. The wickedness of humanity in the
days before the Flood. The division
among humankind at the Tower of Babel.
Not long after the Creation, the
relationship between the Creatures and the Creator became stretched, strained,
shattered.
But, there is a happy ending to the
story. The Creator sent his Child to
earth, to rescue, to restore, to redeem.
Through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God is made
known to us. Through the Son, we know
the love of the Father.
God is not only our Creator, but also
our Father. God's grace, love and
forgiveness transform us, make us his children, make us real, make us who we
were meant to be.
This transformation begins at the font,
when we are baptized into the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy
Spirit. We are made children of the
Father, united to the Son through the death and resurrection of Christ, sealed
and filled with the Spirit.
We are held forever, in the gracious, loving, transforming embrace of our Triune God, now and forever. Even to the end of the age. Amen.
