Film Friday In the city of Zootropolis Nick the fox and Judy the rabbit are a couple of cops who work together as partners. In spite of their differences and usual state as enemies these two get along well, solving crimes and catching baddies. Zootropolis is a place where most creatures live well alongside each other.
However, there is one creature that everyone fears, a creature that is so repellent and frightening that they have been banned from the city – snakes. So when Gary the viper appears one day, the place is thrown into panic. However, as the adventure goes on Nick and Judy make a surprising discovery.
In the gospels Jesus was constantly crossing lines. The Romans were the enemy, an invading army oppressing the people. Yet Jesus reached out and helped them. The people of Sidon had been cursed by the prophets of old as doomed because of their history. Yet it’s as if Jesus never got that memo, because we find Jesus helping them.
It’s hard not to draw lines and build protective walls. It’s human nature to do that. Yet God looks beyond these.
In the Old Testament we find the story of Ruth, from Moab. The Moabites were seen as unacceptable people, and yet we find God choosing her to be the great grandmother of king David and thus a descendant of Jesus. God sees beyond our human distinctions and prejudices. He works in and through all kinds of people. At the end of the book of Jonah we find the real reason Jonah didn’t want to go to the repellent city of Ninevah. He hated the people there. Yet as a prophet he knew God well, and knew that he wanted to forgive and redeem the Ninevites. Jonah had drawn his line in the sand, and God had crossed it. He continues to do this today.
Lord, please help us with those we find difficult or don’t understand, help us to have your perspective, in Jesus, amen.
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