The Reverend Sharon Budin
August 3, 2008

Cat in the Hat Christ

Today we will continue our exploration of the Theology of Dr. Seuss. Our focus will be on the enigmatic Cat in the Hat, a very popular book and character. Confess- as a child AFRAID of Cat in the Hat. He was loud, messy, didn't follow the rules, he was uninvited, and even though in the end he cleaned up after himself and all was left just so- I was certain , much like the fish, that it was wrong for him to have been there at all.

I was a quiet, and for the most part- a well behaved child. The Cat in the Hat made me uncomfortable, So uncomfortable, that unlike most children, I would not read the Cat in the Hat books, instead I was drawn to Horton, the nurturer who hatched eggs and listen to Who's.  But next time Horton, Today- The Bold, Brash, Messy, Cat. Now given how afraid I was of the Cat in the Hat, what I am about to suggest may surprise you. In Dr. Seuss' theology- The Cat in the Hat represents CHRIST!!

When we make this connection, it is easy to see how Jesus was seen as such a threat to the status quo, a threat to the powers that be, why Christ' whole ministry was seen as outside the bounds. And today- in our time and place, Christianity has become part of the bounded set, part of the norm. it has become the seat of power, at least in this country. But can we as Christians recapture some of that way out there, wild and wooly, no holds barred, ability to push the envelope, to challenge the norm, to live on the edge and under the shadow of the cross?

It is my position that in order to remain relevant, we must.

So lets take a closer look at the very Scary Cat Christ and see what message might lie below the surface for us. The children are sitting there, as so often is the case, just sitting there with nothing to do on the cold, cold wet day. Now the children represent the unsuspecting persons, who wish to have something to believe, something to do as the old UCC slogan said, to believe is to care to care is to do. The children, and we must all strive to be like children if we want to enter the kingdom of heaven, Christ tells us that. The children are sitting there politely staring out at the world, the world which is weeping. The world which is cold. The world which is not a comfortable or fun place to be this day. And they are sitting and looking, sitting and looking, just minding their own business, politely sitting like all well behaved children do. Not fighting or whining, or trying to push one another off the chair, just sitting still. Be still and know that I am God, says the Lord. And the children are being still. When suddenly in bursts the Cat in the Hat. Does he enter quietly and politely, does he enter on little cat feet as Carl Sandburg said of the fog, NO he bursts in abounding in life and joy. He enters with a BUMP! For this is exactly how meeting the true Christ is. It is unsettling. There you are just minding your own business, sitting in your pew, just sitting there, and all of a sudden- BUMP, you are accosted by the Holy Spirit, and the BUMP will; make you jump!  BUMP, the living Christ bursts into your life. And when he does, life will never be the same.

Notice the children did not call up the cat, they did not send him and invitation, they did not open the door and call for him...NO he just shows up.  It is by Grace that the Cat shows up, it is nothing we have done, the Christ bursts into our lives and we cannot make it happen or prevent it from happening. The cat, the Christ enters your life and everything goes BUMP, and there you were an atheist or an agnostic, or something else, and suddenly you believe. And nothing will ever be the same. Once the cat Christ has entered, hang on for the ride of your life!

Why does the Cat come, SO we can have lots of good fun that is funny! In John 10:10 Christ says" I come that you may have life and have it abundantly!"Christ does not come with lots of rules and prohibitions he comes with an invitation to enjoy life. The Fish does not understand this. The fish is the rule keeper. Perhaps the fish represents the Pharisees and Sadducees or the church hierarchy, or just the old grumps of any faith traditions. The ones who keep the rules, but have lost the joy in God's creation.  The fish wants to stay in his safe bowl, wants things to remain as they have always been. The fish does not want this Cat Christ to be here when the mother is out. The mother, the fish uses the mother as the symbol of what is to be feared. Much the way God the Father has been used by religious communities throughout time to frighten people into behaving the way they want them to behave. The unseen mother, the mother we are to fear at some later point for our actions now. The mother in charge of sending people to heaven or hell. The fish invokes the name of the mother as some final threat. Not an invitation to love and be loved.

But The Christ Cat knows new ways to be, new games, new tricks.  The Christ Cat is not afraid of mother. He even tells us that mother will not mind these new games and tricks, but old fishy face does not believe him. But the Christ Cat lifts up the fish as he stands on a ball, with a cup and a book. The ball, a globe, symbolizes the world, the book the Holy Scriptures, and the Cup the cup of salvation. Christ Cat has come that the world may be saved. Even the Fishy Faced ones. He will not let them fall. But he certainly shakes things up. He takes it all to the edge. It is a risky place to be. But true faith in Christ calls us to the edge, calls us out of our comfort zone. Calls us to take risks. And we see the danger of these risks, as the Christ Cat falls. As the crucifixion takes place, we see that there are truly real risks to outrageous new tricks. It seems that it will all fall apart. The sky turns black and the temple curtain is ripped from top to bottom and the earth quakes. And there is a mess, a big, big mess. But while there is a mess, no one is hurt. Even the fish lands safely in a tea pot. Which is of course what we must do- in the end, life with the Christ Cat requires that we move outside the comfortable bowl of our existence.

And from his new place in the tea pot the fishy faced one says get out! The Christ Cat says "No, I like it here, I want to stay."" For Low I will be with you always even unto the end of the age. "

I will show you another good game that I know.  And he comes in with a box, and in the box are Thing One and Thing Two. Thing One- Love the Lord Your God with all your heart and with all your strength and will all your mind. And thing two, love your neighbor as yourself. All the other rules are gone and these two will suffice. No more following the rules of the fishy faced ones, these two new ones will are here to play. Thing one and Thing two do not bite, they are polite, they shake hands, but still fishy face is opposed to them. Fishy face feels his power slipping away. Yet the Christ Cat assures us and Fishy Face that these things are Good Things.  And immediately Thing one and Thing Two begin to fly kites, in the house. Oh my, it's not that flying kites is bad, it's the time and place. It's not that healing people is bad, but not on the Sabbath. It's not that plucking grain is bad, but not on the Sabbath... flying kites in the house- NO. But what does the kite symbolize. Well- obviously- the cross. We can see it plainly in the upright and cross bar of the kites. The cross requires us to act out our faith at all times and in all places, not just on Sunday morning, not just in church, not just when it is appropriate. The cross itself can make a mess as it bumps into the limits and boundaries set up by human kind. It can take what we think we value, our possessions, our new dress, our furniture, our houses and walls and well everything is up for grabs when you live under the cross.  The cross is messy business. About as messy as it can get.

But old fishy face is not down for the count yet. Old fishy face sets about to correct the situation as he sees fit, by pointing out to the children that the end is near, Mother is on her way home. And for 2 millennia, we have been waiting of the end, for the apocalypse, the eschaton. And fishy face assures us it is coming soon. Old fish lips strikes fear into the heart of the children of Mother. They do not want to be left behind with this mess. They do not want to be found out. And so they try to capture thing one and thing two. They try to put limits on them. And it works; you can always containerize love of God and love of your fellow human being. Yu can do it mildly instead of rambunctiously, you can do it mindlessly instead of with your whole heart, but in the end, it is not the same. And in the end you can banish thing one and thing two from your mind, your heart, and your actions, you can even banish the Christ Cat.

Or can you...

The Christ Cat may leave with a sad face; he may seem to be gone, because we have kicked him out of our life and work and world, and society, and culture. It may seem like we are in a mess, a mess we cannot possibly fix, a mess we cannot possibly clean up, and some of the fishy faced ones will tell us all is lost, there is no hope, the end is near.  Lost and even there is no God...

 But wait. Just when it seems all is lost-

The Christ Cat returns. He has not really left, he is back to help. The Christ is the savior. And he will make things right and he will wash us cleaner than snow. Just in the nick of time. We can do nothing for ourselves, nothing to clean up the mess of sin in the world, but the Christ Cat can do it for us. Almost instantly. Things are calm and peaceful and put right as the Mother walks in.

But now here is the question what should we tell the mother. How shall we explain the experience of the Christ Cat breaking into our lives and turning our world upside down? What shall we tell mother about how we spent our day, our our lives? What would you say if your mother asked you?

References:

The Cat in the Hat, by Dr. Seuss, Random House, 1957.

The Parables of Dr. Seuss, Robert Short, Westminster John Knox Press, 2008

The Gospel According to Dr. Seuss, James Kemp, Judson Press, 2004