I first watched TV at Mary Pratt’s house. Mary was my primary school friend who, in the days before we had a TV, introduced me to children’s weekly cowboy films – The Lone Ranger and The Cisco Kid. At school we played ‘Cowboys and Indians’ in the playground.
In both the films and our games there was a lot of shooting, bangs and bullets flew everywhere, but there was no blood and gore. The good guys always won; you could return to do the same again next week.
The stories were sanitized for and enjoyed by children.
Growing up I enjoyed messy Bible stories… I read two this morning:
Ehud kills evil, fat king Eglon:
‘Ehud reached with his left hand, drew the sword from his right thigh and plunged it into the king’s belly. Even the handle sank in after the blade, and his bowels discharged. Ehud did not pull the sword out, and the fat closed in over it.’
Jael kills enemy king Sisera:
‘But Jael, Heber’s wife, picked up a tent peg and a hammer and went quietly to him while he lay fast asleep, exhausted. She drove the peg through his temple into the ground, and he died.’
Un-sanitized stories.
During Lent we consider the un-sanitized Jesus story. Good Friday’s crucifix shows extreme torture and pain-full death. There’s injustice, betrayal, cruelty, blood and suffering… physical, mental, emotional abuse. Soldiers hammer in rough nails; guilt-ridden Judas commits suicide; a powerless mother watches her son’s execution…
There’s also the sanitized version. Polished crosses and spring flowers surround an empty tomb. There’s forgiveness, love, life and hope. We sing, ‘Thine be the glory, risen conquering Son…’ Mary Magdalene finds joy through her tears; Peter makes a fresh start; Jesus is alive; it’s a happy ending…
With the un-sanitized alone we have hopeless despair; with only the sanitized, we deny the reality of our humanity. The full picture of life in general and Easter in particular must bring together and balance the two.
malcolmsmusings.org 
Amen to that! 🙂
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It seems to me that achieving the right balance is so important. I’ve certainly met people and preachers who seem to have over-emphasised one at the expense of the other.
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This is beautiful and wise, Malcolm. YES!! Humanity is MESSY. Our Savior died in a horrific and HUMAN way. The balance is so important. This paralleled my pondering of the “unsanitized” truths of the Old Testament that many would rather “skip” to get to the good feely stuff of the New–when Jesus came and the LAW became LOVE. In many ways, we have to balance. Thank you for your musings–they are always so wise and give me pause to ponder! Thank you, God, for the unsanitized truths that become the groundwork for our sanctification! Happy Spring, Malcolm. May God bless you and yours each day.
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Thanks for your encouragement, Karla. You’re right; life is messy for many of us; the Easter message I think, reminds us that Jesus has been there and through becoming part of the mess, came through it and came out the other side – leaving us with hope and the certainty of a good ending!
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It’s my blessing to read your words and wisdom! Amen to hope and a good ending!! Many blessings!
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