Be Morphed Series

FAIRY TALE DREAMS:

Be Morphed

One of my son Michael’s favorite shows when he was younger came as an overnight success here in the U.S. This particular show was already a hit in Japan. But in a country where children’s television is dominated by puppets and cartoons the show’s producers were not so sure that the show would even survive its first season.

Survive it did. In fact the show seemed to thrive. Children across the country piled onto couches, flung themselves into beanbags, and flopped onto the floor every time it was on. It wasn’t that this was a great show by any means. In fact, most adults that sat down to watch it with their children were appalled by the bad acting and poor scripts.

What drew most children to it though was an idea. The characters were normal teenagers most of the time but when trouble began they were able to save the universe. These teens had special abilities that would allow them to turn into something other than what they really were. When they did there was almost always the same words in every episode. “It’s morphing time.”

Yes. In case you haven’t already guessed the show I’m talking about is the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. And I can already see the questions starting. Some of you are wondering what in the world the Power Rangers have to do with fairy tales and gaining the life you’ve always wanted.

It was Fredrick Buechner that said every generation has its own fairy tales. For my generation those fairy tales came in the form of The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, The Narnian Chronicles, and Star Trek: The Next Generation. The tales often reflect something of the society in which we live. It has become my opinion that if Buechner is correct then The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Pokemon, Sponge Bob, Harry Potter, and Dora the Explorer reach into this new generation. The stories that are seen and heard will affect the way a person thinks, feels, and acts about the world.

So we’re going to continue with this series this morning by really talking about our need to be changed. In order for you and I to find that life that we desire we have to be different than we are right now. In order for us to achieve that fairy tale life we’ve been discussing over the last few weeks we have to be changed. We have to morph into something.

If you’ll take a moment to recall what we’ve already talked about in the previous two weeks you’ll remember that we discussed how most people would like to have a happy and contented life that we think only exists in fairy tales. And we said in the first week that there is only one way to begin this fairy tale lifestyle. That’s by having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. You and I can only do that by asking for forgiveness and inviting Jesus into out lives. Then we said that this life would include a journey. That there would be an adventure. We talked about how every single one of us has been called into that adventure.

Now I can already see the questions all over the room of people wondering what being changed has to do with adventure and relationships and heaven and fairy tales. Well I’ll tell you. There are hundreds, if not thousands of fairy tales out there that deal with transformation.

And I just heard that thought. “Oh yeah. Name one.”

How about the Ugly Duckling?

Oh but Time you can’t call that transformation. That was merely the act of being confused. The duck was really a swan all along.

That may be true in a sense, if we only look at the beginning and the end of the story. But if you remember the story at all you know that the swan had the mentality of a duck. It certainly wanted to be a duck. It acted like a duck. It tried desperately to fit in with the other ducks. And then the day came that it realized its true beauty and purpose and then it was changed into a swan.

Not good enough for you? OK. Let’s talk about Cinderella. That story was full of transformations. Mice became coachmen and horses. There was the pumpkin that turned into a carriage. Then at the end a peasant girl, really little more than a slave to her family becomes a princess.

Or how about The Little Mermaid? Here’s a girl that really transforms. She’s a mermaid, used to swimming around all the time. Chances are that because she spent all her time below water she had gills to start with. Then she sees this handsome man. With a wish and the help of an evil witch she turns into a human. Her fins into legs. Her gills are gone and she has lungs now. Everything about how she’s lived has to change. Her entire body has to change to its new surroundings in order for her to survive.