Rev. Lin Smalec Salem Church, Waynesboro, PA
TRUE REALITY - EXTREME MAKEOVER
30 October 2005
Reality TV - ya gotta love it, right? There are no other shows on TV these days that include such drama, suspense, and comedy! And we can even say that reality TV is educational - I don’t know about you, but I sure do learn alot from those shows! Of course, what we learn may be of questionable value, but that’s besides the point.
Speaking of education - I recently read about a family from a remote area of the country that was making their first visit to a big city. They checked in to a grand hotel and stood in amazement at the impressive sight. Leaving the reception desk, they came to the elevator entrance. They’d never seen an elevator before, and just stared at it, unable to figure out what it was for. An old lady hobbled towards the elevator and went inside. The door closed, and about a minute later, the door opened and out came a stunningly good-looking young woman. Dad couldn’t stop staring, his mouth open wide in amazement. Without turning his head he patted his son’s arm and said, "Go get your mother, son!” (1)
Now that’s entertainment! Last week I made the point that reality TV is not reality! Reality is defined as “the fact, state or quality of being real or genuine”. (2) Reality TV shows may be unscripted and the characters may not be actors, but that does not mean that reality TV is truly real or genuine!
Now a case could be made that this is not true of the makeover shows. Reality shows like “Extreme Makeover”, “I Want a Famous Face” and “The Swan” may seem all too real in their graphic depictions of surgical transformation. How many of you have seen any of these shows, or the others out there like them?
“Extreme Makeover” and “The Swan” both feature people, mostly women, who were rather plain or who had physical characteristics that they felt negatively impacted their lives, such as a large nose, small breasts, or a receding chin. These people are given the chance to undergo a complete physical makeover, including cosmetic dentistry to give them a perfect smile, breast enhancement, tummy tucks, and of course facial surgery such as a nose job or face lift. The tremendous cost of these enhancements is covered by the show. In addition, the participants are given life coaching, hair and makeup advice, exercise and diet consultation, and a new wardrobe. They go through a great deal of physical and emotional pain to become a new person. When they return home, they are transformed - at least on the outside!
“I Want a Famous Face” takes this transformation idea one step further. This MTV gem features young people who are not necessarily plain or disfigured, but who want to look like someone famous. So they visit a plastic surgeon to get a nose like Jennifer Aniston’s or a chin like George Clooney’s. Unlike the other shows, they pay for the surgery themselves - MTV merely documents the process and results, some of which are not very attractive!
Sadly, these reality shows reflect what is really going on in our culture today. We have become so immersed in what our popular culture declares as attractive that many of us would willingly pay for plastic surgery to make ourselves look younger and fitter. We can’t even accept a few well-earned wrinkles - look at the popularity of Botox injections and wrinkle fillers! And men - don’t you look around and laugh at the women - you guys are becoming just as vain and worried as we are - more and more men are signing up for face lifts and Botox treatments! Many of us might be tempted to dream, just for a few minutes, about having a physical makeover - because let’s face it, it is the rare person who is truly and completely happy with their face and body!
Don’t you wonder, though, if those people who go through such extreme physical makeovers are truly happy when it is all over and done with? My hunch is that most of them are still miserable and unhappy and depressed - because an external makeover does not guarantee an internal makeover of the heart and mind and soul.
But you know what - most of us have already had an extreme makeover - a truly life-changing makeover! Turn with me to 2 Corinthians chapter 5, and let’s see what the Apostle Paul had to say about the ultimate extreme makeover.
(READ 2 Corinthians 5:16 through 6:2)
Wow! Talk about an extreme makeover! “If anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!” What is Paul talking about here? He is speaking about the act of salvation, of being born again - that amazing transformation that begins when we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.
When we accept God’s gracious gift of Jesus’ atoning death for sin, when we admit our own sinfulness and our inability to save ourselves, when we give our lives to Jesus and trust in his will and work, then we are transformed. We are transformed in our souls, which are no longer held captive by the power of sin. We are transformed in our actions, as we seek to love others as God loves us, with that very special radical Christian love. And yes, sometimes we are even physically transformed - as old addictions are conquered - as the lines of unhappiness ease and we smile and laugh more often - as sometimes we are even healed of our physical diseases and ailments.
This transforming power of God’s salvation is one of the Apostle Paul’s favorite topics - he spoke of it over and over again in his letters to the early churches. Listen to how he describes this process in his letter to the Ephesians (READ 2:1-10). “We are God’s workmanship” - and God’s work surpasses the greatest plastic surgeon or cosmetic dentist - because God’s makeover is not merely physical, for this lifetime, in this body that will eventually age and decay and die. No, God’s extreme makeover is a makeover of our soul, our eternal lives, which will never decay or die, but will last forever.
Now some of you might say that the makeover of salvation isn’t all that extreme - for many people, they don’t really look or act differently after they are born again. Well, we may not look much different, but I sure do hope we act differently. But sometimes, the makeover of salvation does result in an extreme change. Our story from the Gospel of Mark illustrates that, doesn’t it?
Turn with me to Mark 5 (READ 5:1-15). Can’t you just picture this poor possessed man - filthy, with long matted hair, a wild look in his eyes, drooling and snarling with demon-possessed rage! Boy, there’s someone who needs a makeover! And Jesus, with a word, frees the man from what has possessed him. And his extreme makeover not only results in a person who is now clean and calm - his makeover goes even deeper than that. Look at the very end of the story - (READ 5:18-20). There is the evidence that this makeover was more than skin deep - this once-possessed man becomes an evangelist, someone who shares the good news about Jesus with others.
Have you received God’s extreme makeover - the makeover of salvation? Unlike the makeovers on reality TV, God’s makeover doesn’t just change us on the outside. God’s extreme makeover changes us inside and out, totally and fully, now and forever. God’s makeover of salvation begins in us a new life, a process of growth and change that frees us from sin’s power and makes us disciples of Jesus Christ. And our own extreme makeover then overflows to others, as we share with them the joy of our salvation and our personal story of living with Christ. And then - if that weren’t good enough! - the makeover of salvation doesn’t just last for this lifetime, but for all eternity! That is good news, indeed!
Let us pray:
Father God, how we yearn and pray to be participants in the true reality of Your extreme makeover. Some of us have not yet given our hearts and minds and souls to You - we have not yet accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Some of us are ready to do so today. So hear our prayer, Lord, as we ask You to forgive us of our sins, to cleanse us from all unrighteousness, and then to come into our lives as we give ourselves to Jesus. Make us over, Lord, make us new, starting today, here and now.
Others of us, Lord, have been disciples of Jesus for some time. Our extreme makeover has already begun. Help us, Loving God, to remain close to You, to continue to grow in our discipleship. Forgive us, we pray, for those times we have wandered or squandered Your precious gift. We rededicate ourselves to You today. Use us, we pray, to share Your love with others - indeed, to share your love with the world, so that they might experience the joy of Your extreme makeover! In Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.
RESOURCES:
1) from PreachingToday.com, contributed by Owen Bourgaize, Castel, Guernsey, United Kingdom.
2) Funk & Wagnalls Standard Dictionary © 1980 by Lippincott & Crowell, p 387 and p 665.
