Calling By Name
Stories
Lectionary Tales For The Pulpit
Series IV, Cycle A
"The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice." (vv. 2--4)
In the Disney movie, Monsters, Inc., the truth of the lives of monsters is revealed. Monsters are in the business of scaring children because it is their business. It's their job. In a parallel world to our own, monsters tote their lunches and punch a time card while they work at a factory called Monsters, Inc. The factory contains thousands of doors that lead to the back of children's bedroom closets in our world..Doors are brought to the monsters on conveyor belts so that the monsters can simply walk into the bedrooms of children to scare them.
The monsters are ultimately harmless.. In their world they are fuzzy and lovable creatures merely trying to make a living. The only reason they scare children is to capture the energy contained in their screams. Their entire world operates on this energy - much like our electricity and gas. The monsters capture the screams and compress them into a tank similar to an air tank. One of the main characters is Sully, and the plot centers on his quest to have the highest production of capturing screams.
The movie reveals the greatest secret of the monster world. While children are afraid of the monsters, the monsters are even more afraid of the children. Outside of the process of retrieving screams, the monsters want nothing to do with children. They would never touch a child for fear of contamination. In fact, they don't want to come in contact with anything a child has touched. If a monster so much as touches a child's sock, he must go through an extensive decontamination process.
A key development in the movie occurs when a little girl accidentally enters the monster world through the door in the back of her closet. Sully went to her bedroom to capture her scream but botches the job. She jumps on his back and clings to him as he returns to Monsters, Inc. After Sully discovers the toddler, he is terrified because he had been taught to fear children. He cannot return her until he finds the correct door to her room. In the meantime, he begins to take care of her. In the process, he slowly overcomes his fear. Sully actually begins to like the little girl.
And then, after a while, Sully decides to give the child a name, Boo. This is of great concern to Sully's best friend, Mike, who also works at Monsters, Inc. When Mike hears Sully has named the girl, he exclaims, "Oh, no! Not a name! When you give it a name, that's when you get attached to it!"
Yes, a name carries an attachment. Isn't it wonderful that Jesus, as our shepherd, knows each of our names? He is attached to us and cares for us like no one else.
In the Disney movie, Monsters, Inc., the truth of the lives of monsters is revealed. Monsters are in the business of scaring children because it is their business. It's their job. In a parallel world to our own, monsters tote their lunches and punch a time card while they work at a factory called Monsters, Inc. The factory contains thousands of doors that lead to the back of children's bedroom closets in our world..Doors are brought to the monsters on conveyor belts so that the monsters can simply walk into the bedrooms of children to scare them.
The monsters are ultimately harmless.. In their world they are fuzzy and lovable creatures merely trying to make a living. The only reason they scare children is to capture the energy contained in their screams. Their entire world operates on this energy - much like our electricity and gas. The monsters capture the screams and compress them into a tank similar to an air tank. One of the main characters is Sully, and the plot centers on his quest to have the highest production of capturing screams.
The movie reveals the greatest secret of the monster world. While children are afraid of the monsters, the monsters are even more afraid of the children. Outside of the process of retrieving screams, the monsters want nothing to do with children. They would never touch a child for fear of contamination. In fact, they don't want to come in contact with anything a child has touched. If a monster so much as touches a child's sock, he must go through an extensive decontamination process.
A key development in the movie occurs when a little girl accidentally enters the monster world through the door in the back of her closet. Sully went to her bedroom to capture her scream but botches the job. She jumps on his back and clings to him as he returns to Monsters, Inc. After Sully discovers the toddler, he is terrified because he had been taught to fear children. He cannot return her until he finds the correct door to her room. In the meantime, he begins to take care of her. In the process, he slowly overcomes his fear. Sully actually begins to like the little girl.
And then, after a while, Sully decides to give the child a name, Boo. This is of great concern to Sully's best friend, Mike, who also works at Monsters, Inc. When Mike hears Sully has named the girl, he exclaims, "Oh, no! Not a name! When you give it a name, that's when you get attached to it!"
Yes, a name carries an attachment. Isn't it wonderful that Jesus, as our shepherd, knows each of our names? He is attached to us and cares for us like no one else.
