MOMMA MIA!, SWEDISH TAX LAWS, AND THE CHURCH
I had no idea last week, when Erin and I had the chance to take in Broadway Across America's presentation of Momma Mia!, a musical featuring the music of ABBA, that I would wind up looking at our lives together in the body of Christ through the lens of the tax laws of Sweden when ABBA was at their peak.
However, at the end of the show, members of the cast came out to do a mini-concert of some of ABBA's best-known hits. The outfits they were wearing were, to say the least, a bit eye-catching due to their glittery nature. Erin couldn't get over how 'gaudy' they were and how bright they were even to those of us sitting in the cheap seats. The question she kept asking was, "Why?"
To whom do we turn these days when we have questions like this? The internet, of course.
Anyway, when digging through the Wikipedia entries related to the show and to ABBA, I came to discover that the only way ABBA could deduct the expenses of their clothing was if the clothing was such that it could be worn only for the job, and not any other purpose. Thus, the gaudy, glittery outfits.
It got me to thinking a lot about why we do what we do in our actions and attitudes towards other people. As was mentioned in this week's sermon, we see in John's gospel Nathaniel's dismissal of Jesus with the question, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?"
Nathaniel was ready to blow off Jesus because he had already made up his mind about a certain people before he ever got to know them. Thanks to Philip's insistence that Nathaniel 'come and see,' Nathaniel was able to see Christ beyond his own presuppositions.
How about you? In what ways do you miss Christ because you've already made up your mind about what is and is not possible?
How about us the people of North Cross? In what ways do we miss Christ because we've already made up our mind about what is and is not possible?
After all, there was a very good reason for the gaudy, tacky outfits of ABBA that had nothing to do with what is on the surface.
Grace and Peace, Lamar