by Jacki Setta

Sometimes I'm really bad at noticing things. This could be the result of a college education. Maybe not. Anyway, when I was a kid, I loved springtime for two reasons: 1) The Sound of Music and 2) The Wizard of Oz. But flipping through my TV Guide this year, I can't seem to find them anywhere! It's a travesty; and I'll tell you why.

If Ever a Wonderful Wiz' There Was

You see, my family had a tradition of sitting down to watch these classics every year. (This would occasionally involve me jumping from couch to couch singing "I am sixteen going on seventeen" along with Liesel Von Trapp... but we won't discuss that.) And each year, as the MGM lion roared to announce the beginning of The Wizard of Oz, my mom would ask us if we knew why this movie was always on TV in March.

Being little kids, naturally, my brother and I were clueless. "Because March comes in like a lion, and out like a lamb," my mother would say.

Well that makes sense enough. "And do you know who the lamb is?" mom would continue, in an attempt to catechize her poor little heathens.

Not being terribly intelligent children, my brother and I would hazard a few incorrect guesses. Finally, mom would give in and tell us "Jesus is the lamb of God."

Ohhhhh. You could see the light bulbs going on. What a wonderful analogy from a wonderful movie! Yet sadly, we'd go through this whole process again the next year.

The Wizard of Oz, Because... Because...

Once I realized that Wizard of Oz isn't on TV anymore, I went out and bought my own copy. I eventually grew tired of lining it up with Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon, and I ended up thinking about what mom had said about lions and lambs and the movie. It was then that I began to see other connections to our faith lives.

Dorothy, like all of us, goes out on a journey. She has to help others and fight evil forces, just as we do every day. Like many of us, she leaves the community in search of something more, but returns, because "There's no place like home."

It would be impossible for Dorothy to battle the Wicked Witch on her own, just as we cannot hold firm against sin by ourselves. With the help and support of her friends, she is able to overcome. Sort of like when we make Lenten resolutions, its easier when we have friends who are doing the same thing, so we can build each other up and provide strength to one another.

The Wicked Witch is one of the baddest characters out there. But all it takes to rid Dorothy and Co. of her is water. So in our faith lives, the witch is like sin. When we are baptized, we die to sin, and rise again with Christ.

...Because of the Wonderful Things He Does

Then we have the Wonderful Wizard of Oz himself. In looking at it through a faith lens, he would naturally be symbolic of God, in a couple different ways. First, the Wizard is similar to Jesus, for he only worked wonders for those who believed in him. The Wizard appeared to be both supernatural and human, just as Jesus is both divine and human.

Another way of seeing the Wizard is as God in our prayer lives. We often see God as a miracle worker, answering all of our prayers, wishes and wants. Frequently, however, God's answer to our prayers is not what we would want it to be. We have to readjust our vision of God and the way God works, just as Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tinman and the Cowardly Lion all had change the way they thought of the Wizard.

So there you have it. I never would have dreamed that The Wizard of Oz would be so relevant to me as a young catholic. Go figure.

And if you find any faith parallels for the munchkins, I'd love to hear them.

Life Applications:

How do you tend to see God? Have you ever had to readjust your view of God?

In what ways has your faith been a journey?

How do you deal with sin in your life? Do you go it alone? Do you rely on some strength from your loved ones?

Copyright 2002 by Jacki Setta
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