How much do you know about the Wizard of Oz movie? Other than it was enjoyable and fun to watch. You could tell me the cast of characters and the Hollywood stars that played them. You could probably tell me something about the cowardly lion, the “no heart” tin man, the “no brain” scarecrow, the Munchkins, the good witch, the wicked witch, Auntie Em, her uncle, the farmhands, the flying monkeys, Toto, and the principal star Dorothy. I might have missed someone but let’s not forget the Theme Song, “Somewhere over the Rainbow!” Of course, Stephanie Mills really took it to another level in later years. The aluminum dust had some serious bad effects on the tin man actors. It hospitalized Buddy Ebsen and the aluminum paste, later used, caused his replacement Jack Haley to have an eye infection. Even young Michael Jackson and Diana Ross did their thing with The Wiz in 1978! All in all, do you remember now? Let’s go for a walk on the yellow brick road. A minister was telling me how his youth group dissected the Wizard of Oz. They concluded that The Wizard gave them the right directions but they had to stay on the road. The traveling companions might be going in the same direction but they might have a different reason to get to their destination. Simple, huh? Let’s dig a little. Dorothy first ran away from home, because the mean townswoman wanted to take Toto away after he bit her. She meets a traveling fortune teller who tricks her into thinking Aunt Em is sick and needs Dorothy at home. Dorothy gets back just in time for a tornado and takes refuge in the house which is supposedly taken away to another land. Dot got knocked out! When she wakes up after Dorothy’s house falls on an evil witch. An angel, the good witch, appears and rewards Dorothy with “magical” slippers. Red showed up better on color TV but it didn’t matter what color the shoes were. It could have been a scarf. She got a gift and didn’t know what to do with it. (Don’t we all?) She was not to remove those slippers. Noticed how they all met. The scarecrow was pointing in two directions not sure where to go, the tin man rusted embracing his axe locked in a job that he didn’t love, and a lion that ran away from them once he found out that the companions were not afraid. All bark but no bite. They finally get to a place called Emerald City but it is not home. This is where they will get a chance for the Wizard to give them directions on how to return home. Return to our heavenly home, now don’t we all want to do that? In the process of going home, they meet people to help them on their way and reminding them to stay on the yellow brick road. Note that whenever they got off the road, they encountered major problems. The evil, wicked witch even sent her flying monkeys to stop them. Satan will send his forces to stop us from getting to God. How symbolic was it that water destroyed the evil witch? Water, baptism, cleansing of the soul to prepare for the good are major elements in staying on the yellow brick road. In the end, the traveling companions found in Dorothy all the qualities they needed, wisdom, compassion, and courage to get back home. Dorothy realized that she had the power within her all along and that the ruby slippers were just a tool to give her confidence. But if she had found her faith in the beginning, she might have been able to avoid many of those pitfalls. It is never too late to get back on that road. It’s also never too late to find God. Looking back, the road was just wide enough for all four of them to travel. We all have the Bible as our guide and our pastors, friends, and loved ones to help guide us, but we decide if we want to stay on the right road. We get trapped sometime with the company we keep and trying to find shortcuts. Still, there are angels along the way to help us. Sometimes, you get picked on staying on that road even by the people that you think that love you. Well, do they really love you? If they did, they would love what is best for you!
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