BILBO AND KERMIT:
Vessels of the Holy Spirit?
June 2006
for the Collect, publication for St. Thomas Episcopal Church,
Medina, WA
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about role models: not the Biblical heroes of our faith or the inspiring leaders of our time, but the fictional characters who shape the way we view the world.
Take Bilbo Baggins, for example. He’s relaxed, simple, a lover of good food and good friends. Like most hobbits, Bilbo lives a small-town existence, rarely straying five miles from home. Suddenly, Gandalf the Wizard (the Holy Spirit?) invites Bilbo on a grand adventure. He makes Bilbo the “lucky number,” the fourteenth member of an expedition of dwarves whose purpose is to kill a notorious dragon and reclaim the dwarves’ stolen gold. How ridiculous is this? And yet, Bilbo follows the call.
The big-talking dwarves turn out to be less courageous than they’ve claimed. Gandalf bails the party out of several troublesome situations involving trolls and orcs, but then he makes clear to them that he’s going away and doesn’t plan to return for the remainder of their adventure. He puts Bilbo in charge. Despite Bilbo’s protestation that he’s “no equal to a wizard,” he follows the call.
By this time, Bilbo has acquired the magic ring of invisibility and an elvish sword named Sting. He rescues the dwarves from giant spiders and hostile wood-elves, and when the group finally arrives at the dragon’s lair, Bilbo goes in alone. Due to Bilbo’s quick thinking, the humans in the area are able to kill the dragon.
Now the gold can be returned to its rightful owners. But when the humans and wood-elves suggest that they might be entitled to some of the treasure, the dwarves get defensive. Orcs and eagles also join in a battle of five armies. It is clear to Bilbo that there is plenty of gold for everyone if only they would learn to share, and he refuses to fight in the battle. The dwarf Thorin calls him a coward, but after all his adventures, it is clear that Bilbo is no coward. His conscience prevents him from fighting in an unjust war.
As Thorin succumbs to mortal battle wounds, he credits Bilbo with changing his views on war. And after all this, Bilbo returns home with only two bags of gold: far less than his share, but far more than he’ll ever need. Bilbo has been a priest, a spiritual leader to this community of dwarves.
Kermit the Frog is another priestly character. Like Bilbo, he hears a voice and follows a call. As he puts it in “The Rainbow Connection”: “Have you been half asleep and have you heard voices?/ I’ve heard them calling my name … I’ve heard it too many times to ignore it/ It’s something that I’m s’posed to be.”
Kermit is charismatic, yet humble. He leads a ragtag bunch, but he leaves nobody out. He never takes his eye off the ball; no matter how flustered he gets, he knows the show must go on. What a sense of mission! Kermit models good boundaries with Miss Piggy, and he’s not afraid to tell people what they need to hear. He feels responsible for the well-being of the people in his care, but Kermit’s perspective is wide enough to see that he's not ultimately responsible for what they do. This is most evident in the desert scene in The Muppet Movie.
Some people have disagreed with me about whether Kermit really sets good boundaries with Miss Piggy—is he leading her on? Ah, well; he’s learning. Kermit develops his grand vision over time, and its effect on others is infectious. In the end, the realization of Kermit’s vision is far bigger than he’d thought was possible.
Kermit and Bilbo are great examples of ordained leaders. They are both seized by the Holy Spirit—not unlike those first disciples on Pentecost—and their hard work and courage continue to capture our imaginations and change the way we see the world. Can you think of others like them?
Roads go ever ever on, and Christ builds His church on the lovers, the dreamers, and you.