AAUGH!

A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouths of fools pour out folly. The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good. A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit. (Proverbs 15:1-5 ESV).

Yep… we have all been there at one time or another. Just as we are about to kick the ball someone pulls it out from beneath us and we splat on the ground in abject failure. This image of Peanuts has long been associated with this phenomenon of life. This drama played itself out for years, becoming the sacred autumnal drama, repeated nearly every September or October for over 50 years. It became our collectively acknowledged paradigm for the uneasy tension between trust and betrayal, hope and despair. To many children reading the cartoon it was the moment of failure that mattered, not the metaphor. No single act better encapsulated a child’s feeling of powerlessness; and, it is easy to feel Charlie Brown’s frustration and disappointment with every bone in their body. However, as we all age a bit, Lucy’s seemingly compulsive need to torment poor Charlie Brown becomes altogether too much a part of our experience. It is that feeling that brings me to our reading today. After all didn’t Lucy reassure Charlie Brown every year more and more that she would not jerk the football away causing him to fail once again and be ridiculed by any and all those watching the drama unfold? Sadly she always pulled it away, and he always failed to kick the ball. The history of this saga has been well documented. Lucy herself has offered a myriad of justifications over the years for snatching defeat from the jaws of victory: physiological (1966: a “ten-billion-to-one” muscle spasm), psychological (1975: “I’m not your mother, Charlie Brown”), sociological (1971: “This year’s football was pulled away from you through the courtesy of women’s lib”), and philosophical (1974: “In every program, Charlie Brown, there are always a few last-minute changes”), ecclesiastical (1980: “To everything there is a season ... and a time to pull away the football”),. In a meta-moment, Lucy even points to the larger meaning of this annual act: (1996: “Symbolism, Charlie Brown! The ball! The desire! The triumph! It’s all there!”). This echoes a dialogue they had 10 years earlier (Charlie Brown: “Somehow, I’ve missed the symbolism.” Lucy: “You also missed the ball, Charlie Brown”). The true origin of the story for Lucy’s sadistic game appeared in 1953. In this pivotal strip, Lucy herself struggles to kick a football. Over and over she tries to punt the ball and flubs her kicks. And what does Charlie Brown do? He publicly and cruelly mocks her. She takes it upon herself to be the cruel taskmaster teaching him the lesson of a “soft answer” instead of “harsh words.” Perhaps we all could learn from our reading the difference today is truly important. In the next few days we’ll look at six principles that help us with softer answers. Today, commit yourself to that soft answer!