Max

The best Christmas character is Max.

We had to watch The Grinch Who Stole Christmas because Jesus will not return unless we watch it every year. It's part of the waiting and preparation of Advent.

And every year I want to be the Whos in Whoville. I especially want to be Cindy Lou Who because she gets the tiny little strawberry on the tiny tray and I love that. I also love the fact that she has no legs. We're thinking she's part seal.

Actually, my new favorite scene that I've missed the million other times I've watched it, is the naked Who kid at the end. Seriously. Look for him on the right.

So I want to be a Who.

I want to imagine that if some green cretan snuck into my house and stole absolutely everything while also leaving my house a mess, then I would have a huge heart of forgiveness. But I'm not that person. I might be able to get there, but the fact is my gut reaction would not be singing. And in all truthfulness, I'd still yell when he returned the stuff because I'd have to decorate all over again.

So the cartoon character I relate to the most is Max. He's the dog. I'm sure there are all kinds of arguments about the abuse situation Max is in makes him a pitiful creature. He and the Grinch do not have a healthy relationship. I think we can all agree on that.


But Max seems to make the best out of the situation. I'm enough of a church nerd that when I watch Max, I hear the words of our confession, "We are in bondage to sin and cannot free ourselves."

Max is not a hero. In the face of evil he can't figure out how to fix, he shrugs his shoulders and smiles. In the face of tasks or experiences that are overwhelming, he waves.

These are coping skills I have embraced too often but with some success. Some problems just seem too big and I can't figure out how to stop being a part of them let alone fixing them.

There really isn't any explaining the character Max. His motivation is not the easiest to figure out. And I realize it's a thirty minute holiday special so I won't spend too much brain power on doing it.

But somehow Max is complicit in evil without being wicked. Somehow he is still a light of grace and delight in a dark venture. He doesn't quite come off as a victim of evil he can't control, but he's not tainted by it either.

When the Grinch is set free from bitterness and evil, then Max is set free to be the joyful dog he's called to be.  That for me resonates a little more than folks who are singing in the morning and not calling the cops.

I know I shrug my shoulders at too much evil, but Max gives me hope. 

It's not an excuse to turn a blind eye to evil. We still need to strive for justice, but with a humble hope. My hope is that someday we will all be set free from bitterness and evil to be joyful creatures, but till then we do the best we can with what we've got. And there are worse ways to respond than shrugging your shoulders and smiling.