Rob Weule, Head of Primary – Welfare & P-12 Performing Arts
On the fifteenth of May, in the jungle of Nool,
In the heat of the day, in the cool of the pool,
He was splashing, enjoying the jungle’s great joys
When Horton the elephant heard a small noise.
So Horton stopped splashing.
He looked toward the sound.
“That’s funny,” thought Horton.
“There’s no one around.”
Then he heard it again! Just a very faint yelp.
As if some tiny person were calling for help.
‘Horton Hears a Who’ is a Dr Seuss story featuring that large, loving and lovable elephant Horton. In this story Horton, who seems to function as a sort of God figure, hears a sound that none of the other animals can hear. Their ears are not sensitive enough to hear the cries of the ‘Whos’. The Whos’ entire world exists on a speck of dust too small for the elephant to see. But Horton can hear them. He makes it his mission to protect his tiny friends at all cost. After all, Horton knows that a person’s a person no matter how small. Horton carefully places the Whos’ world, the speck of dust, on a clover for safe keeping.
Aren’t five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one sparrow is forgotten by God. Even the hairs of your head have all been counted. So do not be afraid; you are worth much more than many sparrows!
Luke 12:6-7
As we read this story, we may find ourselves identifying with the Whos. So many people in this world are desperately trying to be heard, but sometimes it feels like no one is listening. We read in Romans 8:18-25 about how all of Creation is groaning and moaning for redemption. The Bible’s most important message is that God came into this world through Jesus Christ, in order to redeem humankind and Creation. We can live with the confidence that although on earth our cries fall on many a deaf ear, the God who knows even the tiniest sparrow hears, Horton-like, the cries of the world and each individual who calls out to Him.
I sought the Lord, and he answered me;
Psalm 34:4
he delivered me from all my fears.
(For more of ‘The Gospel According to Dr. Seuss’, check out James W. Kemp’s book)