Good morning…
This weekend, my husband and I were given tickets to see “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” at the Alliance Theater. Powerful. Meaningful. The play forced me to see the battle between evil and good, in subtle and not-so-subtle forms, in each character and in each audience member willing to look in the mirror.
Dressed in the costume of a helping angel, Nurse Ratchet leads the “peckin’ party” for the enemy of God. With a permanently clenched smile, she pulls the vulnerable strings of every character on stage, repeatedly castrating and shrinking uniqueness, gradually killing and ultimately forcing a suicidal hand. Clad as a fast talking bad-boy, laughing and lying, sparking joy in others and telling bold truth, the main character McMurphy astutely exposes the innate wiring of human nature, comparing people to a flock of chickens.
“The flock gets sight of a spot of blood on some chicken and they all go to peckin’ at it, see, till they rip the chicken to shreds, blood and bones and feathers. But usually a couple of the flock gets spotted in the fracas, then it’s their turn. And a few more gets spots and gets pecked to death, and more and more. Oh, a peckin’ party can wipe out the whole flock in a matter of a few hours, buddy, I seen it. A mighty awesome sight. The only way to prevent it—with chickens—is to clip blinders on them. So’s they can’t see,” (Ken Kesey, author of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest).
Our human nature is programmed to strike at the jugular. When we see blood, we go in for the kill. Sensing weakness, we puff up our superiority. Think mean girls in school. Think bloodied boxers in a ring. Think lawyers, executives, and politicians, who instinctively believe: “It is kill or be killed.” The only way to stop our magnetic pull into the “peckin’ party” is to decline the invitation, to clip blinders onto the eyes of our heart, forcing our gaze upward and onward toward the Author and Perfecter of our faith. God’s way is to strengthen the weak. In our Creator’s economy, the humble inherit heaven. The servant of all is coaxed into divine oneness.
…[looking away from all that will distract us and] focusing our eyes on Jesus, who is the Author and Perfecter of faith [the first incentive for our belief and the One who brings our faith to maturity], who for the joy [of accomplishing the goal] set before Him endured the cross, disregarding the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God [revealing His deity, His authority, and the completion of His work],
Hebrews 12:2 (AMP),
Sue
