One of my favorite movies is Little Big Man. In the movie Dustin Hoffman plays Jack Crabb who is 121 years old and on his last legs of life. He receives a visitor at the nursing home who is a collector of oral histories who has come to ask him about his past. Jack Crabb has lived an adventurous and lively life. The story is done in flashbacks . . . from being captured and raised by Native Americans, becoming a gunslinger, marrying an Native American bride, watching her killed by General Armstrong Custer, becoming a scout for him at Little Big Horn, and then surviving the battle. A good chunk of the movie was filmed in Montana on the Crow reservation.
In one part of the movie, upon returning to the tribe and before marrying his Native American bride, he is reunited with several of his childhood friends from his earliest days with the tribe. One is Younger Bear, who Jack Crabb saved from death as a boy, who has become a “contrary”. In some Native American cultures—particularly the Plains Indians—a “contrary is a person who adopts behavior that is deliberately the opposite of other tribal members. Within these cultures they play an important role, especially in certain tribal ceremonies. These individuals do the opposite of what everyone else does.
The contrary’s words mean the opposite of what is spoken. If “hello” is spoken it means “goodbye”. Yes means no, no means yes. When bathing the contrary uses dirt to wash and water to dry off. A contrary rides backwards on a horse and when approaching others. As Jack Crabb says, “They do everything backwards.” They do the reverse of what everyone else does. That is the meaning of the word . . . opposite in nature, direction, or meaning.
It would be tough to live one’s life contrary to everyone else. Have you ever played the game “opposites” with your children or grandchildren. It is a game in which everything is done in the opposite manner. The simplest version of this game is when a child declares that “yes” means “no” and “no” means “yes”. The goal is to get he parent to agree on something that the child wants, and the parent does not want the child to have. This is a game I am certain we have all played before.
In a continuation of the Apostle Paul’s letter to the congregation in Rome, Paul calls for the people to be “contrary”. He calls them to act the opposite of the way that the world acts. He tells the people to be contrary to the world’s ways. Where the world hates its enemies, Paul calls for the Romans to love their enemies. Where the enemy has struck another, do not hit back. Where there is hunger—feed them. Where there is conflict and war—seek peace and justice. Echoing the words of Jesus, Paul calls for the people to be “not of this world”. He asks them to be “contraries”. Paul tells the people to:
· Love with sincerity
· Hate what is evil
· Cling to what is good
· Honor others better than yourself
· Be zealous and joyful in the faith
· Practice hospitality
· Bless those who persecute—no “eye for eye, tooth for tooth” actions
· Do what is right
· Speak truthfully
· Do the opposite of the world . . . in fact, he tells them “on the contrary”
In this day and age, everything that Paul calls
the congregation to is quite the opposite of what is really happening. It seems as if humanity speaks one thing and
does another. Actions betray words. All we have to do is to watch the evening news
. . . read the daily paper . . . listen to the radio. It is a “dog eat dog” world . . . everyone
and every group for themselves. That is
the way of the world. I imagine all of
you could give examples of what I am talking about.
And it is acceptable. It is embraced.
To this Paul calls upon those who follow Jesus to do the opposite. Be a “contrary”. Jesus was a contrary and that is what got him killed. Even he warns those who follow him that it can be deadly. At the same time, it is the only thing that is going to change the world . . . the only thing that will bring about God’s kingdom.
I do not think that we must act like the “contrary” in the movie Little Big Man. Nor do I think that we must play some sort of “opposites” game that children like to play. But I do think that we need to take serious the words and invitation that the apostle issues . . . to be a “contrary” . . . to be the opposite of the world.
How scary is that?
Only the toughest survive. The weak are destroyed. Who wants to be picked on? Life is difficult enough without creating a row with everyone else. As you listened to the words that the Apostle Paul spoke in our reading this morning, was there anything that you disagreed with? Anything that made you step back and think to yourself, “wait a minute”? Hopefully it shouldn’t have because the litany Paul shared was what Jesus taught, preached, and lived. It is what Jesus called his followers to. It is what we profess to be about as his followers. Jesus knew that it went against the way that the world acted . . . and he knew it would meet resistance.
Resistance from the world and those in power because they would no longer be the powerful. They would no longer be in control.
Resistance among those who heard because it would challenge them in what they had been taught about the world, about people, and what it meant to be successful and acceptable in a world that is based on the survival of the fittest. Resistance because it just went against everything that seemed or seems important. No one wants to be a wimp. It is difficult to swim against the flow.
For Jesus that is the way.
For Paul, that is the way.
To be contrary . . . to be the opposite of what the world believes. To live up to—not what we believe, but what Jesus believes. Unfortunately it means going against the flow more often than not. It means setting aside the ways of the world and embracing the radical love of Jesus. That is what it is . . . radical . . . this love that Jesus speaks about, lives, and calls us to embrace. It ain’t easy being a contrary but if you follow Jesus that is what makes all the difference.
We are called to live a life of faith that is contrary to what the world believes that faith should be. It ain’t easy, but that is what Jesus expects whether or not it is being contrary to what the world thinks or believes . . . or others think or believe. Jesus was a “contrary” and so must we be in our lives. Amen.
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