What would Edna do?

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He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field.Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.”

Matthew 13:31-32 (NIV)

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Having the time to be still and reflect, think, and pray, has been one of the joys found in the sadness and pain in the COVID-19 pandemic. As I think about the blessed life I have had up to now, I am reminded of my days in Sunday School. Many times, over the years, we would be reminded of the WWJD acronym. What Would Jesus Do? At that time, a friend of mine from school was attending and unfortunately, he left, and this acronym became a source of ridicule. In a similar way to how people react when we are less than perfect – “but you’re a Christian!”

There are many lessons we can learn from the Bible which fit nicely into the challenge that WWJD leaves. But for me, because it has become a source of ridicule, I want to suggest another question we could ask when looking at our faith – What would Edna do? This is not replacing Jesus or trying to be Jesus but rather a different perspective of how to approach this question.

One of my favourite films, when I was kid (and still to this day) is Pixar’s “The Incredibles”. For those of you who haven’t seen the film, Edna Mode is a fashion-designer for the superheroes and one of her sayings is a quite dramatic - “No capes!” and whilst I was thinking about this, it was hard to not draw comparisons with my own faith journey. In a world of false-truths, looking at body image and the need for the latest gadget, it can be easy to get caught up in the image that we forget who we are, and who we belong to. We see images of ‘perfection’ that we can’t attain, and we doubt our worthiness. But you see, Jesus doesn’t want us to be superheroes – people with capes – we don’t need a complicated outfit but rather He looks for faith the size of the mustard seed. It doesn’t need to be complex and you don’t need a cape. Rather believe in Him and keep it simple – a phrase so often used yet so true. He loves you for who you are – He knows you intimately.

So the message today is simple – keep it simple – no capes!