Horton was an elephant in Dr. Seuss’ book ‘Horton Hears A Who’. I had originally supposed that Dr. Seuss had chosen an elephant to hear the Whos because of his big ears; however I did some research and found that elephants do actually have a marvelous way of hearing. They not only use their ears but their trunk and legs as well. Seems elephants have an acute sense of hearing. Seuss uses Horton an elephant to hear the small cry of one Who, living on a speck, the story would not be so impacting nor hold such substance if hearing were the only issue, it is more that Horton decides to do something about what he hears. Ezekiel 22:30 tells us that Abba looked for someone to stand in the gap, to make up the hedge for those who have been oppressed the poor and needy, the stranger treated wrongly. He was looking for Hortons. We are called to be salt and light but we all know that too much salt makes things uneatable, too much light can cause damage, so it is presupposed that we are paying attention to where and when the salt and light are needed and are willing to be the answer to the need. A cool thing about elephants is they are big and can stand in a big gap and they have no predator among the other animals, their enemy seems to be mankind. Hmm, seems like the ones we are called to hear and help are often the ones who are on the side of the enemy for our destruction. Horton withstood his neighbors who didn’t believe that he was hearing anything. They were intent on not only not believing him; but by stopping him from taking action. This also sounds like many scenarios we seem to find ourselves a part of. This however is not the biggest tragedy, the greatest heartbreaking issue is that many aren’t even listening for Whos or are making judgment as to which Whos are worth saving. We find it easier to get involved with those we see and interact with daily, but the cries of those which we never see, those that aren’t ‘like’ us we seem to be able to ignore. We might even find ourselves siding with the kangaroo (read Seuss’ story) laughing at those who would warn us of outcries from foreign lands. In Seuss’ book the others did eventually get on board able to hear when the entire Who civilization is mobilized to cry out, would that we would not wait till there is an entire civilization, an entire people group at risk for then the need seems insurmountable and we often find ourselves doing nothing. It’s time to step up to the plate and tune our ears to the cries of the smallest the weakest, the oppressed. I’ve heard Whos of Darfur, Zimbabwe, Bolivia, Cuba…crying out and I hear Abba saying Who will I send, Who will go, and most importantly for the many that will never leave home, Who will pray and raise their voice for the smallest, the least of these?
k
