Longing to Get Out (Madagascar)

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Scene Setup: Marty is a well-cared-for zebra at the New York City zoo. But in front of his treadmill is a mural that depicts a scene of the wild places he longs to go.

Scene: Marty the zebra explains to some people that he is there 365 days a year and seems sad about it. Marty notices a disturbance in the grassy part of his enclosure. Suddenly, a penguin head pops out. The penguin asks Marty, "What continent is this?" And Marty, puzzled, replies, "Manhattan." The penguin is disappointed, "Still in New York!" and then to the other penguins, "Abort, dive, dive, dive!"

But Marty is interested now, he says, "Wait a minute! What are you guys doing?" One of the penguins pipes up, "We're digging to Antarctica!" The boss penguin, stunned by his underling's lack of discretion, slaps him. He asks Marty if he has ever seen penguins "running around in New York City?" The penguin whispers that there aren't any, "We don't belong here. It's just not natural." The penguins say that they are "gong to the wide-open spaces of Antarctica. To the wild."

The words are magic in Marty's ears, "To the wild? You can actually go there?"

One by one the penguins begin to disappear down the hole.

Frantically, Marty shouts, "Hey! Hold up! Where is this place? Tell me where it is!"

Waving his flipper like a Jedi master working a mind trick, the penguin intones, "You didn't see anything...right?"

And Marty says, "Right. Right. Yes, sir!" But his desire to escape has been ignited.

Application: Marty longs for a place he has only seen in murals -- representations in paint, not even a photograph -- the wild. He longs for it because deep down inside he knows that he was not created to live in a zoo. Even though he is looked after, he recognizes that his life is unnatural. This is not how it is supposed to be. So when the chance for escape presents itself, Marty is excited.

Just like Marty, deep down inside there is a quiet voice that reminds us that this world we inhabit is not what it was meant to be. What should feel like home is now unnatural -- marred by sin. People are constantly looking for ways out, but they often run into people who give bad directions. So some try to escape by filling their lives with things, others through drink and drugs, and others by taking advantage of others. Most people cannot show the way out, because they have never been out themselves.

What we were made for is heaven, and God gives us glimpses of it in our everyday lives. Like Marty, we need directions. Fortunately Christ has shown us the way and now empowers us to direct others. Unlike the penguins, we are not to keep it a secret, but should shout it out sot hat all who seek a better country can find it.

Illustration's Sermon General's Warning: None for this scene.

Rating: PG    

Genre: Animated

DVD Chapter: 2    

Start Time: 0:06:23     End Time: 0:08:01

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