Changing Us

The Rev. Joseph Winston

July 25, 2010

Grace and peace are gifts for you from God, the Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ.1
On the surface, the hit move from Pixar Studious released about three years
ago in 2007 might appear to be nothing more than a story about a rat that makes
it big in the rarefied world of haute cuisine.2 This view of the story would sound
something like this. A young French farm rat discovers that he has a tremendous
gift of smell and by using his nose, he can distinguish the good food from the
bad. This extremely developed sense of smell has a very practical side too. He
keeps the other rats alive by distinguishing edible trash from rat poison that brings
certain death. He also learns that he likes to combine food in new and different
ways. This leads him to the most ridiculous aspect of his nose. He wants to be a
professional cook. His father disagrees with his vision so the young rat goes out
1
Romans 1:7, 1 Corinthians 1:3, 2 Corinthians 1:2, Galatians 1:3, Ephesians 1:2, Philippians
1:2, 2 Thessalonians 1:2, Philemon 1:3.
2
This sermon is based on one given to Trinity Lutheran Church in Liberty, Texas on July 29,
2007.

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on his own and takes his skill to a rundown restaurant in Paris. There he uses his
natural abilities to win over France’s most respected food critic.
If you watch the movie carefully, you know that this film tells us a completely
different tale.3 Ratatouille’s real story line is about change, which shapes the char-
acters into something better than before.
This is what the story is really about. The only thing that separates Remy
from all the other ordinary farm rats is his extraordinary nose. Using it, he can
find the most wonderful tastes. This skill drives him into the farmhouse and away
from his father who distrusts all humans. All alone in the kitchen, he first learns
how to read and then how to combine new flavors into exciting foods. Trouble is
brewing because everyone knows that rats are not welcome in the kitchen. It does
not take the farmer’s wife very long to smell a rat. She soon discovers Remy with
his brother in the house. She chases them along with the entire rat colony off her
farm. In the confusion that follows, Remy becomes separated from the rest of the
family and he ends up in Paris. There he makes his way to a restaurant that has
seen its better days.
One night from the roof of Gusteau’s restaurant, Remy watches in horror as
the boy who takes out the garbage ruins a perfectly good pot of soup by adding
things that just do not belong in it. Remy rushes into restaurant and by scurrying
through the kitchen, he finds all the right ingredients to transform the inedible
soup into a work of art. The customers served this soup are amazed at the dish and
they promptly send their complements back to the kitchen.
3
Or would that be tail?

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 The head chef Skinner and the rest of the staff take a taste of the soup. From
the amazed look on their faces, you can tell that this is not their normal soup. They
quickly turn their attention to the tall and thin garbage boy who fits his name of
Linguini. Skinner demands that Linguini reproduce the soup in front of him so
that he can sell it. Linguini realizes that this is impossible. He cannot even boil
water. He also knows the real truth hidden from everyone else. The rat fixed the
soup.
Remy tries to leave the scene but Skinner sees the rat in the kitchen. Skinner
then demands that Linguini find and kill Remy. Reluctantly, Linguini goes off to
complete his task. Instead of killing the rat, they come to an uneasy agreement.
Linguini will be Remy’s hands in the kitchen and Remy will be the brains of the
operation.
The first day in the kitchen is an absolute failure as Remy’s tries to help Lin-
guini cook by running up and down under Linguini’s clothes but this approach
only frightens the poor boy. Dejected, they are just about to admit defeat when
Remy learns that he can control Linguini by pulling his hair like the strings on a
puppet. The two spend the night learning how to work together as one.
The rest of the movie explains Remy’s dramatic transformation from a humble
farm rat into a sophisticated head chef. Many other characters in the movie change
for the better. Remy’s father learns to accept his boy’s talents and he even offers
the pack’s help in Remy’s hour of need. Linguini never learns to cook anything
at all. Despite this fact, he becomes more sure of himself, he falls in love, and he
helps to manage a successful restaurant. These changes were never expected at the

3
beginning of the movie. Even the cold-hearted critic that condemned Gusteau’s to
the tourist trade changes, he learns once again the warmth that life can hold.
It might seem like today’s Gospel lesson is nothing more than instructions on
how to pray. If this were true, then the sermon would go something life this. In
the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus gave us a way to pray. Go, do this, and you will be richly
rewarded because God answers those who ask in prayer.
An obvious issue with the previous approach is the commands. You go. You
do. Both of these orders you execute leave Jesus completely out of the picture.
What happens next is this. There is no reason for His life, His suffering, or His
death. All Jesus becomes is a great teacher that gives you insight into the mysteries
of life. That is not what the Bible tells you. Jesus came and died so you might live.
However, the largest problem with this interpretation of the Bible is that God
the Father becomes nothing more than the great gift-giver in the sky. All that you
need to receive your share of handouts is saying the magical words found in the
Lord’s Prayer.
There is a new and expensive car running around in Houston that proves this
point. Its plates read “CIPRAY.”4 The owner obviously believes that they asked
enough and God rewarded them with a fancy automobile. This way of thinking
forgets an important point found in the Gospel according to St. Luke. Yes, Jesus
told us to ask with boldness whatever we need from the Father (Luke 11:9-10).
But we also hear Jesus pray to His Father that the cup of suffering pass Him by
(Luke 22:42). We know what happened to that earnest request from God’s only
4
Pronounced “See I pray.”

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Son. The Father said, “No” and Jesus died on the cross.
From your own personal experience, I think everyone in this room knows that
the explanation of today’s Gospel lesson as a way to earn God’s help is completely
wrong. Look at what happens in your own lives. All of us have wanted God to
fix the brokenness we see in our lives but this has not happened. Everyone has
desperately desired God’s help in some situation and has not received it. You and
I have wanted change but it is just not occurring.
In this part of the world, you will soon hear the response that you are not doing
something right and that is the reason why God remains silent. The assumption
often stated explicitly is that your action is somehow preventing God from helping
you. If this were true, then everyone here is in trouble. We all have something in
our background that should prevent God from helping us. Yet, we know for a fact
that Jesus comes to you. He died on the cross while you were still a sinner. He
baptized you and welcomed you into the church while knowing what you would
do. He feeds you and forgives you while you continue to fall short of the mark.
He comes no matter who you are and there is nothing you can do to stop Him.
Prayer as Jesus has taught us is not some way to wrangle presents out of God’s
hands nor is it a clear path to guaranteed financial success. Rather, prayer is a
conversation, initiated by God for our benefit and in this dialog we change.
Ratatouille clearly shows us that change is specific to an individual. For ex-
ample, Remy did not transmogrify from a farm rat into a sophisticated human.
Instead, he learned how to use his unique gifts as a rat in a human’s world. The
same story holds true for Linguini. No matter how hard he tried, he could not

5
make edible food. His transformation was not from a terrible cook into a world-
class chef. Instead, his role in life changed. No longer was he the garbage boy
whose only duty in life was taking out the trash. Au contraire, he now was the
co-owner of one of the most important restaurants in Paris.
It is just the same with our prayer life. It is practically impossible for anyone
to talk about specific changes that prayer makes in our individual lives. All that
we can do is to discuss general ideas about how God transforms you.
One of the primary ways that the Lutheran Church has expressed this idea that
God molds us during our life is through the phrase, “God loves you just the way
you are but God cares too much for you to leave you this way.” The first part of
the sentence, “God loves you just the way you” is a testament to God’s complete
acceptance of every human. The entire life of Jesus shows this work of God. He
comes to those outside of the legal and religious systems of the day and tells each
of them, “You are loved by God.” Jesus frees these outcasts from the man-made
systems that keep them in bondage. He tells all who will hear that the Lord is near.
The exact same actions by Jesus continue today. Bidden or not, Jesus is here.
He is present to all those that need Him. He welcomes everyone into His presence.
He breaks the chains that keep people from being free. He announces that the
Kingdom of God is here.
What happens next is up to us. We can refuse to hear how much God loves us.
We can return back to all of those groups that want to keep us under their power.
We can work to keep God out of the world.
If we do not reject God, then God will transform us into new creatures. This is

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accurately captured in the last half of the sentence, “but God cares too much for
you to leave you this way.” This truth tells us that God never gives up on removing
our flaws so that our real character shines forth. How this is played out in your life
depends on who you are. God might free you from a painful past. God could give
you the strength to make it through the day. God might open your eyes to see what
is happening.
This is exactly what happens in all our prayers to God. The Holy Spirit comes
to each of us and tells us the content of our prayers. Pray for God’s world. Pray for
your enemies well-being. Pray that everyone has enough food. Pray that God may
keep you safe. Pray for your forgiveness. If we ignore the Holy Spirit’s action in
our lives then no prayer returns to back to God. Conversely, when we allow the
Holy Spirit to work through us the movement of God in us changes us.
This is why for two thousand years the entire church on earn has continued
to use the Lord’s Prayer. We expect the Lord to change us so we pray. Will our
prayers somehow work our way into heaven? Of course not! Jesus has already
completed everything required for us to live with Him forever and He freely gives
this gift to everyone.
Skinner is the one person in the movie that refused to change. All he really
wanted in life was to make a quick buck off someone else’s name. In many ways,
Christians that show up only a few day a year are just like Skinner. All they are
looking for is a way to get ahead in the world. For them, God is nothing more than
a “good-luck” charm that they pull out of their pockets when they need something.
Thy mutter a few words and expect a rabbit to come out of the hat.

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 Fortunately for us, God refuses to be used in the get rich quick schemes that
we propose. Here is what He does instead. God the Father sent Jesus His Son to
come here and to live with us. All by itself, this demonstration of His passion
for the world changed many lives. Some people here today might be here for that
very reason. God the Son did not stop at showing us how to live. That could have
been accomplished by giving us a book to follow. Instead, He shared the results
of His life and death with everyone. This selfless action by Jesus changes us. The
sinner is forgiven. The dead is raised. The hopeless have a reason for living. Even
that transformation of our lives is not enough for Jesus. He sent the Spirit to each
of us. That is why you are a Christian. The Spirit invited you. That is why you
are here today. The Spirit brought you. That is why you know Jesus. The Spirit
taught you. All of us are the results of God’s power acting in our lives. The Spirit
changes everyone.
Ratatouille shows us the power of change. Remy, his father, Linguini the
garbage boy, and even the cold hearted reviewer Anton Ego were all transformed
by great food. You and I are also changed by the meal that we all share. The
bread and wine given to us from the Lord’s Table change us from individuals into
members of the body of Christ.
Almost one year ago on April 26, you and I met for the first time. During
the time we have had together, we both have changed in many different ways.
You have learned about the way we worship God. It all starts back there at the
baptismal font. There you were welcomed into God’s community known as the
Church. There Jesus washed away your sins. We begin there at the font because

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that is where you began your life as a Christian. With the water and the Word, we
recall the reason for coming. Jesus called you. Where our old life was replaced
with a new one, we remember our shortcomings and ask that they be forgotten.
At the place where you were accepted, Jesus tells you that He welcomes you once
again.
You developed a healthy appetite for God’s Word that is nothing short of amaz-
ing. We spent months looking that the creed used during your baptism and we
learned how it continues to apply to you today. You learned the ancient prayers of
the church and we sang Vespers during Lent. You reviewed Martin Luther’s ex-
planations to the Ten Commandments. You studied the Gospel. All of these show
changes in your life that God brought.
I have been trying to learn from you what it means to be your pastor. In some
ways, I have failed. For all those shortcomings, I ask for your forgiveness. Any
success that I may have had during this time is not my doing. It is God acting in
me, changing me.
Another change is happening and that is why we all are gathered here today.
A new pastor will lead you in the coming weeks and months. Know that I miss
you and pray that God continues to bless you.
Despite all that is happening around us, we will continue to pray the Lord’s
Prayer and by God’s power we will be changed.
“The peace of God, which passeth all understanding, keep your hearts and
minds through Christ Jesus.”5

5
Philippians 4:7.