1
"THE GOSPEL IN DISNEY: THE THAWING OF A FROZEN HEART"
(1 John 4:7-12)
© 2017 Rev. Dr. Brian E. Germano
[PROP NEEDED: Video clip from Disney's movie "Frozen"]
[LaGrange First U.M.C.; 2-26-17]
--I-1.
[BOTH Services (CEB)] Read Text:
1 John 4:7-12 and Pray.
2.
[WATCH VIDEO CLIP: "Frozen" (1:08:35-1:09:09 and 1:26:09-1:28:05,Total
Time: 2:27)]
3.
This morning we're wrapping up our series The Gospel In Disney in which we've been
exploring insights and truths about the kingdom of God using the "parables" that we
today today call the movies of Walt Disney. 1
A--And while the previous three weeks I've used classic Disney movies as the
springboard to share kingdom-truths, today I'm using a contemporary Disney movie
(released in 2013) that already ranks as the highest-grossing animated film of all time,
and is well on its way to becoming a classic. 2
B--The clip we saw, of course, was from the movie Frozen, and it -- along with its hit
song "Let It Go!" 3-- have become ingrained in the consciousness of many children
and their parents today.
4.
And in case you haven't seen it, it's the story (based loosely on Hans Christian Andersen's
The Snow Queen 4) of two sister princesses in the mythical kingdom of Arendel.
A--Elsa, the elder sister, has been born with magical powers, but is taught to conceal it
by wearing gloves and living a sequestered life, cut off from the rest of the world.
B--On the day of her coronation, though, those powers are accidentally unleashed,
freezing all of Arendel, prompting Elsa to run away in embarrassment.
C--Her doting, younger sister Anna runs after her to convince her to return home, but
Elsa's insecurities cause her unintentionally to freeze Anna's heart, leaving Anna
frantically searching for a remedy.
D--As we saw in today's clip, though, that "remedy" ends up being Anna's own act of
sacrificial love, and this also becomes the remedy for Elsa's problem, as well.
5.
Now, as we're thinking about the movie, I want us to consider at least two great parallels
this story has with our own Christian faith and life:
--II--
2
6.
First of all, both of these set forth a primary DILEMMA in life.
A--In the movie, the dilemma is Elsa's uncontrollable power to freeze things, causing her
to have broken relationships and guilt as she pushes people away, including those
who love her and only want the best for her.
B--Well you know, in many ways, Elsa's powers are reminiscent of our power to and
tendency towards SIN that we find both in our world and in our own lives.
1--Just as Elsa's power "froze" the world around her (including the people in it),
so our sin causes brokenness in the world around us, and in our relationships
with the people in it.
2--If we turn on today's news, we're likely to hear story after story of the effects of
prejudice, racism, selfishness, isolationism, addiction, violence, and hatred.
3--But we don't have to read the news to find this -- we find it in ourselves when,
for example, we talk bad about those who think, act, or believe differently that
us, OR when we pridefully put our own desires ahead of the will of God.
C--In a manner of speaking, it could be said that much of our world today (including many
of us in it) are "frozen" because of the consequences of our own uncontrolled sin.
1--As Christian film critic Steven Greydanus writes, "a heart of ice... cannot
thaw itself. Being frozen, it has no warmth, no ability to love; a person in this
condition can be saved only by another heart’s warmth." 5
2--Isaiah 53:6 puts it this way, "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have all
turned to our own way...", and Romans 3:23 says it even more succinctly:
"All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" 6
3--My point, you see, is that many of us today suffer from a "frozen heart" in one
degree (no pun intended!) or another, and therefore (like Elsa) we, too, are in
need of saving from ourselves. 7
7.
Thankfully, though, in addition to the primary dilemma, both the movie "Frozen" and
the Bible also present the ultimate SOLUTION.
A--In today's clip, we hear "Grandpappy" (the Troll) tell Anna that "only an act of selfless
love will thaw a frozen heart," and then later we find Anna performing such an act
when she sacrifices herself to save her sister.
B--Now, who else does that sound like?
1--Verse 10 of today's scripture says this: "This is love: ...not that we loved God
but that he loved us and sent his Son as the sacrifice that deals with our sins."
3
2--Referencing Jesus, Isaiah 53:5 says "He was wounded for our transgressions,
crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole,
and by his bruises we are healed."
3--And in probably the most famous words of the whole Bible, John 3:16 says
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only son, so that everyone who
believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life."
C--You see, in many ways, Anna's act of self-sacrifice to save her sister is very much a
symbol of Jesus' act of self-sacrifice on the cross to save us.
1--If Elsa represents us as broken humanity, then Anna represents Jesus and his
sacrificial, saving love from God.
2--In an interview about this movie with Fox news, Collin Garbarino (Assistant
Professor of History at Houston Baptist University) shared the following, "The
Christian message [here] is that people are sinners who [like Elsa] have broken
relationships. And that, [just as Anna did with Elsa,] Christ pursues us, takes
on the punishment for our sin, [like Anna,] dies a death that he didn’t deserve ,
& then [also like Anna] is resurrected & brings reconciliation through people." 8
D--This is a story, you see, about the power of self-less love -- a power that's the solution
to sin's dilemma; a power that can overcome even death itself.
1--After all, the power of Anna's love for her sister brought her back from death,
and the power Jesus' love for US brought him back from death, as well!
2--And just as Anna's "resurrection" teaches Elsa that "love will thaw" the
"frozenness" not only of her own life but of the world around her, so Jesus'
resurrection teaches us that God's love will heal the brokenness of not only our
own lives but also of the world around us. 9
3--"Our children," one author wrote, "need to hear that sometimes the act of love
has to come from the person who has been wronged. [And so,] Christ comes to
us and is wounded for our transgressions, and even though [we have] turned
[our] back on Him [He] hasn't given up on us." 10
4--"No one has greater love than this," says Jesus in John 15: "to lay down one’s
life for one’s friends." 11
--III-8.
Well, Jesus -- like Anna (but much greater than Anna!) -- laid down his life on the cross
for you and for me -- he loved us so much that he sacrificed himself so that the "frozenness" of our hearts and lives would be "thawed" and healed.
A--So, my prayer for each of us is that whatever "frozen-ness" or brokenness we have in
us today we'll bring to Jesus for him to heal.
4
B--For at the end of the day, you see, "The Thawing of a Frozen Heart" -- OUR heart -is made possible only by the power of God's sacrificial love through Jesus.
C--And so (as Verse 11 of today's scripture reminds us), "if God loved us this way, [then]
we also ought to love each other."
9.
[PRAYER, including prayer for hearers who's hearts are "frozen" by sin to accept the
"thawing" power of Jesus as their Lord and Savior..]
ENDNOTES:
After all, throughout Jesus' own ministry, he preached and taught using parables -- stories people could
relate to containing truths about God's kingdom. In today's culture, movies often accomplish much of the
same thing. So, using the movies of Walt Disney, we're able to see glimpses of the kingdom of God by
understanding highlighting some of the kingdom morals and lessons that we find there.
1
With its $1.3 earnings worldwide, not only is Frozen already the highest-grossing animated film of all
time, but it's also the third-highest-grossing original time of all time, and the 9th-highest-grossing film of
all time, period. In the process, it won two Academy Awards, a Golden Globe award, BAFTA Award, five
Annie awards, two Grammy awards, and two Critic's Choice Movie Awards (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Frozen_2013_film).
2
Regarding the hit theme song of the movie "Let It Go", in her Thin Places blog article "Disney's
Frozen: Not About Letting Go After All" (March 31, 2014), Amy Julia Becker writes, "It's a great song,
and as many a critic has noted, it will play well on Broadway. But it's not the point of the movie. At all.
The point of the movie is the love between these two sisters, which ultimately allows Elsa to learn to use
her powers for good. Yes, she needs to stop concealing/not feeling, but she also needs to come back to the
responsibilities of her kingdom and learn to love. Anna, the estranged little sister who pursues Elsa at
great risk to her own life, is the hero of this film. She is the hero because, out of love, she refuses to let
Elsa go. But the pop cultural takeaway from Frozen can be summed up by those three words: Let it go.
As if all our problems will be solved if we just start being true to ourselves, throwing responsibilities and
expectations aside..
I'm not going to stop my kids from singing [this song]. At the end of the day, these lyrics are parts
of [a movie] with positive messages about family, responsibility, and love. But I am going to help my kids
pay attention not just to the catchy tunes but to the story lines themselves. Moreover, I'm going to try to
teach them to take responsibility for their actions, so that their real lives aren't defined by... "Let it Go,"
but rather by acting towards others in love" [Amy Julia Becker, cited at http://www.christianitytoday.com/
amyjuliabecker/2014/march/disneys-frozen-is-not-about-letting-it-go-after-all.html].
3
It’s worth noting that the original Hans Christian Andersen story The Snow Queen,climaxes in a scene
strikingly similar to the one at the end of Frozen: a heroine weeping over the frozen body of a victim
whose heart has turned to ice. In Anderson, however, the frozen victim’s icy heart is thawed by the hot
tears of the other person’s love. Olaf the snowman provides the movie’s interpretation: Anna’s heart is
thawed by her own act of love. Interpreted allegorically, we would have to say that Anna has saved
herself., rather than being saved by someone else.
4
From the Decent Films blog article "How Christian Is Disney's 'Frozen'? Part 1", by Steven D.
Greydanus, found at http://decentfilms.com/articles/how-christian-is-frozen.
5
6
Read also Romans 8:21, where it describes creation as being in "bondage to decay."
5
In his blog for Houston Baptist University's "School of Humanity's," Collin Garbarino also points out
the parallels between Dante's "Inferno" and Frozen: "While watching this scene, I was overwhelmed with
memories of Dante’s 'Inferno,"' the professor wrote. He then relayed details of how Dante traveled
through the nine circles of hell only to find Satan not in a fiery pit but frozen. Trapped at the waist, Satan
was unable to be set free, according to the tale. "Satan has six great wings, and every time he flaps them,
they produce an icy blast that further freezes him in place," Garbarino wrote."Satan and Elsa suffer from
the same desire. They both long to be free. Elsa wants the freedom to be herself by shedding obligations to
family and society. Satan wants to fly. ... Luckily for Elsa, a redeemer is coming to rescue her instead of
leaving her trapped in her frozen hell" [Garbarino, cited at http://www.deseretnews.com/article/
865595512/Christian-themes-found-in-Disneys-hit-Frozen.html].
7
From Garbarino's interview with Fox news, cited in the article "Christian Themes in the Disney's Hit
'Frozen'", compiled by Sarah Peterson (February 3, 2014), found at http://www.deseretnews.com/article/
865595512/Christian-themes-found-in-Disneys-hit-Frozen.html.
8
Reminiscent of Elsa's discovery that "love will thaw" frozenness, 1 John 4:18 (a few verses after those
that we read today) puts it in similar fashion, "There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.”
9
From Garbarino's interview with The Guardian reporter Mark Pinsky, also found at http://
www.deseretnews.com/article/865595512/Christian-themes-found-in-Disneys-hit-Frozen.html.
10
11
John 15:33 (NRSV)