Where’s Your Hat?

By Jonathan Teram

 “The Israelites had done all the work just as the LORD commanded Moses.” –Exodus 39:42

 

     Perhaps you’ve seen the 1976 film, Rocky.  It’s about a nobody-boxer who is given a shot at the heavy weight championship.  At the end of the film, Rocky, having just finished 15 rounds against the champion, cries out to his sweetheart—a shy, nobody-pet-store-clerk named Adrian.  Adrian was all the way in the back of the stadium, so she had to push her way through the crowd in order to get to Rocky, who was still in the ring.  If you’ve seen the film you know that this is one of the most endearing, yet made-fun-of, moments in film history.  Rocky—with that voice of his!—shouts Adrian’s name over and over again.  Finally she makes it to the ring.  The first thing Rocky says to her is, “Where’s your hat?”  She doesn’t answer.  Instead, she cries out, “I love you!”  He repeats those words and the two embrace. 

     Why did Rocky ask Adrian about her hat?  That seems silly, doesn’t it?  The man just “went the distance” against the champion boxer.  That’s all he wanted, mind you.  He lost the fight.  He didn’t expect to win.  He didn’t want to win.  Some victories don’t involve winning.  All he wanted to do was go the distance.  He got his face kicked in, but he went the distance.  And yet, the first thing he says to his sweetheart is, “Where’s your hat?”  She had a little red hat on when he saw her last.  As she pushed her way through the crowd, her hat fell off her head.  She was too focused on making it to the ring to care what happened to it.  But Rocky wanted to know where her hat went.  One might wonder why the director didn’t cut that line out of the script. 

     Ah, but Rocky asking Adrian about her hat is the best line in the movie!  It’s one of the loveliest things I’ve ever heard!  A lot of people say, “I love you,” but how many actually mean it?  This man Rocky, whom everyone dismissed as a bum and a dummy, was so in love with the shy girl that he noticed every aspect of her.  Despite getting his face kicked in by the champion, he perfectly remembered how his sweetheart looked when last he saw her and he noticed what no one else would notice: that her hat was missing.  He said, “I love you!” but the words, “Where’s your hat?”  tell us much more about his feelings for her. 

     Do we pay attention to the “little things” about God?  Do we notice Jesus touching a leper (Mark 1:42) or “immediately” reaching out his hand to save Peter (Matthew 14:31)?  Do we notice how he is still working to change the lives of, say, men who are deemed “bums” and women who are so shy they seem invisible?  The devil is not always in the details.  God gave the Israelites detailed instructions about a tabernacle.  The scripture says they did everything just as the Lord commanded.  Do we pay attention to the details of his commandments?  Are we faithful to him in the “little things” just as we are in the “big things”?  Jesus loved humanity so much that he noticed things in people that others overlooked.  Do we notice “the least of these” around us who are harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd (Matthew 9:36)?  How many of us, after getting our face kicked in by the world, would still embrace the God who let it happen?  How many of us are willing to “go the distance” and “finish the race” (2 Timothy 4:7) at all cost?  A lot of people say, “I love you,” to God but how many actually mean it? 

     “Where’s your hat?” said the boxer.  That’s love!  May Mark 12:29 – 31 be written on all of our hearts.