The Theology of Mr. Rogers: Tekkun Olam

2 Corinthians 4:13-18; Matthew 25:31-40

When we think of Mr. Rogers, one image that comes to mind is of a quiet, soft-spoken man using simple words and songs to speak to children on an obviously low-budget and dated television show. The puppets look cheap and handmade because they were cheap and handmade. The set seldom varied from a trolley car moving along a track through a small neighborhood which never changed to the inside of a living room with a closet to the neighborhood of make-believe with puppets like Daniel Tiger, Lady Aberlin, and King Friday. Mr. Rogers himself was ridiculed and mimicked – one example was Eddie Murphy’s parody called Mr. Robinson’s Neighborhood where one of the guests was Mr. Landlord who was constantly hunting down Mr. Robinson to serve him with an eviction notice and the police were after him for any number of petty crimes. But Fred Rogers’ beliefs ran much deeper than he expressed on his children’s television show. In 1997, after Rogers retired and about five years before his death. he was interviewed on PBS by Charlie Rose. Rogers, always interested in hearing from the other person more than talking about himself, asked Rose this question: “What is essential about you, Charlie?” Rose actually skirted the question and turned it around on Fred. He asked Rogers the essential thing that most people didn’t know about that was key to them understanding who Rogers was. Rogers didn’t hesitate. He said it was his spiritual life. For the next few minutes, Rogers spoke about faith, God, Christ, forgiveness, and love. And then the seminarian came out when he summarized what he tried to share on his show each week in two words in Hebrew: “Tekkun Olam” (pronounced “tea – coon, ō-lam). It turns out, in describing his theological beliefs, Mr. Rogers’ theology was not at all childlike; on the contrary, it was, and is, extremely demanding. 

Fred Rogers, because his television show was aid on government-funded television, never explicitly spoke about his faith and at one point he told Rose that because his perception was it couldn’t be seen. I disagree. I haven’t watched every episode of Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood by a long shot, but his faith is evident in the shows I have seen. His theology came of out an understanding that we, children and adults alike, have our places of vulnerability and such places can give rise to hurt and to anger. Rogers believed that we all have within us not just a desire, but a need, to feel accepted and be loved … and not experiencing acceptance and love can lead to a number of negative impulses from self-esteem issues to physically taking out anger on others. But the Rev. Rogers also wrote in a paper for seminary that feelings of disapproval, guilt, and anxiety are preconditions for sin. In one of the few sermons he ever preached, he said: “Evil will do anything to make you feel as bad as you possibly can about yourself because if you feel the worst about who you are, you will undoubtedly look with evil eyes upon your neighbor and you will get to believe the worst about him or her. Then the evil thrives and spreads.” Rogers saw evil as an active and corrosive force in the world leading to sin, and sin leading to separation and alienation from God. 

Through the medium of television, Rogers sought first to identify the conditions under which children feel the most vulnerable, to name them out loud, and then to cope with them in a positive way. In the Neighborhood of Make-Believe, children were presented with real-life issues, using their vocabulary, and then they allowed to explore different ways of acting or reacting. A couple of weeks ago, we looked at anger and the song, The Mad That I Feel. In the song, we can react to anger by biting or by planning to do something we know is wrong … or we can stop and release our anger by punching a bag or playing a game. Open-ended play gave children options to choose from and control over their reactions. 

Another way Rogers addressed vulnerability was by reminding each child that they were special. For Rogers, this was no meaningless platitude, it came from his belief that only if our need for love is met can we love others. His favorite Bible verse was 1 John 4:10: “This is love. Not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” Rogers referred to this part of his theology as the circulation of love and it began with the belief that as our understanding of God’s love for us grows, our circle of love expands, and as our circle of love grows it becomes a force drawing in more and more people. The heart of each show was the opening living room scene, which was the epitome of biblical hospitality. Each person watching the show was invited into the living room with Mr. Rogers and through television each child was left with the perception that Mr. Rogers was speaking directly to them. The world was special. They were special. We are called to care for the world. We are called to care for one another. We are called to reject evil, anger, and hate and embrace love. We are called to be a community, a neighborhood. I don’t know about you, but to me it all sounds very suspiciously like the kingdom of God. 

During his lifetime, Rogers probably most often spoke of his faith in letters that he wrote. Those letters made it clear that the views that formed his show were based on the Bible. In an interview in 1974 he said: “I want to be a vehicle for God, to spread his message of love and peace. The children who watch the show are my congregation and I take my ministry very seriously.” Rogers began his day at 5 am, spending two hours of time in prayer, Bible reading, and reflection. As he walked into the studio each day, he said a simple prayer: “Dear God, let some word that is heard be yours.” Rogers articulated the principal concern of the Bible to be God and God’s relationship with humanity. He believed that sin breaks that relationship, disrupts it, and puts us at odds with God. Despite our sin, Rogers believed in God’s love for us as an enduring presence, which manifested itself in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, and that God’s love continues to work in and through the love that people have for one another. He summarized his perspective on love this way: “People won’t know God’s love if the people of God don’t love.” He summarized his work on television this way: “To broadcast the message of God’s grace throughout the land.” Sounds like a pastor preaching, doesn’t it?  

Now we return to those two Hebrew words that Mr. Rogers used to describe his theology and his ministry: “tekkun olam.” While those two words don’t appear in the Bible, they do appear throughout Jewish writings based on the message of the Bible. The word “tekkun” means “to repair, to fix, or to restore” something that is broken. The word “olam” means “world.” So, “tekkun olam” literally translated, means to repair or restore a broken world. It encompasses an understanding of the Bible which recognizes that we and the world we live in are broken. The world is not as God created it to be and we are not what God intends us to be. The book of Revelation promises us that someday God will restore this world to a new heaven and a new earth and that those who believe in Christ will also be restored to a new and everlasting life … but in the meantime, the Bible reminds us that we are commanded to repair the brokenness. There are those great words from Micah 6: What does the Lord require of you? To do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God. “Tikkun olam” is a way of thinking and living that accepts that it is our duty to do nothing less than perfect the world by impacting one person at a time. We accept that God works through God’s people and if we see injustice, oppression, and hate and are silent, God will also be silent. We accept that we cannot accept the world as it is and just say it is the will of God – God expects us to be an active partner in the task of creating a better world now and that we view the world, and each individual in it, as it might become. One of Mr. Rogers’ quotes is: “Often when you think you’re at the end of something, you’re at the beginning of something.” Helping to repair broken people is like that. We meet people at their place of vulnerability one person at a time. We remind people that they are special, created in the image of God and loved by God, one person at a time. We show people what love looks like, what person at a time. We pray for the needs of others one person at a time. And slowly brokenness, theirs and our own, is repaired. In the 1997 interview, Rose asked Fred how many children he thought he had influenced through his hundreds of television shows. Fred said: “I don’t care how many, even if it’s just one. We get so wrapped up in numbers in our society. The most important thing is that we are able to be one-to-one; if we can be present in the moment with the person we happen to be with, that’s what’s important.” 

In our scripture reading for today from 2 Corinthians 4, the Apostle Paul’s words echo the theology that Mr. Rogers embraced. The spirit of faith that is in scripture and that Jesus lived is the faith that we believe and that we speak. Grace circulates as it extends to more and more people which increases our sense of thanksgiving and gives glory to God. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, is broken, our inner nature is being continually renewed because we look not at what can be seen, at the world and people as they are, but we look at

what cannot be seen, the world and people as what they can be. 

According to Joanne Rogers, Fred’s wife of over 50 years, Fred’s last thoughts were based on Matthew 25:31-40. (READ). Fred, before he died, wanted to know if he was a sheep or a goat. I can’t answer for God, but if half of what I have read about Mr. Rogers is true, he was a sheep and he has inherited the kingdom God prepared for him. Mr. Rogers’ question for us would ask that we seriously think about how others would answer that question if asked about us. 

I want to close today with some final words from the minister Fred Rogers. 

• The only thing evil can’t stand is forgiveness. 
• The greatest thing we can do is help somebody know that they’re loved and capable of loving. 
• I believe that appreciation is a holy thing, that when we look for what’s best in the person we happen to be with at the moment, we’re doing what God does. 
• The real issue in life is not how many blessings we have, but what we do with our blessings … some people have many blessings and hoard them, some have very few and give them away.