Hey Waldo! Where’s God?

“Some people talk about finding God—as if He could get lost.”

–Author Unknown

While at Sunday mass last weekend, I was surprised when our assistant pastor mentioned Where’s Waldo? Do you remember the popular craze that cropped up in the late 80s?  It originated in a book series where British illustrator and creator Martin Handford inserted a very distinctive traveler named Waldo in his artwork. Readers were challenged to find this elusive character who was well hidden within each scene.

People from all corners of the world reveled in the quest to find Waldo. Soon this endearing character with his distinctive red-and-white shirt, bobble hat, and round goggle glasses created a media frenzy that spawned a TV series, a comic strip and a series of video games. Today, the search for Waldo continues on Wii, Nintendo, and a new iPhone app.

You could hear the congregation laugh when Father Adrian mentioned Waldo. Yet he almost silenced the room when he compared Where’s Waldo to the search for God. “God is there in every scene and every situation. You may not always see Him and sometimes He’s hard to find. But He’s there. God is always there for you.”

The analogy made a lot of sense. We know God is out there, but we’re still straining our eyes and hearts to see. Have you thought about God lately? Who is God or what God represents? What role God plays in your life?

It’s hard to talk about God especially nowadays when it’s not exactly the “coolest” thing to do. If you wear your faith on your sleeve, someone may look at you funny or judge you. Maybe that’s why the timing couldn’t be better for filmmaker Peter Rodger, who is releasing his new movie Oh My God this week. Like the creator of Waldo, Peter challenges us to resume our search and redefine God in our lives. So he took to the streets, traveled the globe and asked people from all walks of life and professions of faith the ultimate question: What Is God?

When Peter talked about the making of Oh My God, he said, “I was tired of the childish schoolyard mentality that permeates this world—I call it the “My God Is Greater Than Your God” syndrome—where you have grown men flying airplanes into buildings shouting “God Is Great”—where you have young men and women blowing themselves up to buy a place into heaven. None of this makes sense to me.”

So he decided to ask people what they think. It took him three years. Peter trekked to 23 countries with camera-in-hand to get some answers from children, religious leaders, celebrities, fanatics and the local person on the street.

You can’t help but be inspired to reacquaint yourself with what God really means in your own journey when you see this gripping and thought-provoking film. It’s filled with raw interviews and candid clips from the casually atheist to the disturbingly devout.

There are many memorable moments, but one of my favorites was a scene with three  riveting Japanese drummers. They defined God as a smile. “When you smile it brings you happiness and if you give up—it’s over. It’s the same with drumming. It’s what you put into it that determines what you get back.”

Oh My God is a journey that will make you shake your head, that will agitate your convictions, and most certainly cradle your soul. And one that may make God a little less elusive in your life than Waldo.

Click here to see a clip of Oh My God.