When that which transpires and is experienced in worship is represented in narrative or epic form or praised in hymns, so emerges the sacred story (myth). "Why do we do that?" asks the worshiper. The answer is: Because God, or our ancestors, experienced this very thing in ancient times, and this act of worship explains the mighty deed from the past. . . . The sacred story expresses in epic form the reality that happens in worship. [Sigmund Mowinckel, Religion und Kultus, 94]Sigmund Mowinckel was a Norwegian Old Testament scholar who did extensive study of the worship of ancient Israel and was particularly interested in how the psalms were used in worship. He originated the "cult-historical" approach to the Psalms, which contended that most of the biblical psalms were regularly used in various, specific ways in Israel's worship in the temple during the preexilic period. His work reminded people that reenactment in worship carries a powerful message of God's redemptive acts. I thought about Mowinckel's work as I watched a passion play downtown on Good Friday, and later as I watched Mel Gibson's movie The Passion of the Christ. Passion plays and The Passion have both been criticized both for their negative portrayal of the Jews (missing from the passion play I saw, but an element of many) and for their excessive literalism. Such critiques have some validity, and that is why we must view these portrayals as drama rather than as literal history, even if history is portrayed. The importance of the Jewish leaders who condemned Jesus in the passion story is not that they were literal, historical Jews; rather, they remind us that those who claim to be God's people sometimes find themselves working against God, so it is important always to have a spirit of humility and to try to see beyond our own narrow worldview, to see through the eyes of God.
Drama can help us see the world in a different light. Good drama challenges us to think differently about the world and to look critically within ourselves. Many contemporary movies rely too much on the "gee-whiz" use of technology, that is, the use of technology for its own sake. As we watch, we are dazzled by the special effects, but we often come out of the movie with nothing substantive to discuss. On the other hand, movies or plays that are able to deliver a powerful message with minimal staging or technology are worth watching over and over. I remember seeing a televised version of a play called Pueblo, a historical reenactment of incidents related to the North Korean capture of the USS Pueblo. Sparse staging and a gripping story line combine to make the movie compelling to watch. Similar comments apply to many other good movies, such as the Westerns The Oxbow Incident and High Noon. Movies and plays make a difference to us because of the stories they tell, not because of the technology they employ.
When I first saw The Passion of the Christ, I was turned off by the excessive gore and violence, as many others were, but I found myself wanting to talk about it to others who had seen it, to get their take on this or that aspect of it. For instance, it caught my attention that Pilate addressed Jesus in Aramaic, but Jesus responded in flawless Latin, much to Pilate's surprise. Also, after the bloodiest part of the movie, the scourging scene (which was very hard for me to watch--does the amount of violence in the movie make the crucifixion more meaningful to viewers?), I found it interesting that the two Marys take towels to mop up Jesus' blood, which never coagulates. From a theological perspective, what does this scene say about the redemptive value of Jesus' blood? Yes, I had problems with certain aspects of the movie, but I thought other parts were done very well. Most importantly, more than two years later, I still find myself wanting to talk about it to people, and that, to me, is the essence of a good movie or play. Following the example of previous Easter commentaries, I will use drama--specifically, films--to illustrate Easter themes.
In today's reading from Isaiah, the prophet describes a mountain on which an eschatological banquet is laid out for God's people. The mountain symbolizes abundance, joy, even the conquest of death. Its heights are goals for which the people of God strive. I have chosen three movies that deal with ambition, in the best sense of the term: ambition for spiritual enlightenment or for the sake of others rather than oneself.
The 1970s musical Lost Horizon tells the story of the hidden mountain kingdom of Shangri-la, where people live incredibly long lives and pain and suffering are almost unknown. When a group of outsiders is introduced to this marvelous world, at first they see the obviously desirable aspects of the city--health, beauty, love, riches--but it is only when they lose it that at least one of them comes to realize the value of belonging that he felt in the city, a feeling that he cannot find in the mundane world. The movie ends with him abandoning his old world, to which he has returned, and seeking once again the magical city.
OK, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade might not be as good as the original, Raiders of the Lost Ark, which is on everybody's "Top 100 List" for movies and screenplays. However, I liked the movie a lot, particularly Sean Connery's portrayal of the elder Dr. Jones, an English professor and amateur aficionado of Grail lore. When the Nazis try to get their mitts on the Holy Grail, it's the Jones boys to the rescue! The contrast in ambition is probably my favorite part of this movie. American Nazi collaborator Walter Donovan wants the Grail for its promise of eternal life. Indiana Jones sees the Grail as a means to save his father's life. Finally, Henry Jones views the Grail and the Grail legend as a quest for illumination. It is ultimately the senior Dr. Jones whose perception of the importance of the Grail prevails. When we seek things that can benefit only ourselves, we are setting our sights too low.
Before I went to South Africa, I saw the movie Cry Freedom, which tells the story of Steve Biko, a martyr in the struggle to end apartheid, and Donald Woods, the white newspaper reporter who comes to admire Biko and support his struggle for freedom. After Biko is arrested and killed by the police, Woods decides he must escape South Africa. His flight is to save his own life, to be sure, but his life would have been in no danger if he had just agreed to stop writing against the government. In reality, his harrowing journey out of the country is primarily an attempt to get the story of Steve Biko and the horrors of apartheid to the world at large, an ambition that benefited others much more than it benefited Woods and his family.
"The Lord has punished me severely, but he did not give me over to death." The psalmist is talking about redemption, God's gracious gift of forgiveness, offered freely to all who would receive it. Who is worthy of redemption? No one, and that is why it is so miraculous.
In The Apostle, Robert Duvall plays a fallen preacher who loses control and beats his wife's lover within an inch of his life. He flees town and changes his name, but he can't shake God's call on his life. He soon finds himself preaching on the radio and pastoring a new church. He reaches across racial and cultural lines to reconcile people to one another and to God, but he has trouble accepting God's forgiveness for his own sins. In the end, the movie relates the preacher's inner struggles and character flaws, and it portrays his own quest for redemption.
I've watched a lot of Disney movies over the years, in part because my children grew up on them. I know that some of the older movies--such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Cinderella, and Bambi--are considered classics, but for my money, some of Disney's newer efforts are superior in many ways. The characters are more diverse and more complex, and the plots are at least a little more involved, if still predictable. My favorite Disney movie is Lilo and Stitch, a story about a little Hawaiian girl from a broken family and a troublemaking, out of control space alien who is concerned only for himself. After the two meet, Lilo's love for Stitch gives her a sense of focus in her life, and Stitch comes to realize that he cares for someone else, not just himself. At the end of the movie, when he is arrested by the intergalactic police for a variety of crimes involving mayhem and destruction, he asks permission to say goodbye to Lilo and her sister, who acts as Lilo's guardian. "This is my family," Stitch says. "I found it all on my own. It is little, and broken, but still good. Yeah, still good." Through the love of a little girls, Stitch finds redemption from his past and sense of belonging that he never had before.
"Of good family, albeit one of modest means, she was a comely young woman and not without prospects. Therefore it was at once heartbreaking and astonishing to her mother that she would enter into marriage with William Munny, a known thief and murderer, a man of notoriously vicious and intemperate disposition." In Unforgiven, Clint Eastwood plays gunslinger turned pig farmer William Munny, a man who gave up a worthless, degenerate life for a woman he loved. After her death, Munny succumbs to the temptation to earn a fast buck by killing some cowboys who ruthlessly cut up the face of a prostitute. He discovers along the way that the story is more complicated than he had been led to believe, that he has competition for the job, and that he has lost his desire to kill. "It's a hell of a thing," he tells his young sidekick, "killing a man. You take everything he's got, and everything he's ever gonna have." Munny is a complex character, a proven killer who has tried to go straight, a devoted father who wants to take care of his children, a good friend who regrets involving his buddy in this ill-conceived adventure. After the last gunfight, Munny disappears, along with his children, and no one knows what happened to him, although there are rumors he has relocated to San Francisco. After trying to reform himself and slipping back into his old ways, can he again achieve redemption, or is he doomed to remain unforgiven? It is up to the viewer to decide.
Peter was one of the leaders of the early church, but it wasn't until after his experience at Cornelius's house that he came to understand that God's love extends to everyone, not just "the chosen people," whoever they might be. The movies that I discuss below deal with the issue of inclusion and exclusion, people who are accepted and those who are rejected. They show that including others involves overcoming prejudices within and opposition without, but inclusion is a goal that must be pursued.
Steven Spielberg made many powerful movies before 1993, but his first Best Picture Oscar was awarded for Schindler's List, an incredibly moving true story about a German industrialist who saves more than a thousand Jews from Nazi death camps by employing them in his factory. Schindler's actions are all the more remarkable because his initial motivation for employing Jews in his factory was that they were cheap labor. An inveterate womanizer and undistinguished businessman, Schindler finally hits upon a scheme that is guaranteed to make him a fortune, but he grows to care deeply for his Jewish friends and employees, and he finds himself compelled to do all he can to save their lives, even at the risk of losing his own.
In Philadelphia, Denzel Washington plays a lawyer, Joe Miller, who takes the case of a man dying of AIDS, Andrew Beckett (played by Tom Hanks), who has been fired by his law firm for being gay. Miller is a homophobic ambulance chaser--the tenth lawyer that Beckett tried to convince to take the case--but he smells big money, so he accepts Beckett's offer. As he gets to know Beckett and his lover, Miguel, Miller comes to see them not as homosexuals but as two people who love each other and are committed to one another. Seeing Andrew and Miguel as actual people rather than as members of a category is the first step on the road to overcoming his own prejudice and exclusionary tendencies.
The Mission is based on actual events that took place in South America in the 18th century. Rodrigo Mendoza (Robert De Niro) hunts Guarani Indians as slaves in Spanish territory, but after killing his brother in a fit of jealousy, he finds forgiveness as a Jesuit brother and begins working with Father Gabriel (Jeremy Irons) to bring the Guarani peacefully into the Catholic church. It turns out, however, that the church hierarchy is willing to sacrifice the Guarani for political considerations in Europe, so Father Gabriel and Brother Rodrigo must decide whether including the Guarani in the people of God is a struggle worthy fighting, and possibly dying, for.
Mark 16 is the shortest of the gospel resurrection accounts, and the only one that contains no resurrection appearance of Jesus. The only indication that Jesus has been raised from the dead is an enigmatic young man dressed in white, sitting in the empty tomb, who tells the women who come to anoint the body that Jesus has risen and will meet them in Galilee. Was this brief encounter enough to prompt hope in the women? The Gospel of Mark leave the reader with a question, but the growth of the early church suggests that the answer was yes.
John Keating (Robin Williams) is a newly hired English professor at an exclusive boy's prep school, and he quickly gets the attention of several of his young students. As they gaze at pictures of former students in the school hallway, Keating tells them, "Carpe diem. Seize the day, boys. Make your lives extraordinary." Being in Keating's class transforms the lives of the boys. One overcomes his shyness around girls. Another finds his own voice as a nonconformist. Another discovers his love for acting. Through triumph and tragedy, and even after overwhelming opposition, the powers that be are unable to stifle the hope that Keating has inspired in his young charges.
The Man without a Face also tells the story of a teacher, but this time the teacher is the private tutor to a young man who wants to apply to military school in order to escape his contentious family. Justin McLeod (Mel Gibson) is a former teacher who was driven from the classroom after an auto accident disfigured his face and killed a young student in his care. Having learned to cherish his privacy, he reluctantly takes on the boy as his student, and in time the two develop a father-son relationship. Rumor, innuendo, and misunderstanding catch up with McLeod and drive him from the town, but his influence on the young man is lasting: he has instilled in him a reason to hope for the future.
Of all the movies nominated for this year's Academy Awards as Best Picture, only Crash was a relatively low-cost, film festival movie that featured an ensemble cast. It deals head-on with the issue of prejudice, and it shows characters who are discriminated against but who at the same time discriminate against others. Members of different ethnic groups interact, but they don't see each other as equals. Even those who think they are without prejudice wake up to discover that they are not. If everyone in the move is prejudiced against everyone else, what is the upside? The movie deals with flawed people who have prejudices, but in times of crisis, they are often able to overcome their prejudices and see others as real people in need of help or kindness. Yes, prejudice persists in the modern world and shows no signs of disappearing. Crash suggests, however, that our prejudices don't have to define us, so there is reason for hope.