I have a confession to make. A secret to share with you my closest friends. It’s a little embarrassing, I must admit. But I figure I can trust you. So, here goes: I like action movies.
I know, I know. They are usually not great literary or cinematic works of art. I know that they stretch the limits of possibility and that they tend to solve all problems with violence as a first response. I also know that they tend to focus on the individual rather than the community, the hero against the world, or the forces of evil, or corruption, or …
I know all that. But I still like them. I still go and see them. Well, not all of them, I am a bit discriminating, at least I like to think so. But I go and see movies that in some ways at least disagree with my theology.
In some ways. Aside from the thrilling action scenes that when done well are as aerobic as some workout routines, they get your heart pumping and your muscles clenching almost against your will; but there is one aspect of this genre that does connect theologically. During most of these films the realization dawns, at least on the part of the viewers if not the characters in the story, that a savior is needed.
The problem in much of the bible and in much of the world today, and I humbly submit, in our lives and in the psyche of this great nation is that it is so easy to forget that we need a savior. We have become so independent, so reliant upon our own resources, so certain that we can solve our own problems that we are reluctant to admit we need a savior.
This is one of the struggles I have with our celebration on this date. We call it Independence Day, because it is at the beginning a celebration of a nation who decided that it needed to rule itself as a community, as a nation with a representative government based on the common good. We claimed independence from outside rule.
But what I sometimes fear we are celebrating these days is the action hero, “we don’t need nobody cause we got the power to do whatever we want” kind of independence. The kind we sometimes reference when we shout out “hey, it’s a free country!” Meaning, get off my back, I can do what I choose.
Perhaps, we in the church need to shift emphases a little bit and talk more about an Interdependence Day. I heard this idea at a seminar I attended some time ago. (See, we need help, even with good ideas!) This would allow us to celebrate the richness of our nation because of the ways we learn from and share with a vast diversity of people and cultures. We are a great nation because we recognize our interdependence, we recognize our need for folks like us and unlike us.
Ultimately, of course, we would also want to talk about our need for a Savior, for that is our true dependence. We depend on the grace of God. And despite our popular culture, we know the savior we need doesn’t come with whips and guns, but with grace and mercy and forgiveness.
That’s a hero worth celebrating, and action enough for anyone.
I know, I know. They are usually not great literary or cinematic works of art. I know that they stretch the limits of possibility and that they tend to solve all problems with violence as a first response. I also know that they tend to focus on the individual rather than the community, the hero against the world, or the forces of evil, or corruption, or …
I know all that. But I still like them. I still go and see them. Well, not all of them, I am a bit discriminating, at least I like to think so. But I go and see movies that in some ways at least disagree with my theology.
In some ways. Aside from the thrilling action scenes that when done well are as aerobic as some workout routines, they get your heart pumping and your muscles clenching almost against your will; but there is one aspect of this genre that does connect theologically. During most of these films the realization dawns, at least on the part of the viewers if not the characters in the story, that a savior is needed.
The problem in much of the bible and in much of the world today, and I humbly submit, in our lives and in the psyche of this great nation is that it is so easy to forget that we need a savior. We have become so independent, so reliant upon our own resources, so certain that we can solve our own problems that we are reluctant to admit we need a savior.
This is one of the struggles I have with our celebration on this date. We call it Independence Day, because it is at the beginning a celebration of a nation who decided that it needed to rule itself as a community, as a nation with a representative government based on the common good. We claimed independence from outside rule.
But what I sometimes fear we are celebrating these days is the action hero, “we don’t need nobody cause we got the power to do whatever we want” kind of independence. The kind we sometimes reference when we shout out “hey, it’s a free country!” Meaning, get off my back, I can do what I choose.
Perhaps, we in the church need to shift emphases a little bit and talk more about an Interdependence Day. I heard this idea at a seminar I attended some time ago. (See, we need help, even with good ideas!) This would allow us to celebrate the richness of our nation because of the ways we learn from and share with a vast diversity of people and cultures. We are a great nation because we recognize our interdependence, we recognize our need for folks like us and unlike us.
Ultimately, of course, we would also want to talk about our need for a Savior, for that is our true dependence. We depend on the grace of God. And despite our popular culture, we know the savior we need doesn’t come with whips and guns, but with grace and mercy and forgiveness.
That’s a hero worth celebrating, and action enough for anyone.
Shalom,
Derek
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