Tim Basselin - July 10, 2016
Fight Club
We don't like pain. In fact, our culture is filled with systems and structures that shield us from pain. The Church isn't exempt - we want to skip straight from the cross to the empty tomb. But the film FIGHT CLUB insists that pain is good, that pain invites us to stop and consider how we participate in injustice. How can we embrace the pain in our lives, and how might we find the Spirit at work in the midst of our pain to bring resurrection?
From Series: "Top 10: Movies"
Star Wars. Avatar. Up. When a story resonates with so many people it becomes a blockbuster, we should ask, "Why? What is it about this film that resonates with us?" People of faith can gain a window into desires of our culture, and we can discover how the Spirit is at work, that we might join in!
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I’ve been working on a theory for about a year now that concerns what we mean when we try to instill balance into our lives. Attempting to balance is as old as civilization. The Greek poet Hesiod (c.700 bc) wrote, ‘observe due measure; moderation is best in all things.’ We are taught moderation as the proper way to live modestly.
However, I assume according to the box office results, that most of you have seen Wonder Woman. Was there any place in the film where you wanted Wonder Woman to act in moderation? Try to imagine some moderation slipped into the scene where she storms from the bunker into the town and ends up on top of the church.
If you were one of the townspeople, if you are an oppressed person seeking justice, you aren’t hoping for it in moderation.
I have a 10 month old baby at home. When I see him after a few hours of being away, he begins to kick with his legs and with his arms and smiles and coos and lights up the room. I pick him up and hug him, and then he pulls back from my face with his mouth open showing his two little teeth, and he grabs both my cheeks and looks at me with that same bursting smile and then buries his forehead into my face, which is how he hugs.
And then … I pull back and say, “Everything in moderation child. If you love too much, you’re bound to get hurt.”
No. I do not quell his excitement in order to instill moderation or balance. Nor do I temper my response. Instead, I become a fool myself, shaking my arms and legs and making silly faces and then holding him as close as his his tiny body can handle. Balance is not my goal.
Today, we’re not going to try to balance our understanding of Jesus as both God and human. If we did, we would inevitably end up with a Christ who was 50% human and 50% God.
