I Need a Hero

I watched the movie 'Doubt' last night.

I found it to be an engaging film, but in what I found to be a disturbing way. It definitely has a postmodern edge to it. Truth is obscured by the point of view from which it is seen, and the raw human-ness of the characters keeps the viewer not sure who they like and who they dislike. It is the opposite of the comic-book type movie that has been so common throughout the history of film. There is no hero in this movie. No one person working for the good of the others. Instead there are many people doing both good and bad, often for their own good, not for the good of others. In short it is a pretty accurate read on human actions.

'Doubt' is brilliantly acted. All of the actors did phenomenal jobs. Incredibly believable. It pulls the viewer in and makes you struggle and think. It is an excellent film.

But I need a hero. I need to believe that people can at times put aside their own needs for the common good. I need to see examples of people through whom the light of Christ shines.

This does exist. We know it does. How many examples have we seen of real life stories where people do this? Even if a story is merely a work of fiction I need to know that we as a human race have not lost hope in the good of humanity. I need to see that we as humans have not lost hope in the ability of God to work in this world.

It is not that I am still looking for my hero. I long ago found my hero in the person of Jesus Christ. I just need to see that others in the world are still searching for Jesus. After all what is the movie hero other than a pale reflection of Christ and his saving act? Movies, literature, art, so many of are pop-culture events, are the result of a search for truth, purpose, hope, and salvation.

For Christians these searches lead us right back to God. And our command in this world is to help others find the answer.

Art like 'Doubt' presents an answer that lacks hope. It lacks salvation and redemption. It presents this world as all there is. A 'this is it' mentality that tells us that good and bad are relevant to a person's view of the world. I suppose for people of this world that is true. But for people of God, there is so much more.

We are not lost in a world where 'this is it'. We live in a world of hope. There is hope in the good of the Heavenly Father, for God alone is good (Mark 10:18). There is hope in the good of the Kingdom of heaven that is yet to come. And there is hope in the brief glimpses of that Kingdom that shine their light on us here in this world. We see it all the time. In the face of the child who gives something of theirs to a person in need. In the forgotten pages of history where enemies helped each other. In the amazing stories that come out of despair. The nun who brings a face to the faceless. The country that unites peacefully to save thousands from concentration camps. (Denmark) The desperate alien who stays with the helpless accident victim, knowing it means deportation. The community of mere hundreds that raise thousands to help people in need. There are glimpses all around of hope, of truth, of redemption. It is real.

As wonderfully created and acted as 'Doubt' may be, it is not 'good'. It's lack of hope comes from people that do not know they need a hero.

I need a hero. And I praise God everyday that I do.

Light in the Darkness

'The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it." John 1:5

I love Christmas, I truly do. The whole season, both the Christian and secular traditions. The trees and wreaths, the ribbons and colors, the treats and feasts, I love it all. And the lights. I love the lights. Growing up I loved to drive around town and look at all of the decorated houses, especially the ones on the lakes so we could see the lights reflected in the water. (Okay not lakes, the man-made ponds in housing developments.)

I confess however, that for the last several years I have thought we should move the celebration of Christ's birth to be in the spring or fall since historically that would be more accurate. Then we could just have winter. Maybe have a midwinter celebration. Not a popular idea and one I would only mention in select company, and NEVER to my brother-in-law.

It is funny how a new location can change your perspective though. Living in a place where the sun sets about 4:45 and does not rise until almost 8 am, I am beginning to understand the reason that the call was made to celebrate Christ's birth at the darkest time of the year (in the northern hemisphere anyway).

Christ is our light. A light that the gospel of John tells us can not and will not be overcome by the darkness. As the people in northern climates lose the sun's light, having the light of Christ's birth to focus on seems ideal. After all don't we see light best through the darkness? Don't we feel the warmth and clarity of Jesus' life and love the most when we are struggling out of our darkest places.

So maybe Christmas on Dec. 25 is not historical. I am learning to let that go. Celebrating the brightest light in the world at the darkest time in winter makes sense. It brings hope, and isn't that the message of the Christmas Gospel? The hope the Christ child brought for salvation?

Preparation

Advent.

A season in the church year that is beautiful because of it's subtlety, expectation, and it's quietness. This is the way the church begins the liturgical year. No giant celebration, no great feasts, or festivals, but with gentle and quiet preparation.

I have been reflecting on this season in a different way this year because for the first time I am playing such an active part in planning it. As I prepare for each service, the preparation for each service brings out a stark revelation that I have never been truly aware of before. We have adulterated the season of Advent as much as we have the season of Christmas. We have twisted it to be about us, about what we can do, about how we can prepare for the coming of Christ.

This has become more and more apparent as I have read the texts for this week. Malachi 3:1-4 speaks of one who will come who is like a refiners fire, and like fuller's soap. Both of these things include preparing. The refiner's fire prepares silver and gold, burning away all of the impurities until it is a precious metal able to be made into a working object. Fuller's soap is a harsh soap that was used to bleach away all of the impurities in fabric preparing it to be used for fine garments. Both of these objects are used to make something ordinary into a thing of extraordinary value. Yet the value of the refined and cleaned object is not only because it is refined, but also because it is now usable. These ordinary things in life have been prepared for great use.

It is a fitting passage for Advent, a time of preparation. But we have taken Advent to mean what we do to prepare. The Malachi passage speaks of the one who is sent, our beloved Lord, as the one who will do the preparing.

Yet then we turn to Luke 3:1-6 and we hear John the Baptist tell us to prepare the way, prepare a highway, make this flat, tear mountains down and fill up valleys. We get excited about this of course because if there is anything we know how to do it is to tear things down and then cover over others. After all that is how we have been making roads and the way for kings to travel for centuries. We can do that. Yet when we look at our history, even just the brief period of history that Luke writes of in those first few lines, what we see is a path of destruction and brokenness left behind a human ruler who was hungry for power and control.

If I am sure of anything when it comes to our God it is that God does not work as we think He will. When in history has God ever done what was promised in a way that the people expected?

With that in mind it makes perfect sense that this time of Advent is another paradox in our faith life.

Prepare the way of the Lord, but be aware that you can not be the one who does the preparation. Make the highway straight, but the road Jesus will travel is not one made of human hands. Every mountain will be made low, every valley filled, but only God can tear down our high defenses and fill our empty holes and broken souls. Prepare everything to be precious in God's sight, but Jesus is the one who will be the refiner.

God is the mover in our season of Advent. God is the one who prepares us. Our Lord sits with us as we live through the refiner's fire, shaping us and burning away all of the impurities until we are so pure and precious that, just as silver does when it is ready to be removed from the fire, we show the reflection of our maker.

Make you reflect the preparation of our God the Advent season.