At the Movies

"The Nativity Story" is the new cinematic depiction of the birth of Jesus, as recounted in both Matthew and Luke. All of the characters make an appearance: a teenage Mary and a 20 something Joseph are well-cast and play nicely together as betrothed strangers drawn together for a divine mission to bear the Son of God for the world. In one scene they ponder together the mystery of the unborn child's divine identity. Joseph wonders if he'll be able to teach him anything at all. And mary wonders when they will know, what sign will they see indicative of His transcendence. Interesting speculative writing cohesive with the pondering that Luke's Mary is prone to do.

I found two flaws in this film. First, the Angel Gabriel was neither mysterious nor awe-inspiring in any way. It's the angel of the Lord for God's sake. And there is no heavenly host singing "Gloria in excelsis" to the shepherds. I sought more from hollywood with regard to the appearance of the angel. (He does appear several times; to Mary, Joseph, shepherds...) I was waiting for, at least, a blinding light to engulf the screen for ten seconds. But, nothing. Too andropomorphic for any real sense of "angel Gabriel" to make the grade. He looked like Barry Gibb in 1978.

And second I waited for King herod to be more ruthless, mad, manic in his jealous struggle to cling to "power". In Zifforelli's "Jesus of Nazareth" the great Peter Ustinov nails King Herod as a tyrannical villain with an insanity defense. In his order to slaughter the innocent boyso of Bethlehem Ustinov shouts, "Kill them. Kill them all," as he runs through the palace. In "nativity Story" the role is played with a subtle suspicion and a less vulnerable sense of royal challenge. he doesn;t take Messianic fulfillment seriously. He is capable of doing away with any future challenge to his throne, threatening even his son and heir Antipas. Its more like the Godfather than a fearful lunatic here. I longed for the lunatic!

He is, however, cast niceley against the comic relief team of the three stooges, known better as the Magi. Their sort of spirited and hopeful quest to find the star that shines on the baby King is characterized by a light and fun engagement. They don't take themselves too seriously. Its the baby who gains their religious respect and worshipful devotion. Contrast that with Herod's fear and jealousy. If only Herod had been played more charismatically.

That, in a nutshell, was the missing piece for me. Charisma. From the entire cast. Mary and Joseph were played with the proper emotions of two young people caught between human law/social customs and God's radical transcendence of them. if there had been some more charisma, some awe, transcdendence, deep emotions stirred, then we could have called this a masterpiece. Not to say that I wasn't moved. If yo love Jesus and the story of His birth, you will love this film.

In the end, realism is the intent of the film. People of all faiths can enjoy this film. Mike Rich and Catherine Hardwicke did not set out to evangelize through fil-making. They sought out to tell this story in its simple dramatic power. I think they understate the drama with a purpose. Jesus was after all born to two peasants from a tiny, unimportant village in a small, impoverished colony of the great and powerful Roman Empire. Jesus was born in the shadows, in the dark, behind the scenes, hidden from the mighty and powerful. This movie allows for His incarnation to come as it did, in weakness, humility, and silence.

PS--the sountrack is lovely.

to pray

"To pray is to ask that the laws of the universe be annulled in behalf of a single petitioner confessedly unworthy." Ambrose Bierce.
How true. But there is another truth to it. God indeed will temporarily unnull the laws of the universe for the sake of HIS beloved child, made in God's image, and made worthy through the heart of Jesus. And so Jesus taught us to pray:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed by thy name...

Messiah

Do you pray? Do you pray to Jesus? How do you address Him? We know that Jesus, since the time of His incarnate ministry, was known as Jesus Christ. The latter is the Greek Word for Messiah. Whenever we pray or confess or sing we call Him the Messiah. In Advent, the four weeks preceding Christmas, we devote ouselves to the expectation of HIS coming again. We hope for His coming as merciful judge and inaugurator of the new age. And we call him "Messiah". So what does it mean to do so? We take a Jewish notion of God's activity for granted, don't we? I mena have you ever stopped to think about Jesus Christ? Half of the time we say it without any thought at all, sometimes in disdain or anger as a kind of curse. But what does it mean to give this title to that man named Jesus?

Today, with my talk about Messiah, bible study was challenging. But this is a good time to think about what we say and believe about Jesus the Christ---the Messiah, the anointed one. It is no small leap to say that Jesus was the Messiah of Israel, rejected by His own. Its an even bigger leap to say that said Messiah was also GOD in the flesh. Adonai, the LORD. Emmanuel, God-with-us. This was, in Judaism, a blasphemous claim of self-idolatry. It leads to His execution.
Although a Messianic eschatology, a belief in a redeemr King ushering in a new age of peace and joy, unity and prosperity for God's people, was a widespread belief, Jesus did not fit the criteria for this Messiah. Many Rabbis in the time of Jesus taught that Messiah would come to rescue them from the hands of the Roman occupiers. Messiah would usher in a golden age, a return to the days of King David, the ideal King. messiah would embody the ideal and His reign would not end. Messiah was also a priestly or prophetic character who would stand between God and Israel forever as their chief defender and seeker of mercy. he wuold also be judge of the nations, the gentiles, and the unrighteous Jew. His judgment would be harsh and weed out the bad seeds.
There were multiple strands of thought in Judaism about Messiah at the time of Jesus. The gospel writers claimed that Jesus, in many ways, embodied the Messiah foretold in the prophets. But students of the hebrew Scriptures would disagree or at least struggle with agreement.
I have been doing a little basic study of Judaism's messianic thought. I have discovered that the claim of Jesus' Messiahship and the subsequent eschatology of the church are tied into Judaism more integrally than I knew. One cannot understand the title or Jesus' expression of it, nor know how to live as those who follow this Messiah, without understanding Judaism better. Our future hope is not unlike Jewish eschatology. We believe in an ultimate time of divine promissory fulfillment. God will vindicate, bring justice, healing, peace, a new rule and a new life. This is a shared hope of Jews and Christians. We, however, come at it from two different points of theological departure. Christians begin and end with the Christ event---the life,death, and resurrection of Jesus. Jews come at it from their understanding of the Torah and the Prophets.
Anyway, what I have come to believe is that Jesus was the Messiah of Israel and the savior of the world (a title that also shows opposition to the dominant powers of Rome). I have come to believe this and I understand that Jesus and His storytellers were influenced by Jewish Messianic thought. He is portrayed in such a way as to bolster these titular claims. And yet, something compelled the story to take life in the lives of so many others. Even though Jesus was not the kind of Messiah they thought they were watching for. Not the kind of savior they thought they needed. I think it is clear evidence in favor of His resurrection from the dead. What else would have prompted the radical leaps of faith His followers took to identify Him as Messiah, savior, Son of God. God in the flesh.

a genuine Christmas

No one can celebrate a genuine Christmas without being truly poor. The self-sufficient, the proud, those who, because they have everything, look down on others, those who have no need even of God---for them there wil be no Christmas. Only the poor, the hungry, those who need someone to come on their behalf will have that someone. That someone is God. Emmanuel. God-with-us. Without poverty of Spirit there can be no abundance of God. ---Oscar Romero

What is the Gospel? It has taken on so many secondary meanings that it has become a word lost to Christians and the world. It may mean a certain type of music. "For some it means the invitation to an individual to accept the forgiveness of sins, so to preach the gospel, to evangelize, is to spread the message oof this invitaiton. For others, it means correct teaching about the work of Christ, so that "evangelicals" are those who hold to traditional doctrines. Elsewhere 'evangelical' is the current word for protestant." John Howard Yoder.

But Yoder believes that Gospel is a word best understood in the language of revolution. Yoder says, "Gospel is the good news having seriously to do with the people's welfare." It is news that changes a community's fate, its status, its life. Gospel is when the Iranians set free the hostages in 1980. Its when the Berlin wall collpased. Its when nazi death camps were liberated. Gospel is when the fate of a community is changed from despair to hope., from tragedy to fortune.

For a long time, and for many Christians, gospel is the promise of eternal life---heaven. For others it is the forgiveness of sin, the expiation of guilt, the death of anxiety. These personal ways of understanding the gospel's purpose are true, but only partial visions of its far reaching consequences. When we understand gospel in the language of revolution we begin to see how transformative Jesus intended to be, indeed is for those who believe in Him.

"The priority agenda for Jesus, and for many of us, is not mortality or anxiety, but unrighteousness and injustice. The need is not for consolation or acceptance but for a new order in which [humanity] may live together in love. In his time, therefore, as in ours, the question of revolution, the judgment of God upon the present order and the imminent promise of another one, is the language in which the gospel must speak. What most people mean by revolution,the answer they want, is not the gospel; but the gospel, if it be authentic, must so speak as to answer the question of revolution. This Jesus did." ---Joihn Howard Yoder, theologian.

Luke's Christmas story is the story of this quiet revolution. Hidden in the babe of Bethlehem is the revolutionary, liberating, GOD.To take on that particular flesh was to take on the very weakness and vulnerability of an oppressed, backwater, impoverished "royal" family. Mary and Joseph embody all who are in need of rescue from the present world order. Without God's intervention and their trust in God, their story is impossible. It opposes every power and perception of this world. from the imperial might of Augustus to the tyrannical reign of Herod, Jesus is a a revolution waiting to happen.

Are we revolutionaries?