Hope

On the eighth day after his birth Joseph and Mary took Jesus to the temple, as was custom, for his dedication.  At the temple they met an old man named Simeon.  The gospel of Luke tells us that Simeon was righteous and devout, and he was very old.  He had been waiting for the consolation of Israel, because he had faith that he would see the messiah before he died.  That is all we ever know about Simeon: he has been waiting for the consolation of Israel. 

Aren’t you and I a lot like Simeon?  Aren’t we also people who are waiting for God’s consolation, waiting for God to make things right in a world that is torn by violence, catastrophe, war, and injustice, a world that threatens us with illness and injury: heart disease, depression, car wrecks, AIDS, hurricanes, cancer.  Simeon, like all of us, has waited and waited for consolation for his land and for his people, and when he sees this baby boy who has been carried by his parents to the temple, Simeon says “now God, you may dismiss your servant in peace, for my eyes have seen your salvation.”

That is what hope is about.  Simeon’s appearance in the gospel story is brief.  He does not see the ministry of Jesus.  He does not see people healed and fed and made whole.  He does not see Christ rise from the dead.  But he sees enough to know that God will bring salvation, consolation, and redemption.  God’s word will be last, and the last word is love.

Aren’t you and I a lot like Simeon?  We know that we will not live long enough to see all things made new.  We will not see the end of war and disease and suffering in this world, but by the grace of God, you and I will experience enough of God’s presence to trust that our hope for these things will be fulfilled.  Hope is the best of things.

Faith at the Oscars

With the Oscars being awarded this Sunday, this is my yearly excuse to look at the ways our faith intersects with the movie theater.  This past year, the movie with the most obvious religious themes was the adaptation of the musical Les Miserables.  I love the musical, and I thought that the movie got a lot of things right.  Particularly, it showed the power of holy justice to transform the life of Jean Valjean.  When the bishop offers Valjean forgiveness, he also offers him a gift of silver that will help Valjean to make a new start in life.   This is more than forgiveness, this is restorative justice.  It is a holy justice that looks to restore a lost and battered life.  Sometimes the story of Les Miserables is considered as a battle between mercy and justice: Valjean’s mercy against Inspector Javert’s justice.  But Javert’s justice concerns only retribution.  Valjean’s justice concerns restoration.  Just as the bishop restored his life, Valjean looks to restore the lives of Cosette, Marius, and the people of his city.  And so the holy justice of God is spread from one person to another.

Lincoln is a marvelous movie about the passage of the 13^th amendment, which secured the abolition of slavery.  It shows the determination to do what is right, even against fierce opposition, and I was amazed by Daniel Day-Lewis’ portrayal of the president.  One of the most interesting subplots is the congressman played by Tommy Lee Jones.  He advocates for the complete equality of African-Americans, not just the abolition of slavery.  Lincoln counsels him that his ideal is right, but that we take small, careful steps. It reminds me that if we are frustrated by slow progress to changing the world, small steps can eventually lead to real change.

The Hunger Games came out last spring, based on a good young adult novel about a grim future in which children are drafted by lottery to compete in a televised reality show which is a mix of the reality TV show Survivor and a gladiator battle to the death.  Although the content of the story is quite violent, the moral of the story is decidedly anti-violence.  The Hunger Games exposes the way a society can blur the line between entertainment and violence, and the heroine, Katniss, is not willing to let the games destroy her sense of humanity.  Although it isn't nominated for any Oscars , this is a movie (or book) to share and discuss with parents and children, friends and family.