Brian Castelli – With His Heart

The truth is, it was kind of meaningless. I feel I wasted something.

The October 2, 2009 edition of The Week magazine reports that this is actor Woody Harrelson’s assessment of years of “hedonism” brought on by quick success in a business known for its excesses. Harrelson continues:

…you take those hours–not to mention the money–I spent and apply it toward something meaningful… I could have learned 12 languages! I could’ve learned several martial arts. I mean mastered. I could’ve become a successful engineer and still had time to study acupuncture and the guitar, the flute, and the ukelele. I did have a… ball! Loved it! But did it help me or anyone around me?

The last question shows that Harrelson is finally starting to get it. Our value, our worth, is not measured by how well we entertained, how much money we made, or how many partners we slept with. Our success is measured by the kind of difference we make in the lives of those around us.

We recently watched the movie Fireproof. I enjoyed the movie in one sense and didn’t in another.

I enjoyed the movie because of the strong salvation message. I enjoyed the movie because the principle behind the “Love Dare” agrees with my own opinion and experience about how to improve and maintain relationships. It doesn’t matter how hard you work on the other person, it’s only the energy you put into fixing yourself that makes a difference.

I didn’t like the parts of the movie that reminded me of times when I’ve been angry, impatient, or frustrated and ended up being harsh to my wife. Ephesians 4:2 in the NIV starts out with, “Be completely humble and gentle”. (Emphasis mine) The scriptures talk about gentleness and patience and putting the needs of others before our own. Sigh.

I didn’t like those parts that reminded me of my sin, but I appreciated the reminder that my marriage is an area where I haven’t “arrived.” I must continue to work on myself to be the best husband I can be.

I’ve been studying the book of Ephesians. One of the things I’ve noticed about the apostle Paul’s words to the believers in Ephesus is that he gives them the choice to be black or white, alive or dead, slaves or free. He never once urges them to take a middle road. There is no middle ground. Of course, he urges the believers to choose life, to choose Christ. It occurred to me that this is similar to the call made by Jack Bauer, the fictional counter-terrorist character of TV’s 24.

On 24, Jack Bauer is all in. He will do whatever it takes to defend this country. He does not waiver. He does not equivocate. He is on mission and will not be swayed.

We are called to be Jack Bauer’s in the spiritual world. in Ephesians, we are called to take a side, to put on the armor of God, to not delay or debate since the days are  evil. Bauer is successful because he acts swiftly and decisively. When was the last time you acted swiftly and decisively in matters of faith? Did you hold back, failing to speak about Jesus when you had the chance? Have you been decisive for Christ?

We are called to take a stand.

We ended up watching our 6-year-old neighbor while her parents went to the hospital. It was all very unexpected. Unprepared, we “entertained’ with DVDs. One of them was, “Finding Nemo.” There’s an amazing scene in the movie that got me thinking.

Marlin and Dory are searching desperately for Marlin’s son, Nemo. Along the way they both end up inside of a whale. Marlin freaks out, but Dory is calm, insisting that she can understand the low-pitched droning of the whale’s voice. Here’s one of their exchanges, courtesy of Wikiquote:

Dory: [the whale speaks to her] Okay, that one was a little tougher. He either said “We should go to the back of the throat”, or “he wants a root-beer float”.

Marlin: Of course he wants us to go there! That’s eating us! [rubs his tail on the whale's tongue] How do I taste, Moby? Do I taste good?! [to Dory] You tell him I’m not interested in being lunch!

Dory: Okay. He-e-e-e–

Marlin: Stop talking to him!

Dory: He (the whale) says “It’s time to let go!” Everything’s going to be all right!

Marlin: How do you know? How do you know something bad is gonna happen?!

Dory: I-I don’t!

The last part of the scene takes place as Marlin is holding on to the whale’s tongue as it raises up threatening to send he and Dory sliding down into the back of the throat. Marlin is fighting with everything he has, refusing to surrender control. Dory was willing to trust. She just let go.

It turns out that the whale had transported them to their destination and was putting them in the back of his throat so that he could deliver them via his blow hole. Although everything around them made it look like it was the end, the bigger picture was that they were safe. All they had to do is trust in something bigger then themselves, trust what the whale was telling them.

I think it’s like that with us and God. I heard Dr. Irwin Lutzer on the radio this morning. He told the story of guests at a castle walking up to a huge tapestry on the floor of a great hall. From the up-close perspective of walking on the tapestry, there was no discernible pattern. The tapestry looked like a mainly random collection of colors and patterns. When the guests climbed the stairs, however, and looked down from a great height, they could see that the tapestry was actually a large, beautiful picture. Up close, the big picture was obscured. This is like Marlin and Dory inside the whale. They couldn’t see what was going on outside.

This is also like us. When we look at the world and our circumstances in it we can only see what’s up close. We sometimes get glimpses of God’s larger themes, but mostly the big picture is hidden from us. We’re too close, too deep in the tapestry to always be able to make sense out of what we see. Like Dory, we sometimes need to trust and let go, trust that God has it under control even though what we see suggests otherwise.

I think this is one of the most difficult parts of being a Jesus Follower: Trust beyond what we can see. That why strong faith is grounded in knowledge rather than feelings.

I’m always looking for ways to link popular media to faith. I like to write about redemptive themes. This post is a bit different. I was talking to a friend the other day about the stickiness of sin. That is, sin has a way of clinging to us. I’ve written previously of a friend who took one step off the narrow path and then proceeded to sprint into deeper and more flagrant sins. I also know first hand of what it feels like to carry the guilt of unconfessed sin. It’s like an invisible backpack of bricks. Other people can’t see it, but it slows us down, hunches us over, and affects everything we do.

Spiderman 3, the movie, comes to mind here because of that black, icky thing that covered Spiderman for part of the movie. Background: An asteroid crashes to earth and Spidey goes to investigate. The asteroid contains more than just rock and ice, however. It carries some kind of icky black symbiote that clings to Spiderman, becoming part of his Spidey suit. Except for the fact that Spidey’s suit changed from red to black, you couldn’t even tell it was there. I’m not sure if the thing was evil or if it somehow amplified Peter Parker’s evil nature, but Spidey and the icky black thing together were a bad mix.

After Spidey had done some really bad things, he came to his senses and tried to get rid of the icky black thing. He struggled mightily to get the thing to let go of him, but it was like gum-on-steroids stuck to the bottom of a shoe. Spiderman pulled and pushed, stretched and groaned, tried and failed, but eventually succeeded at ridding himself of the thing.

I think sin in our lives is like the icky black thing. It clings to us, blending in such that other people aren’t always aware of it. We often struggle mightily to rid ourselves of it, but, unlike Spidey, we usually don’t have the strength to get rid of it on our own. (We haven’t been bitten by radioactive spiders after all!) We need help. We need a savior.

Yeah. I agree. Weird title.

Two notions collided in my head this morning. I was listening to a sermon titled, “The Whole Christmas Story.” One of the strong points that was made was that if we don’t understand the bigger picture – the back story – it’s hard to understand the significance of Jesus’ birth.

Jason, one of our Elders, asked us to consider a contrast. We were invited to compare the joy we feel when we hear the news that a couple we barely know has delivered a child with the incredible joy we feel when we hear the news that a couple we know well, a couple that has struggled with miscarriages, pain, and suffering, has delivered a child. Because we know the back story of the couple we know well, there is greater significance and greater joy when we hear the news.

When we read the accounts of Jesus’ birth in the New Testament, we might feel joy akin to the joy we feel when we hear the news of that couple we barely know. We know it’s a good thing – birth, that is. We might also recall that Jesus is headed for the cross, therefore we know that it’s important. But without knowing the back story we might miss the incredible joy that comes from understanding the significance of that birth.

The reality is that Jesus’ birth was a huge deal. It was a birth long awaited and hoped for by the Jews. As we read through the Old Testament, we find an amazing story of a people that kept going their own way and God who wouldn’t abandon them. The Jews were waiting and hoping for a Messiah who would accomplish that which they were incapable of doing for themselves. In the dark days prior to Jesus’ birth even the prophets had been silent for some 400 years. It was as if God had turned his back on the nation. I’m told that the rabbis writing in those days wondered what God was doing. They worried that Israel had, at last, exceeded God’s patience.

But in the darkness there was hope. Jesus quietly burst onto the scene to begin a journey that would fulfill God’s promises of blessing to the Jews (Israel) and the Gentiles (the rest of us).

How does this fit with the Matrix?

In the movie, the people living in the Matrix don’t know the back story. What they see is a facade, a mere shadow of the reality behind it. I believe that many of us – Christians and non-Christians alike – look at the Christmas story through Matrix-colored glasses. It’s a nice story. It makes us feel good because it means that God loves us. But we don’t understand the back story. We don’t understand the significance.

In The Matrix, when people finally know the back story, their lives are radically changed. It’s not possible to go back to business as usual. This kind of radical change can be yours, too, when you know Jesus’ back story. Read the Old Testament and the gospels. I believe they will open your eyes to the bigger picture.

I recently rented the movie, “Hancock,” starring Will Smith as John Hancock, reluctant super hero. (Using RedBox for the first time! $1 a night! Try it!) In entertainment terms, it was so-so. The special effects were good, the acting was fair, but the story had holes a mile wide. At the center of it all, though, was the story of John Hancock’s redemption. When the movie opens, we find that Hancock isn’t well liked. Many of the people in the city want him gone. Along the way, Hancock saves the life of a professional PR man who, in return, helps Hancock with his image.

At first the changes are superficial. Hancock sticks to the script he’s been given and pretends to be different. Through a series of events, however, he goes through a true transformation – one that enables him to lay his own life on the line for someone else.

I like redemption stories because they strike very close to home for us. At some level, we’re all messed up like Hancock. John Eldredge in his book, “Wild at Heart,” says that we’re all posers, hoping that no one gets a peek under our fig leaves. In the movie, Hancock is, in a way, running from himself. He knows that he has flaws, and he protects himself from that knowledge by adopting a, “I don’t give a hoot,” attitude.

Isn’t that just like us? I mean, aren’t there times in our lives when our #1 goal is to cover our weakness in order to appear strong? And, although I like redemption stories, Hancock falls well short of reality. That is, we actually can’t fix ourselves. on our own power, we can change for a time and even make steps in the right direction. But it takes something outside of us, something greater, to affect true change.

Here’s the bottom line: We’re all the same. We’re all messed up. In fact, we’re messed up beyond our ability to fix it. We can’t do it on our own power. This is where Jesus steps in. Romans 5:8 tells us that God loved us so much that he saved us while we were still sinners. No clean up required. No perfect saints in this church. Just saints that have been cleaned up by God.

Jesus changes things. That’s true redemption.