this whole Netflix experiment. Seems like I’m watching a lot of movies but as long as I have some semblance of control, I suppose it will be alright.
Watched The Magnificent Seven last night, been quite a while since I had seen it. I’m not sure I’d put it up there as an all time classic but it is a very good movie in the old Hollywood western style. Made in 1960, they were still using white folks in makeup to portray Indians and Mexicans. Very quaint.
I’ve been reading and thinking a lot about divorce lately, first because of the guy at church and then because of a discussion in the blogsphere. Certainly not going to let SU free! Anyways, one of the lines in the movie rings true about one of the thoughts in the discussion. Back to that in a bit.
During the discussion, an observation was made about a part of the Church that places limits on divorcees in regards to communion. The observation was along the lines of separation, singling out, etc. and that the practice was not in line with Jesus’ teachings. And although those aren’t the reasons for the limits, I have to agree with the thought, in that Jesus was severely criticized for hanging out with the very type of people that society tends to look down upon and single out. My concept and grasp of grace is such that for me to have any other position would be hypocritical.
Thus the line in the movie. At the beginning of the movie, in order to set the “morality” of the lead character up, the scene is of a funeral director refunding money to the person that has paid for the burial of someone he didn’t know, whom he had found dead when he stumbled over him on the sidewalk. After initially agreeing to bury the fellow, the funeral director couldn’t find anyone to drive the hearse to the cemetery. Turns out that the fellow was an Indian and the local townspeople had decided that only whites could be buried there. A mob of sorts had formed and threatened anyone driving the hearse to the cemetery with bodily harm.
Our soon to be hero is seen observing the refund transaction from a short distance. The person receiving the refund notes that the cemetery is Boot Hill and that murderers, thieves, infidels, etc. were buried there and when did people decide that people of another color couldn’t be buried there. The answer was, to me, very interesting and is the polar opposite of Jesus’ philosophy: When we became civilized. Grace tells us that we are God’s creation and that nothing can separate us from Him except our own free will. Civilization insists upon order created by man, notwithstanding grace.
Our hero then accepts the challenge and the movie moves on. The story is reminiscent of Jesus’ parable about the Good Samaritan. Why is it that proper, civilized people passed right by the wounded man until the half-breed stopped to help? Why is it that we repeat that parable daily, never acknowledging the truth, following our religious leaders instead of our God?
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