religious sermon
For once, I'm going to write an actual religious sermon in here. Yes, of course it's because of That Movie, what did you expect? *grin*
Usually when I talk about Jesus, here and elsewhere, I do it from a philosophical perspective. What he said, what he did, who he hung out with and why. (And it can never be said enough times that when Jesus got really pissed off at someone, nine times out of ten it was the religious elite.)
Today, I'll be talking about mythology.
So what's the story, mythologically speaking? Well, technically, the world is the story, but let's stick to a smaller part of it. God's Angel asks Mary, an unmarried teenager, if she'd like to be the mother of God. She could say no. She could say "hang on a minute, then I want to be guaranteed that no one will stone me." What she does say is, if God wants it, I want it. And her fiancé gets a bit worried, but he doesn't try to stone her or anything, and after a bit of explanation he's willing to tag along too.
Not a bad beginning. Too bad it doesn't last. Because there are nasty Herods and baby murders and -- well, you know the drill. It's kinda symptomatic.
The son of God grows up and starts spreading divinity, performing miracles both in the water-to-wine sense and in saying some of the best things anyone has ever said. But one of the first things he has to do is battle the devil. (Now, I don't believe in the devil as a person, but for the purpose of mythology it's easier to talk of the devil than of Evil, which is vague and deceptively unthreatening.)
He wins the battle, but he only wins it for himself. And as he walks the earth, he sees all the misery and sin, and how the very people who are supposed to help out are sticking their noses up into the air and saying "we're not touching that rabble with a twenty foot pole!"
So, father and son have a talk-through, and it ends with Jesus walking up to the devil and saying, "Okay, you twerp, you and me, one on one. On your ground, this time."
And the devil smiles and says, "Oh, you're soooo going to regret this."
So Jesus gets betrayed by one of his own chosen, and arrested, and executed. He has to see the people he thought he'd reached out to turning against him, and even that big fisherman he called the Rock (and that wasn't just a joke) is gone now, busy saving his own skin. The devil is taking advantage of their anger and fear, and they don't even know it. The only people still standing by him are a bunch of women and an impressionable, high-strung young boy, and will that be enough?
He thinks he can win the others back, at least some of them, but his body is breaking and his eyes are seeing the devil all over the place - and all over every place, because he does have some foresight even in this. And suddenly he's not so sure. He's reaching out for dad, but there's no sight of him anywhere, just the devil, and what if it's not enough? What if he's all alone in this...
And right then, he has to follow the devil down to hell. The devil may not be real, but hell is. It's despair and pain and hopelessness, and if dad seemed far away a moment ago, he's further away now. The devil grabs Jesus and they have one of those prolonged fights that ends with Jesus flat on his back, unarmed, with a sword pointing at his neck.
(Actually, before the fight, they have Sabbath. But I'm not quite sure how that fits in mythologically, or exactly where in the fight it is.)
Saturday leaves for Sunday, the devil's sword is pressing against Jesus' throat, and Jesus smiles. Or maybe he doesn't. Maybe he's too angry to smile, I don't know. But in either case, he swats the sword away, stands up, and says, Screw that.
I am living water, he says. Screw your little dams of fear and hatred, because I'll break through them. I'll fill the world with love, and light, and life - I'll even fill this little rotten hell-hole of yours. It'll be hard and take a lot of time, because we're dealing with humans, and they're weak. But I'm a stubborn bastard, and let me tell you this: I'm a much, much tougher cookie than you are. Now, I've got work to do, so get out of my way!
He's filling the entire place with love, and it's getting so the devil can't stand it anymore. Jesus steps past his shivering form and out into the world, where he's got to talk to his people. They're sad right now, and scared, so he has to tell them what really went down before. He can't take too long, because he's rather outgrowing his human form, but it's got to be done.
I'm not saying this is exactly what happened, or even remotely what happened. Just that if it's mythology you're after, the middle act really can't stand on its own.
Usually when I talk about Jesus, here and elsewhere, I do it from a philosophical perspective. What he said, what he did, who he hung out with and why. (And it can never be said enough times that when Jesus got really pissed off at someone, nine times out of ten it was the religious elite.)
Today, I'll be talking about mythology.
So what's the story, mythologically speaking? Well, technically, the world is the story, but let's stick to a smaller part of it. God's Angel asks Mary, an unmarried teenager, if she'd like to be the mother of God. She could say no. She could say "hang on a minute, then I want to be guaranteed that no one will stone me." What she does say is, if God wants it, I want it. And her fiancé gets a bit worried, but he doesn't try to stone her or anything, and after a bit of explanation he's willing to tag along too.
Not a bad beginning. Too bad it doesn't last. Because there are nasty Herods and baby murders and -- well, you know the drill. It's kinda symptomatic.
The son of God grows up and starts spreading divinity, performing miracles both in the water-to-wine sense and in saying some of the best things anyone has ever said. But one of the first things he has to do is battle the devil. (Now, I don't believe in the devil as a person, but for the purpose of mythology it's easier to talk of the devil than of Evil, which is vague and deceptively unthreatening.)
He wins the battle, but he only wins it for himself. And as he walks the earth, he sees all the misery and sin, and how the very people who are supposed to help out are sticking their noses up into the air and saying "we're not touching that rabble with a twenty foot pole!"
So, father and son have a talk-through, and it ends with Jesus walking up to the devil and saying, "Okay, you twerp, you and me, one on one. On your ground, this time."
And the devil smiles and says, "Oh, you're soooo going to regret this."
So Jesus gets betrayed by one of his own chosen, and arrested, and executed. He has to see the people he thought he'd reached out to turning against him, and even that big fisherman he called the Rock (and that wasn't just a joke) is gone now, busy saving his own skin. The devil is taking advantage of their anger and fear, and they don't even know it. The only people still standing by him are a bunch of women and an impressionable, high-strung young boy, and will that be enough?
He thinks he can win the others back, at least some of them, but his body is breaking and his eyes are seeing the devil all over the place - and all over every place, because he does have some foresight even in this. And suddenly he's not so sure. He's reaching out for dad, but there's no sight of him anywhere, just the devil, and what if it's not enough? What if he's all alone in this...
And right then, he has to follow the devil down to hell. The devil may not be real, but hell is. It's despair and pain and hopelessness, and if dad seemed far away a moment ago, he's further away now. The devil grabs Jesus and they have one of those prolonged fights that ends with Jesus flat on his back, unarmed, with a sword pointing at his neck.
(Actually, before the fight, they have Sabbath. But I'm not quite sure how that fits in mythologically, or exactly where in the fight it is.)
Saturday leaves for Sunday, the devil's sword is pressing against Jesus' throat, and Jesus smiles. Or maybe he doesn't. Maybe he's too angry to smile, I don't know. But in either case, he swats the sword away, stands up, and says, Screw that.
I am living water, he says. Screw your little dams of fear and hatred, because I'll break through them. I'll fill the world with love, and light, and life - I'll even fill this little rotten hell-hole of yours. It'll be hard and take a lot of time, because we're dealing with humans, and they're weak. But I'm a stubborn bastard, and let me tell you this: I'm a much, much tougher cookie than you are. Now, I've got work to do, so get out of my way!
He's filling the entire place with love, and it's getting so the devil can't stand it anymore. Jesus steps past his shivering form and out into the world, where he's got to talk to his people. They're sad right now, and scared, so he has to tell them what really went down before. He can't take too long, because he's rather outgrowing his human form, but it's got to be done.
I'm not saying this is exactly what happened, or even remotely what happened. Just that if it's mythology you're after, the middle act really can't stand on its own.