Journey at the Movies 2012
“The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel – It Takes
Community”
based on a sermon preached at Journey
United Church of Christ on Sunday, August 19, 2012
Every summer Journey “goes to the movies”
with a worship series that invites us to look at current films from a faith
perspective. While folks are not required to see the movie in advance,
they are encouraged to see it if at all possible. The worship services
includes an intro to the movie, related scripture, video clips from the movie
to help us make the connection and a message that brings it all together.
Our thanks to www.christinculture.com and www.holllywoodJesus.com for their insights. The video clips
used in worship can be found at www.wingclips.com and www.youtube.com
Introduction to the Film:
Some say that perhaps The Best
Exotic Marigold Hotel should have
been rated NC-50, not because of anything offensive, but because it may require a certain age to truly
appreciate the various stories played out by the wonderful ensemble cast.
(For the record, it is rated PG-13.)
Seven British retirees from a wide
range of backgrounds all find their ways to Jaipur, India.
They have all opted to
"outsource" their retirement
to the much less expensive India. The hotel has marketed itself as a perfect
retirement facility.
However, the brochure
is just a touch exaggerated (read as outlandishly false).
· The phones don't work.
· Some rooms have no doors.
· It is run by Sonny, the failure son of his family. He has a dream for the hotel, but
is totally incompetent to find a way to fulfill his dreams, either in business
or his personal life.
Watch the trailer with me to get an idea of how it all comes together
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel Trailer Official [HD] from
YouTube
Reading of the Day:
I Corinthians 12:12-31(CEV)
12 The body of Christ has many different
parts, just as any other body does.
13 Some of us are Jews, and others are
Gentiles. Some of us are slaves, and others are free. But God's Spirit baptized
each of us and made us part of the body of Christ. Now we each drink from that
same Spirit. 14 Our bodies don't have just one part. They have many parts. 15
Suppose a foot says, "I'm not a hand, and so I'm not part of the
body." Wouldn't the foot still belong to the body? 16 Or suppose an ear
says, "I'm not an eye, and so I'm not part of the body." Wouldn't the
ear still belong to the body? 17 If our bodies were only an eye, we couldn't
hear a thing. And if they were only an ear, we couldn't smell a thing. 18 But
God has put all parts of our body together in the way that he decided is best.
19 A body isn't really a body, unless there is more than one part. 20 It takes
many parts to make a single body.
21 That's why the eyes cannot say they
don't need the hands. That's also why the head cannot say it doesn't need the
feet. 22 In fact, we cannot get along without the parts of the body that seem
to be the weakest. 23 We take special care to dress up some parts of our
bodies. We are modest about our personal parts, 24 but we don't have to be
modest about other parts. God put our bodies together in such a way that even
the parts that seem the least important are valuable. 25 He did this to make
all parts of the body work together smoothly, with each part caring about the
others. 26 If one part of our body hurts, we hurt all over. If one part of our
body is honored, the whole body will be happy. 27 Together you are the body of
Christ. Each one of you is part of his body. 28 First, God chose some people to
be apostles and prophets and teachers for the church. But he also chose some to
work miracles or heal the sick or help others or be leaders or speak different
kinds of languages. 29 Not everyone is an apostle. Not everyone is a prophet.
Not everyone is a teacher. Not everyone can work miracles. 30 Not everyone can
heal the sick. Not everyone can speak different kinds of languages. Not
everyone can tell what these languages mean. 31 I want you to desire the best
gifts. So I will show you a much better way.
The Message:
Summer is known for a lot of
things – vacations, rest, relaxation, school-free zone … but those of you who
live with or near extended family, you know that’s its also REUNION SEASON! I have this kind of love/hate relationship
with reunions … as I'm sure do many of you. I love the thought of
rekindling relationships; remember the good old days, recapturing some of the
moments. But I hate what often, despite our best efforts, often emerges when we
get together -- the resurfacing of old wounds, the subtle and not-so-subtle
reminders of not only the "best of times" but some "worst of
times" as well. Any of you who have
ever been to a family reunion, or even gathered with extended family for a special
occasion, may know what I'm talking about
When you
get a variety of people together, particularly people who represent a variety
of backgrounds, an interesting thing happens. I think a good metaphor might be two
porcupines trying to stay warm on a cold evening. Picture if you will, two porcupines are cold,
they want to get close to one another, because they know if they get close they
will be able to help each other. But as
they begin to move toward each other, they wound each other. And in that moment of woundedness they both
scamper apart. And they say "Well,
being cold is better than being wounded".
(illustration from John Ortberg’s book, “Everybody’s Normal Until You
Get to Know Them”)
It's the
dance of the porcupines… And this frustrating, often
painful dance is not limited to just the family arena. It happens in the workforce between older and
younger workers. It happens in schools
between teachers and students. It
happens in churches between older and younger worshippers. … it
happens when we meet these 7 strangers on their way to the Best Exotic Marigold
Hotel
Each of the people at the hotel has come for different
reasons: financial,
looking to find a lost love, looking for new love, seeking independence, a
cheap hip replacement. They find themselves in a new environment and a culture
they have a hard time understanding. For some it is an adventure. Others find
it all too intimidating. Yet, as their stories play out and intertwine it gives
a sense of what it means to come together – maybe out of necessity, but there
is a sense that community is formed … not only among those who find themselves
as residents of the Marigold Hotel, but also with others outside the walls of
the hotel as well.
Proverbs 28:5 "The purpose of a person's
heart are deep waters. But a person of
understanding can draw them out."
What
it's saying is that all of us are shaped by certain forces and motivated by
certain purposes. These forces and
purposes other run pretty deeply with in.
They're often hard to explain and sometimes we're not even aware of what
they are. But one thing is sure. In order
for community to happen, there has to be the desire to understand. At times it can be easy … at times it
feels more like the dance of the porcupines … and especially when more and more
folks are get involved and when those folks represent an ever-expanding
spectrum of diversity.
It
was fairly easy when back in the fall of 2007 when thee were seven of us
sitting around Jim’s living room … exciting about dreaming together, excited
about birthing a whole new church. But then the family grew … and grew and grew
… and that’s not a bad thing… after all, one of core believes was grounded in
diversity and the understanding that the United Church of Christ brings to the
world when they proclaim there is “UNITY IN DIVERSITY”.It’s not easy … but
there’s a lot of pretty sound biblical advice … (see, early Christians had
problems with it too … )That kind of community comes with …
Understanding - knowing what makes people
tick. James 1:19 "Be quick to
listen, slow to speak, slow to anger". We need to be listeners when it comes to
forming intergenerational community.
Most of us are trying to tell the other generation how to be, what to
do, how to change. Understanding is a
key element
Acceptance: Romans
15:7 says "Accept one another …
accept one another just as Christ accepted you." Acceptance of each other is
modeled after Christ's acceptance of us
Value others –learn how we can say to
each other not only "I understand you" or "I accept you"
but "I value you … you are important to me" In the coming weeks I want to you think about
what you can do to form Community - family, where you live, at work, even here at church - have lunch with
someone and hear their story, write a note to them or call them
It's
important because I think God had intergenerational community in mind when life
was created. God created us, not to live
as isolated islands, but to DO LIFE TOGETHER.
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