Journey at the Movies 2012
“Snow White & The Huntsmen-Beaut That
is More Than Skin Deep”
based on a sermon preached at Journey
United Church of Christ on Sunday, August 12, 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:
I’m
a sucker for a good fairy tale. Yes, I
love all the Disney princesses and if they made those cute outfits complete
with the shoes and magic wand in my size, I’d probably own one. So, when I heard that a new version of “Snow
White” would be among the summer movie releases, I’ll admit that I got all
excited. Then my husband invited me into
this little “reality check” (yes, he does that a lot with me) and I discovered
that this Snow White is not your childhood fairy tale. Yes, there is a princess and even a prince,
there is an evil Queens and there are some characters who slightly resemble the
seven dwarfs. But, as Maurice Broaddus
states on the website Hollywood Jesus: “Snow White and the Huntsman is a solemn
affair, providing an expansive, dark back-story to the Grimm fairy tale.”
Here’s
the scenario: “After a convoluted scheme
to marry her way to the throne, obviously evil Queen Ravena drives Snow White
into exile. The queen sends the Huntsman
into the Dark Forest to capture her.
Snow White’s childhood chum, Prince William, jumps into the hunt. The movie counts on a few familiar notes with
Snow White still commanding the love of forest animals … Overall, the movie is
the story of an exile on a hero’s journey to reclaim what’s hers and to restore
the kingdom.” It’s the story of good vs.
evil. And as we’ll see, it’s the story
about the pursuit for external beauty and the realization that real beauty comes
from deep, real, sacrificial love that is found at our core.
Watch
the trailer with me to get an idea of how it all comes together
Reading of the Day:
I1 Corinthians 13:1-13 (The Message,
by Eugene Peterson)
If I speak with
human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don't love, I'm nothing but the
creaking of a rusty gate.
If I speak
God's Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain
as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, "Jump," and it
jumps, but I don't love, I'm nothing.
If I give
everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr,
but I don't love, I've gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I
believe, and what I do, I'm bankrupt without love.
Love never
gives up. Love cares more for others than for self. Love doesn't want what it
doesn't have. Love doesn't strut, Doesn't have a swelled head, Doesn't force
itself on others, Isn't always "me first," Doesn't fly off the
handle, Doesn't keep score of the sins of others, Doesn't revel when others
grovel, Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth, Puts up with anything, Trusts
God always, Always looks for the best, Never looks back, But keeps going to the
end. Love never dies.
Inspired speech
will be over some day; praying in tongues will end; understanding will reach
its limit. We know only a portion of the truth, and what we say about God is
always incomplete. But when the Complete arrives, our incompletes will be
canceled.
When I was an
infant at my mother's breast, I gurgled and cooed like any infant. When I grew
up, I left those infant ways for good.
We don't yet
see things clearly. We're squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it
won't be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We'll see it
all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he
knows us!
But for right
now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that
consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And
the best of the three is love.
The Message:
I.
Once Upon a Time
So, nearly every Disney
Princess movies follows roughly the same plot.
First, you need a beautiful princess – Ariel, Jasmine, Belle,
Pocahontas, Cinderella, or Sleeping Beauty.
She must be beautiful and she must be smart and brave … and of course,
she must have an enemy. Since the very
beginning of time there have always been villains raining on the princess’s
parade – Cinderella runs into a whole set of evil obstacles, Ariel is plagued
by Ursula, Pocahontas stands against Governor Ratcliffe… the list goes on and
on. At some point there might be a
handsome prince who saves the day and there are others who help the beautiful
princess along the way. It’s good vs.
evil. And even though things may be
rough at times, we know there will be ok.
Everyone will live happily every after.
This version of Snow White
is a bit deeper and darker and the tension between good and evil couldn’t be
stronger. The villain is extra
evil. The princess is extra smart and
extra brave and even when she’s fighting off trolls in the Dark Forest, she’s
amazingly beautiful. (I’m pretty sure
I’d look much, much worse … and I’m pretty sure the troll would win). The Queen spends a good portion of her time
looking in the mirror; ironically, Snow White, never does.
After a convoluted scheme to
marry her way to the throne, the obviously evil Queen Ravenna drives Snow White
into exile. She has kept her as a
prisoner for years but now that she has escaped, the Evil Queen knows that she
must find her and bring her back when that old “mirror, mirror, on the wall” reveals
that she may not be the fairest of all.
This Evil Queens takes evil
to a whole new level. The kingdom has to
endure life after the fall (the death – or shall we say murder – of the
king). Her evil has poisoned the land
and the people live under a curse that can only be undone by the fairest blood.
She’s not just interested in taking over the kingdom and running the place,
she’s determined to do it with the air of sophistication and a commitment to
ruling as a fair, youthful dictator forever and ever. And given that Botox and plastic surgery are
not available to her at the time, she maintains her youthful appearance but
sucking the very life out of other beautiful young things. As she ages, the need for more and more young
beauties rises and her army can barely keep us with the demand as they travel
from village to village snatching the young women who are coming of age. In frustration, she turns to that mirror on
the wall for advice. The mirror divulges
the solution and the evil plot is formed.
If she is able to acquire Snow White’s heart – a heart filled with
purity, honest and true love – she can and will live forever. So she sends the Huntmans into the Dark
Forest to do her evil deed.
Of course, it’s never that
easy right? Because while the Queen is
evil to the core, we know that Snow White matches it with her own purity and
love. When we first meet Snow White at
the beginning of the movie, she is with her mother and we quickly realize that
this is no ordinary child. She is
destined. She is the chosen one. Even after living for years as a prisoner in
horrible circumstances, we find her in her cell praying. Just as the evil Queen is realizing what will
keep her forever young, Snow White is coming to the realization that she will
be the answer to her own prayers. After
escaping the prison of the Queen, Snow White finds refuge in home of the
faeries and she begins the journey in which she will grow into the knowledge
that she will be the one who saves her people.
She gives her people hope to become the people they were meant to be and
live the lives they were supposed to live.
Video Clip: Wing Clips: The
Dwarves Decide to Follow Snow White
Even in the midst of her
new-found mission as leader of the army, she does so with grace and justice and
love – a deep, deep love is quick to transform the world around her. Unlike many triumphant warriors, even when
she final realizes she has no choice but to destroy the queen, she does so with
regret that is clearly evident in her demeanor in the final battle. True remorse registers in her eyes as the
Queen meets her ultimate end.
II.
The Greatest of These is Love
Have you ever experienced
that kind of love? A love that conquers, redeems, and transforms? A love that
shines?
Our society seems to be
rather transfixed at times with things that can make us more beautiful … and
certainly with things that can make us more youthful. Billions are spent each year on beauty
products, procedures and more to help us look a certain way. And it’s not just for women anymore. But I don’t think I’ve heard anyone say that
the secret to true beauty is true love.
We frequently hear about
that kind of love at the wedding ceremonies that dot our summer calendars. Where else do you hear the words of I
Corinthians 13 extoling the virtues of deep and abiding love? I’m not sure how it became the reading of
choice at wedding ceremonies. It’s kind
of ironic that the words of advice were originally written to a church – a
church that was deeply conflicted and not looking at all attractive. But regardless of how they came to be
standard fare at weddings, it’s unfortunately that we only hear the words on
those festive occasions. They really do
hold the secret of a beauty that is far more than skin deep.
I invite you to listen again
to the words and consider how you might incorporate them into your daily
routine …
If
I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don't love, I'm nothing
but the creaking of a rusty gate.
If I speak God's Word with power, revealing
all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that
says to a mountain, "Jump," and it jumps, but I don't love, I'm
nothing.
If
I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a
martyr, but I don't love, I've gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I
believe, and what I do, I'm bankrupt without love.
Love
never gives up.
Love
cares more for others than for self.
Love
doesn't want what it doesn't have.
Love
doesn't strut, Doesn't have a swelled head, Doesn't force itself on others,
Isn't always "me first,"
Love
doesn't fly off the handle, Doesn't keep score of the sins of others, Doesn't
revel when others grovel, Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Love
puts up with anything, Trusts God always, Always looks for the best, Never
looks back, But keeps going to the end.
Love
never dies.
PRAYER OF RESPONSE
Lord Jesus Christ, you were
able to command us to love one another
because you lived and
breathed love in all you said and did.
Forgive us when we substitute ideas and words about
love for its
practice in our daily lives.
(silent reflection)
Lord Jesus Christ, you call
us to be prophetic witnesses of your love.
Forgive us for justifying our lack of action by saying
we would not
know what words to say to people.
(silent reflection)
Lord Jesus Christ, you have
shown us that love can be patient and kind; that
genuine love is not envious,
boastful, arrogant or rude. Above all, you
demonstrated that love can
bear all things, hope all things and endure all things.
Forgive us for being so influenced by the ‘noisy
gongs’ and ‘clanging cymbals’
of our age that we fail to discern your call to love
others as you love us.
(silent reflection)
Lord Jesus Christ,
strengthen us all in the knowledge that when our love has
its source in you, it is
indestructible by outward circumstances and influences.
Realign our lives and our hearts to your love so that
faith, hope and love
dwell within us and our lives testify that the
greatest of your gifts
to us is truly the gift of love. Amen
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