Whenever we do an At the Movies series, some people have mixed feelings about it. The series is fun, and it might be easy to invite a friend, sure, but should we really devote so much message time to movies? Should we be watching movies in church at all? I understand questions and concerns like that. Here is what I tell people: Movies are stories that our culture tells itself.
Every culture tells stories; it’s universal across every time, place, and people. There is something uniquely human about telling (and hearing) stories. We tell stories to warn, remember, and celebrate. We also tell stories to cast a vision for what could be. This is why stories are worth paying attention to; a culture’s stories reveal something about the heart of its people, what they value, and crave.
People pay billions of dollars every year to watch movies and the stories they tell. I think that is worth paying attention to. When we understand the stories our culture tells, we can see how the Gospel responds. Often, movies correctly identify needs and desires, but get the solution wrong. The story of Jesus reminds us that only he can satisfy the things our souls long for.
Christmas is, I think, when we tell our most cherished stories. Many of us would probably say that some of our favorite memories were made at Christmas time. And, of course, everyone has their favorite Christmas movies. What if we paid attention to the stories within those movies? I don’t mean the plot;
I mean the things our culture desperately wants and needs, perhaps without even realizing it.
The Grinch, for example, is about the possibility of a changed heart. But why tell that story? Because we need to believe it’s possible for someone to be redeemed. I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that while Home Alone is ostensibly a movie about a kid defending his home, it is also about our desire to know that even when we feel on the outside or forgotten, we are still loved and a part of a family.
Jesus told stories too. Because the word “parable” has a built-in spiritual meaning to us now, we tend to forget that the parables are, at base, fictional stories to illustrate a point. As you read this devotional, don’t get caught up in the fact that we’re talking about movies. Just remember that every story reveals something about its author and its readers. Then, consider what the Gospel says in response.
As I said, I think the best stories happen around Christmastime. After all, it’s when the best story ever told began with the words, “In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world…”
