{"id":491,"date":"2016-02-14T09:01:39","date_gmt":"2016-02-14T14:01:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gnhuu.org\/?p=491"},"modified":"2016-02-15T09:17:32","modified_gmt":"2016-02-15T14:17:32","slug":"sunday-february-14-2016-hollywood-spirituality-the-revenant-and-redemption","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gnhuu.org\/index.php\/2016\/02\/14\/sunday-february-14-2016-hollywood-spirituality-the-revenant-and-redemption\/","title":{"rendered":"Sunday, February 14, 2016, &#8220;Hollywood Spirituality: &#8216;The Revenant&#8217; and Redemption&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"<audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-491-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"http:\/\/gnhuu.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/GNH-Feb-14-2016.mp3?_=1\" \/><a href=\"http:\/\/gnhuu.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/GNH-Feb-14-2016.mp3\">http:\/\/gnhuu.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/GNH-Feb-14-2016.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n<p>(c) Doug Slagle, The Gathering at Northern Hills, A Unitarian Universalist Community, <strong>All Rights Reserved<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"> There are two well known stories in the Bible about fathers and sons that are often retold to teach spiritual concepts.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>One is from the Jewish Torah, and the other is from the New Testament.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>The Torah story is about Abraham who is considered the father of Judaism.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>After settling in the area we know as Israel, Abraham and his wife Sarah were happy and prosperous.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>One night, as the story goes, God spoke to Abraham and told him that he will be the patriarch of God\u2019s chosen people &#8211; the Jews.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>God assures Abraham that just as there are millions of stars in the night sky, so too will be the number of his descendants &#8211; the people of Israel.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"> This promise from God, however, belied one aspect of Abraham\u2019s life.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>He and Sarah were both at advanced ages and had been unable to conceive a child.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>After a number of odd twists to the story &#8211; like Abraham having a child through a servant<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>&#8211; he and Sarah eventually do have a son &#8211; Isaac.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>And both knew that it will be through Isaac that the Jewish people and nation will come.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"> But God later tests Abraham\u2019s faith by asking that he sacrifice &#8211; kill &#8211; Isaac on the top of a mountain.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Abraham is shocked but he does not question God.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>He does as he is told and leads Isaac to the mountain, ties his arms and legs and raises a dagger to kill his only son &#8211; the one who represented God\u2019s promise.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"> God however quickly tells Abraham to put the dagger down &#8211; that this was only a test.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>For Christians and Jews, the story is confirmation that Abraham was a great spiritual figure &#8211; a man who had total faith in God far beyond his love for a long desired son.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>To me and many other commentators, however, the story is unfathomable.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>If God is love, as the Bible says, then this story tells us we must honor that God by forsaking the very real love that a parent has for a child.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>That is cruel and inconsistent logic.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"> A contrasting Biblical story about a father and son is from the New Testament.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>It\u2019s the parable of the Prodigal Son. In it, Jesus describes a father with two sons.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>One son is obedient, loyal and hard working.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>The other son is self-focused and a playboy.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>This son asks his father one day to receive his inheritance in advance &#8211; before his dad dies.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>The father, out of love for his son, agrees.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>And the son promptly takes the money, moves to the city and squanders it on wine, women and other debauchery.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"> This son eventually finds himself so poor that he is forced to scrounge with pigs for food scraps.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>As a Jew, he could not fall any lower. <span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>The son decides to return to his father and throw himself at his mercy. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"> As the boy is walking back to the family farm, and before he pleads for mercy, his dad recognizes him a long way off and is overjoyed.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>He runs to his wayward son, smothers him with tears of joy and hugs, and commands his other son to prepare a feast for the returning prodigal.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Despite the impudence of a son who demanded his inheritance early, who broke one of the Ten Commandments by dishonoring a parent, who led a wastrel life, the dad did not care.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>His love for the boy was so great.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"> Jesus told this as a lesson and not as a true story.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>As such, I love the tale.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>It speaks of the kind of love most of us rarely offer another &#8211; a love so powerful that it overcomes any hurt or offense.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>It\u2019s a love so pure that Jesus pointedly said that it is how God feels about us and that we are to show others.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Love without prejudice.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Love with forgiveness and no judgement.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Love unconditionally.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>It&#8217;s a perfect story for Valentine\u2019s Day.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"> I begin my message with these two stories because they highlight the bigger ideal I hope to convey by examining one of this year\u2019s Oscar nominated films &#8211; part of my February series to consider Hollywood spirituality.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>I looked last Sunday at the Disney animated film \u201cInside Out\u201d and the topic of Emotional Intelligence.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Today, I look at the movie \u201cRevenant\u201d and the idea of redemption.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>For me, it is a good movie &#8211; one that also examines a father \/ son relationship and the idea that love is a purifying and redemptive force.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Let\u2019s take a look at the promotional trailer for the film\u2026<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=LoebZZ8K5N0\" target=\"_blank\">https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=LoebZZ8K5N0<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"> As you just saw, \u201cRevenant\u201d is cinematically beautiful but it is intense and full of violence and bloodshed.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>It tells the true story of Hugh Glass, a fur trapper who lived and worked in the unexplored west of the early 1800\u2019s.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>After his fur trapping party was attacked by Native-Americans, Glass and a few others narrowly escaped.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>They were forced to walk overland to the nearest fort.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>While he was out hunting one day, Glass was attacked and horribly mauled by a bear.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>His fellow trappers must then carry him.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>They soon find that task impossible and decide to leave him behind with his son and two trappers who are to tend him until he is better or a rescue party can return.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"> One of the two trappers resented the care-taking assignment, killed Glass\u2019 son, and then buried Glass alive in order to abandon him.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>But Glass survived and the majority of the movie then shows how he miraculously made his way back to civilization despite horrific injuries and lack of food or winter clothing.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>I won\u2019t describe the many ordeals he endured but they are harrowing and not for the faint of heart.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"> The film, like the two Biblical stories I earlier related, teaches a spiritual lesson.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Indeed, the word \u2018revenant\u2019 is defined as a person who returns from the dead.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>The film\u2019s director, Alejandro Inarritu, intended for Glass to be a type of Jesus by his astounding ability to survive grievous wounds, being buried alive, and the ravages of nature.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Lesser persons would have given up and died.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Glass did not.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"> In the end, he achieves a kind of spiritual epiphany and resurrection.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Like the Jesus of Bible stories, Glass endures his own torture and figurative crucifixion, he\u2019s betrayed by a friend, he\u2019s buried in a grave and yet he not only comes back from near death, he\u2019s redeemed in the process.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"> Redemption is thus a strong theme in the film much like it is in the two contrasting Bible stories I described.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Redemption as a concept is one shared by many world religions and, indeed, by humans in general.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>For Christians, redemption is about salvation &#8211; how a person is changed from being a supposed sinner into one who is right with God through a belief in Jesus and his resurrection.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>For Jews, redemption speaks of salvation of them as a people &#8211; their exodus escape from Egyptian slavery, their Hanukah victory over a foreign enemy and their recent revival as a nation after the horrors of the Holocaust.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>For Muslims, one achieves redemption through dedication to Allah and his requirements for regular prayer, charitable gifts and other obligations.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>For Buddhists, a person is redeemed when they are able to let go of worldly desires and find instead peaceful contentment.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"> For us as Unitarian Universalists, I believe there is a path to redemption which is highlighted in the \u201cRevenant\u201d film and in the story of the Prodigal Son &#8211; one contrasted against <\/span><span class=\"s2\"><b>religious<\/b><\/span><span class=\"s1\"> ideas of redemption as told in the story of Abraham.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>And that underlines <\/span><span class=\"s2\"><b><i>my<\/i><\/b><\/span><span class=\"s1\"> theology and spiritual outlook.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"> God is not an outside force that regulates our lives and determines our eternal destiny.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>God is within us and is, indeed, us.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>God is you and god is me.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>We, <\/span><span class=\"s2\"><b>we<\/b><\/span><span class=\"s1\"> (!) are figurative gods and goddesses who have the ability to both redeem ourselves and redeem our world.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>As part of all nature, we are no more special than other forms of creation but we do have unique capabilities to grow and change, to love and nurture, to sacrifice and serve, and thus build a better world.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>It is in this sense that we are symbolically but not literally holy and divine.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"> In the Prodigal Son story, the father did not follow Scripture or religious rules to determine his loving response to a wayward son.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Indeed, according to Jewish law, he should have disowned the boy for dishonoring him.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>He certainly should not have welcomed back a son who had become religiously unclean by his wanton life.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>But he loved his son despite those facts and in the process, love redeemed the boy as much as it redeemed the father.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Who among us has not been a prodigal at some point in our lives and yearned for the forgiving embrace of another?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"> This contrasts with Abraham who followed his religion and not his heart in how he acted.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Instead of acting according to love for HIS son, Abraham obeyed the commands of a cruel and manipulative God. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"> That contrast between following love&#8230;&#8230;..or following religious belief is highlighted in the film \u201cRevenant\u201d.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Hugh Glass was strongly motivated to survive against all odds by a love for his deceased wife whom he saw in dreams &#8211; and to memories of his beloved son.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>His redemptive epiphany resulted directly from that love.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Indeed, he often recalled Native-American wisdom that his wife had told him:<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span><b>The wind cannot topple a tree with strong roots.<\/b><span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>For Hugh Glass, his strong roots were his family, his love for them, and his will to survive no matter what.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>The mantra for him was to endure, for the sake of their memory, as long as he had breath.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"> That theme of discovering what are one\u2019s life roots is a spiritual pursuit I find compelling.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Our foundation, our roots, those things that ultimately redeem us and determine our lasting legacy, they are found in how we love and forgive one another.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>They\u2019re found in the teachings of Jesus, Muhammed and Buddha who encouraged people to let go of self-focused thinking and find meaning in service and compassion.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Strong roots are found in how we choose to act toward fellow humans &#8211; not in whether we obey a capricious god or accept religious dogma.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><span class=\"s2\"><b>We<\/b><\/span><span class=\"s1\"> are the the ones charged with building a world of forgiveness, gentleness, kindness, humility, justice and peace.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>These are divine and eternally good ideals we do not need a god to initiate.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Only <\/span><span class=\"s2\"><b><i>WE<\/i><\/b><\/span><span class=\"s1\"> have the ability and the choice to practice them and make them our strong roots.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"> Love motivated the Prodigal Son\u2019s father and Hugh Glass.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>The film &#8220;Revenant&#8221; reminds us that we live in a world of great beauty but also one of unfeeling hardship and death.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>We must survive against many obstacles in life and it is up to you and me not only to courageously embrace the task of living, it is also our calling to be forces of unconditional love and justice in a universe where only we can provide them.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Once again, we are divine agents of change in our own lives and in those of others.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>We choose to live a life of love and service or one of indifference and unforgiving bitterness..<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"> In a few minutes, we\u2019ll sing perhaps the most famous of all Christian hymns &#8211; Amazing Grace.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>We\u2019ll sing that song with lyrics I&#8217;ve altered<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>&#8211; ones we\u2019ve sung here before.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>These changed lyrics address my theology that none of us were or are lowly wretches in need of salvation &#8211; as the original words suggest.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>It is love received from others that sings to our hearts.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>It\u2019s love we extend to the hurting, outcast, hated and discouraged that redeems us.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Love is a form of grace that is given to us and a form of grace we are called to give away.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"> Our path to the mountain top of personal enlightenment is just that &#8211; to give away pieces of our hearts and souls to family, friend and stranger.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>We do that as a holy endeavor to build a better world .<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>That\u2019s our mission in life: to redeem ourselves and others &#8211; all through the powers of reason, growth, compassion and above all else, love without condition.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">I wish you each much peace, joy and a happy Valentine&#8217;s Day&#8230;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">And I welcome now your thoughts on the message topic, my message, the movie or on your special Valentine!<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>(c) Doug Slagle, The Gathering at Northern Hills, A Unitarian Universalist Community, All Rights Reserved &nbsp; There are two well known stories in the Bible about fathers and sons that are often retold to teach spiritual concepts.\u00a0 One is from the Jewish Torah, and the other is from the New Testament.\u00a0 The Torah story is [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-491","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gnhuu.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/491","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gnhuu.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gnhuu.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gnhuu.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gnhuu.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=491"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.gnhuu.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/491\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":498,"href":"https:\/\/www.gnhuu.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/491\/revisions\/498"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gnhuu.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=491"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gnhuu.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=491"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gnhuu.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=491"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}