Living in the Light with Jack Nicholson

Suggested Reading: Luke 2:22-35

In the Tom Cruise movie, A Few Good Men, Jack Nicholson takes the stand to testify in a case of marine misconduct, as the commanding general at the base where a marine was abused and died. Cruise’s character believes the general ordered the “code red” on the now deceased marine and is trying to defend the accused abusers on the basis that they were following orders. So Nicholson ends up on the stand while his character is poked and prodded with questions and inconsistencies about the official story of the marine’s death. When Cruise’s character demands the truth, we hear the now infamous line, “You can’t handle the truth!” Nicholson, ultimately believing that ordering the code red was the right thing to do, outs himself in a fit of righteous indignation because Cruise had poked and prodded until Nicholson’s core was exposed.

Simeon, the elderly man who prophesied over Jesus as Mary and Joseph brought him into the temple complex declared, This child is destined…to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed (Luke 2:34-35, NIV). Jesus came to upset destiny and be rejected, but he did so in order to expose our hearts. Something about Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection pokes and prods us until our cores are exposed, until the sinful nature in our hearts is brought to light.

All of us have hidden areas of our heart that we don’t want to admit are there: bitterness toward someone who hurt us years ago, jealousy towards that person has everything we want, cruelty we try to never let out but lurks there just the same, anger that we’ve allowed to fester because we want to be angry at what was done to us, selfishness we try to disguise with lofty-sounding justifications. Those things lurk in all of our hearts but we can never deal with them properly until they are exposed to the light.  1 John 1:7-8 reads, But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin. If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth (NLT). Living in the light means that we allow ourselves to be exposed. We allow the deepest darkest parts of us to be brought out into the light to be dealt with. Pretending those things don’t exist or hiding them means we are avoiding the light.

One of the purposes of Jesus’ mission to earth was to expose our hearts so that we could have all of the filth removed. Being exposed like that can be extremely frightening. At times, it can hurt to have all of the things we have worked so hard to bury ripped out into the open. But we must be willing to face the darkness in our hearts in order to root it out and be rid of it. Are you willing to let Jesus poke and prod you until you are exposed? Will you allow him to shine a light on those dark places in your heart that you have tried so hard to keep hidden? The process may not be pleasant, but the end result will be a life exposed to the light without shame. 

Celtic Mythology and Aging Prophets

Suggested Reading: Luke 2:25-35

For Christmas a few years ago, my daughter got the movie Brave. I am a fan of Celtic mythology and this movie surprised me with the number of Celtic elements that were skillfully included in the script. The central theme of the movie, however, revolved around the ability to change fate. Merida, the young princess at the center of the story, wanted to change her mother’s mind about an impending arranged marriage so she found a witch who gave her a spell to change her mother. As usual in these movies, the spell had unforeseen side-effects, which is what sets up the rest of the movie. But the desire to change one’s fate is a common one. That desire shows up again and again in our movies because it resonates with us. We despise the idea of being tied to a particular fate with nothing we can do to change it, especially because we so often see our lives heading in directions we fear. We fear we will be trapped in dead ends, stuck with jobs we hate, tied to people we loath, or simply drifting far below our potential. We understand the desire to change our fate.

When Jesus’ parents took him to the temple to redeem him, as was required for all firstborn children in Israel, they were approached by an elderly man named Simeon. Simeon had been promised by God that he would not die until he saw the Messiah. Seeing Jesus, Simeon took the baby in his arms. Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed” (Luke 2:34-35, NIV). Simeon prophetically proclaimed that Jesus would change the fates of many in Israel. But we know that Jesus’ fate changing was not limited to Israel.

From an eternal perspective, we understand that Jesus can transform a hell-bound sinner into a Kingdom bound saint. But Jesus doesn’t wait until the end of our lives to transform our destiny. Jesus can transform a bitter heart, bound for cynicism and suffering, into a forgiving heart that attracts loving friends. Jesus’ Spirit can empower the most incompetent soul, creating a person who is both skillful and powerful in the work of the Kingdom.  Jesus came to change our fates.

Paul understood this principle when he wrote to the Corinthians. Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things–and the things that are not –to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him (1 Corinthians 1:26-29, NIV). God upset fate.

If you feel yourself trapped to begin the new year, if you feel like your fate is set and you can do nothing to change it, remember that Jesus came to upset destiny, to change our fates. Seek God’s face, listen for the guidance of the Spirit, allow that Spirit to empower you far beyond what you could accomplish on your own. Whatever your fate appears to be, Jesus came to change it.