is that I saw Dark Knight tonight (Tuesday).

I CANNOT overhype it.  It's not possible.

Go see it ASAP.  I have 2 tix to the midnight show up for grabs... $6.50 each.  At Forum.  You know, the good one.  :)

Holy Crap.


Or rather in this case,

UNHOLY CRAP

What will they think of next?!?!

“And in His teaching He was saying: ‘Beware of the scribes who like to walk around in long robes, and like respectful greetings in the market places, and chief seats in the synagogues, and places of honor at banquets, who devour widows' houses, and for appearance's sake offer long prayers; these will receive greater condemnation.’  And He sat down opposite the treasury, and began observing how the multitude were putting money into the treasury; and many rich people were putting in large sums.  And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a cent.  And calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, ‘Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury; for they all put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on.’”

-- Mark 12:38-44

The widow in this story is always held up as a model of faithful giving.  Though she has almost nothing, she gives everything she has.  In doing so, she give far more than all the rich whose monetary contributions were exponentially larger.  And so we read Jesus’ statement about her as a commendation.   But Dr. Rodney Reeves once asked me this profound question: did Jesus see her gift as admirable or tragic?  Just the day before this, Jesus cleansed the Temple and proclaimed its destruction.  He’s spent today in the Temple arguing with the religious leaders there.  And now he’s criticizing the rich who oppress the poor, and even warns that they ‘devour widows’ houses’ while appearing religious (this of course despite the fact that God said true religion is caring for widows).  Here is a woman who is a victim of a corrupt, oppressive religious system, and she’s so enmeshed in the hegemony of that system that she is giving everything she has to the very system that’s oppressing her.  Indeed, this woman is tragic.  We can applaud her act of giving, but we cannot applaud the object of that gift.  We should weep that she’s sacrificing everything for a broken, corrupted system that Jesus has promised will fall.

So too, today.  I hear at least once weekly – usually in prayers – that we should be thankful for our soldiers fighting in Iraq who “are willing to make the ultimate sacrifice” because we remember that “freedom isn’t free.”  But isn’t it?  Isn’t that the point of grace?  That we don’t earn any of it?  And isn’t it “for freedom that Christ set us free”?  In fact, our nation has cultivated a culture of violence and death.  And we support our culture of consumption and irresponsibility in large part through our military action around the globe.  Now, I’m not going to deny that the American armed forces do a lot of great things.  But this does not detract from the fact that they also enact terrible acts of violence in order to support the American way of life.  But we know that this life is unbiblical.  We are called to use what we need and give the rest away.  We are called to serve others first and think of ourselves last.  We are called to extol the image of God in all of our brothers and sisters, not to dehumanize them.  We are called to care for the poor, to welcome the stranger, not legislate against them.  And yet we do the very things we were commanded not to do.  And we know that no kingdom is eternal save the Kingdom of God.

And our soldiers are as much victims of this corrupt system as any of us.  But they’re so enmeshed in the hegemony of that system (as are we all, I think) that they are giving everything  they have to the very system that’s oppressing them (and so many others around the globe).  Indeed, they are tragic.  We can applaud their act of giving, but we cannot applaud the object of that gift.  We should week that they’re sacrificing everything for a broken, corrupted system that Jesus has promised will fall. 

Our service men and women don’t need to fight for our freedom.  S/he whom the son sets free is free indeed.  One man died for our freedom.  One man made (literally) the ultimate sacrifice.  And he did it that no one else ever need die to purchase what is already paid for.  May we learn what true freedom is.