I don't tend to go to movie theaters very often anymore. It seems overpriced to spend $12 to watch something I'll just wind up seeing either on DVD or Netflix in a few short months. Unless it's a movie I've just really been wanting to see, odds are - I won't be at the theater. But this Sunday, I was invited to go along with two friends to see the movie "42," the story of Jackie Robinson, America's first African-American to play baseball in the major leagues.
Initially, I admit... I had no overwhelming desire to see the movie, simply because, well, I've never been a fan of baseball, so I didn't figure it would interest me that much.
I was wrong. Turns out, baseball can be far more interesting when it's in movie form and they cut out all the boring stuff... like... most of the game.
But baseball is not what made this movie worth watching. The back story alone between Brooklyn Dodger's owner Branch Rickey and Jackie Robinson is well worth the $10 + drink. If nothing else, I learned via this movie that God is a Methodist.
Now, I say that somewhat in jest in response to one of the lines Harrison Ford delivers as Branch Rickey - "He's a Methodist. I'm a Methodist. God's a Methodist."
It wouldn't be the first time a particular denomination has wanted to claim God as their own particular form of Christianity. That said - to be honest, I think maybe Mr. Rickey wasn't too far off base. In many ways, in that time and place, I think God definitely was very much at work within the Methodist Church and the role it played in our society.
During the 1940's, few Christian organizations were as instrumental in the fight against segregation and racial inequality in the United States than the Methodist Church. Sadly, my own denomination does not have such a history - to this day remaining 98% white despite recent attempts at "multicultural outreach." Afraid we jumped on that bandwagon a little too late, trying to cling to our northern European heritage and traditions a little too fiercely while simultaneously trying to manufacture worship that would be appealing to non-Europeans. It's failed rather miserably.
But the Methodists, from their inception, have been forerunners when it comes to "social justice." Surpassed only by the Baptists, they were among the first to welcome and embrace African-Americans during the post-Civil War era. So kudos to the Methodists for being Christ to all people during a time when many "Christians" had lost their focus. While I have a variety of reasons I've opted not to become a Methodist, I freely and openly admit - they had this part right.
Back to the movie itself, I think the part that struck me as the most powerful element to this story was the emphasis on being "Christ-like." Rickey's first conversation with Jackie Robinson was about how Rickey didn't want a player who didn't have the strength fight back, but wanted a player who had the strength NOT to fight back.
Jackie needed to be "Christ-like" if he was going to ever make it as a black player in an all-white league. The strength to keep his mouth shut, no matter what horrible things people were shouting at him. To let how he played baseball speak for him rather than the color of his skin or anything he said. To carry his own cross in silence. To turn the other cheek and just keep on going. To know about the multitude of death threats that are being sent your way simply because of the color of your skin - and say nothing in response.
Amazingly - that's exactly what he does. If ever there was a reason to admire Jackie Robinson, this is it. Even if he had been a horrendous baseball player, the strength of character alone is enough to hold him up as a role model for all people. Especially those who wear the Christian label.
Because believe me, there are times in that movie, where you, as the movie-goer, WANT him to just haul off and pop some of these people in the mouth. In particular, when the Phillies manager, Ben Chapman, goes on a racially charged name-calling tirade from the dug-out. I was ready to slug him just to shut him up. I won't give the entire scene away, but to watch the depth of Robinson's struggle from the perspective of not a black or a white individual, but simply another human being who is being degraded and berated is both difficult and mesmerizing to watch. Likewise Branch Rickey's commitment not just to Robinson, but to continue insisting that the only way to fight back is to play ball and not to meet the enemy "on his own low ground" is beyond inspiring. It is also at this moment - the pinnacle of Robinson's struggle - that the Brooklyn Dodgers finally unite and solidify themselves as a team, accepting, if not totally embracing, their African-American teammate.
Now I don't know how much of the religious element that gets played up is historically accurate or not in regards to Branch Rickey's Christian outlook on the entire situation, but I found it to be not just an inspiring movie about one man breaking the color barrier, but a deep and rich story of faith. At its core - it's a movie that asks the question: How do you overcome hatred? How do you overcome segregation? How do you overcome injustice and cruelty? How do you overcome ignorance and stupidity?
It's not through an eye for an eye, it's not tit-for-tat. It's not through yelling and screaming to try and get your point across, it's not through bombs, guns, tanks, or anything other form of violence. The way of the cross, the way of Christ is to triumph by faithful suffering in the face of hatred and all that it brings with it. Because hatred and violence are not the way in which God triumphs over evil. He triumphs through self-sacrificial love.
You overcome... by being Christ-like. The story of Jackie Robinson in my view is a timely movie. We continue to live in a world filled with prejudice and hatred. A world filled with violence where our response continues to be simply more violence. The focus of our hatred and bigotry may shift, the people we argue and fight against may not be the same as they were sixty or seventy years ago. But the struggle is the same at its core.
How do Christians respond in the face of such problems? I think we have something, as Christians, to learn from the examples of Jackie Robinson and Branch Rickey. Neither men were "doormats" who just allowed people to walk over them. They simply had the wisdom and the faith to recognize there are other ways to "fight" and overcome adversity.
They chose the way of Christ, and at least one little corner of the world was changed forever.
I was wrong. Turns out, baseball can be far more interesting when it's in movie form and they cut out all the boring stuff... like... most of the game.
But baseball is not what made this movie worth watching. The back story alone between Brooklyn Dodger's owner Branch Rickey and Jackie Robinson is well worth the $10 + drink. If nothing else, I learned via this movie that God is a Methodist.
Now, I say that somewhat in jest in response to one of the lines Harrison Ford delivers as Branch Rickey - "He's a Methodist. I'm a Methodist. God's a Methodist."
It wouldn't be the first time a particular denomination has wanted to claim God as their own particular form of Christianity. That said - to be honest, I think maybe Mr. Rickey wasn't too far off base. In many ways, in that time and place, I think God definitely was very much at work within the Methodist Church and the role it played in our society.
During the 1940's, few Christian organizations were as instrumental in the fight against segregation and racial inequality in the United States than the Methodist Church. Sadly, my own denomination does not have such a history - to this day remaining 98% white despite recent attempts at "multicultural outreach." Afraid we jumped on that bandwagon a little too late, trying to cling to our northern European heritage and traditions a little too fiercely while simultaneously trying to manufacture worship that would be appealing to non-Europeans. It's failed rather miserably.
But the Methodists, from their inception, have been forerunners when it comes to "social justice." Surpassed only by the Baptists, they were among the first to welcome and embrace African-Americans during the post-Civil War era. So kudos to the Methodists for being Christ to all people during a time when many "Christians" had lost their focus. While I have a variety of reasons I've opted not to become a Methodist, I freely and openly admit - they had this part right.
Back to the movie itself, I think the part that struck me as the most powerful element to this story was the emphasis on being "Christ-like." Rickey's first conversation with Jackie Robinson was about how Rickey didn't want a player who didn't have the strength fight back, but wanted a player who had the strength NOT to fight back.
Jackie needed to be "Christ-like" if he was going to ever make it as a black player in an all-white league. The strength to keep his mouth shut, no matter what horrible things people were shouting at him. To let how he played baseball speak for him rather than the color of his skin or anything he said. To carry his own cross in silence. To turn the other cheek and just keep on going. To know about the multitude of death threats that are being sent your way simply because of the color of your skin - and say nothing in response.
Amazingly - that's exactly what he does. If ever there was a reason to admire Jackie Robinson, this is it. Even if he had been a horrendous baseball player, the strength of character alone is enough to hold him up as a role model for all people. Especially those who wear the Christian label.
Because believe me, there are times in that movie, where you, as the movie-goer, WANT him to just haul off and pop some of these people in the mouth. In particular, when the Phillies manager, Ben Chapman, goes on a racially charged name-calling tirade from the dug-out. I was ready to slug him just to shut him up. I won't give the entire scene away, but to watch the depth of Robinson's struggle from the perspective of not a black or a white individual, but simply another human being who is being degraded and berated is both difficult and mesmerizing to watch. Likewise Branch Rickey's commitment not just to Robinson, but to continue insisting that the only way to fight back is to play ball and not to meet the enemy "on his own low ground" is beyond inspiring. It is also at this moment - the pinnacle of Robinson's struggle - that the Brooklyn Dodgers finally unite and solidify themselves as a team, accepting, if not totally embracing, their African-American teammate.
Now I don't know how much of the religious element that gets played up is historically accurate or not in regards to Branch Rickey's Christian outlook on the entire situation, but I found it to be not just an inspiring movie about one man breaking the color barrier, but a deep and rich story of faith. At its core - it's a movie that asks the question: How do you overcome hatred? How do you overcome segregation? How do you overcome injustice and cruelty? How do you overcome ignorance and stupidity?
It's not through an eye for an eye, it's not tit-for-tat. It's not through yelling and screaming to try and get your point across, it's not through bombs, guns, tanks, or anything other form of violence. The way of the cross, the way of Christ is to triumph by faithful suffering in the face of hatred and all that it brings with it. Because hatred and violence are not the way in which God triumphs over evil. He triumphs through self-sacrificial love.
You overcome... by being Christ-like. The story of Jackie Robinson in my view is a timely movie. We continue to live in a world filled with prejudice and hatred. A world filled with violence where our response continues to be simply more violence. The focus of our hatred and bigotry may shift, the people we argue and fight against may not be the same as they were sixty or seventy years ago. But the struggle is the same at its core.
How do Christians respond in the face of such problems? I think we have something, as Christians, to learn from the examples of Jackie Robinson and Branch Rickey. Neither men were "doormats" who just allowed people to walk over them. They simply had the wisdom and the faith to recognize there are other ways to "fight" and overcome adversity.
They chose the way of Christ, and at least one little corner of the world was changed forever.
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