Hey There

Long time no post. Besides having issues with "Stack overflow at line 54:" we have been really busy with birthday's, the rhinovirus, and work. That has left me with little time to blog.

Taking inspiration from Joe, I have decided to give up blogging for Lent. Stepping away for a few weeks is a way to free up sometime that I hope to use to reflect on some spiritual questions I have rolling around my head. Joe told me today that during Lent a person is free from their Lenten observances on Sunday. So I might post a thought on Sunday's, but more than likely I won't.

Before I sign off until Easter I am compelled to say that I saw "Brokeback Mountain" last week and I know why I haven't read a lot of blogs about it. For me it was one of the most excellently crafted, profound, and powerful movies I have ever seen. I did not want to see this movie and I went kicking and screaming to the theater. But as I left I had this feeling that I am not sure if I will ever be as deeply effected by a film as I was by this one. The direction, acting, cinematography, storytelling and scope was nothing like anything I had witnessed before.

There are so many facets to this film that I cannot even begin to explore them. Not everyone will like this movie, or be comfortable with it. I wasn't "comfortable" with it, but I have to say that it was as important a film for me as Schindler's List or even The Passion of the Christ. It is one of those films that I will always remember who I saw it with, where I saw it, and what I felt like immediately afterwards.

It is understandable why Christians might be reluctant to see it. It makes me sad for Christians who are unwilling to see the movie for fear of their own moral corruption or to be mistaken as endorsing homosexuality. I am sure some of those same people don't have a problem with watching Braveheart, Pretty Woman, or The Matrix which all have enough violence and sex in them to be contrary to Jesus' teachings. It makes me sad because as Christians we must believe that God witnesses our deepest and darkest pains (whether self-inflicted or circumstantially caused). I believe in a God who meets me at the well as he did with the woman and has no fear of the "five husband secrets" in my life. This movie made me a better minister because it illustrated the importance of not making assumptions about people. It helped me see that there are some people who have deep pains, that might have all been caused by their own hands, but they are still worthy of love and compassion.

Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal, Anne Hathaway, Michelle Williams, and Ang Lee didn't create a story that was entirely new. Brokeback Mountain is essentially a Shakespearian tragedy. But the power, conviction, and expertise that they exhibited in telling this story is to the betterment of us as people. And our witnessing of that story as human beings and as Christians is valuable, I dare say necessary. Brokeback Mountain at it's core isn't a movie about being gay, it's a movie about being human.

Peace to you all, see at Easter if not before.