Netflix

Netflix is great! My taste in movies tends towards the unconventional and towards documentaries, both of which can be hard to find in the local video store. But for a mere five bucks a month, I can get one movie at a time from a seemingly endless list, and when I've finished watching it, I mail it back and get a new one in a few days. I think I'm limited to a couple of movies a month, but that's OK too, because otherwise I'd be more of a couch-potato than I already am. In the last few weeks, I've watched a couple of documentaries about Townes Van Zandt, and I just finished watching Jesus Camp. Next on the list is Iraq in Fragments. None of these titles are readily available at my local video store. So as much as I like to support a home-grown, local business, most of my video rentals will be going to Netflix.

Jesus Camp is a genuinely scary movie about a bunch of pre-pubescent kids, their home schooling, the mega-churches they attend, and a summer camp that trains them to be warriors for Jesus. The movie was made in 2006, before the congessional elections, and before the fall of Ted Haggard (the meth-loving, self-loathing, homosexual head of the National Association of Evangelicals who plays a prominent role in one segment of the movie). Maybe the repudiation of Bush and his crowd will diminish the influence of these whack-jobs in government. We can only hope.

Which brings me to the Gospel according to Matthew, chapters 11-14. Chapter 11 starts off about John the Baptist, who is now in prison, and how his followers are asking if they should be following John or Jesus. Obviously, Jesus is the correct answer. Verse 12 states, "From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force." Huh? A revolution in heaven? It must mean that the kingdom of heaven is on earth, not heaven. Then Jesus goes into a rant about how the destruction of Sodom "...will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom than for you." (v.24) Then the chapter closes with "Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." (v.29) Somehow, Sodom and Gommorah, Part II, doesn't sound very restful to me.

In Chapter 12, Jesus and his disciples get in trouble with the Pharisees for harvesting some wheat on the Sabbath. So much for Jesus' previous statements about fulfilling the law! Verse 17 is another one of those about Jesus doing something to "fulfill what had been spoken by the prophet Isaiah." (v.17) Another prophecy checked off the list. Here are a couple more memorable verses, "....no city or house divided against itself will stand." (v.25) And then there's W's favorite, "Whoever is not with me is against me....." (v.30) I had read and noticed that Bush often speaks in biblical terms to his evangelical base that mainstream listeners wouldn't catch, but this is a biggie I missed.

Chapter 13 relates the parable of the sower and the seed. I have often said that the biblical seed fell on rocky ground when it fell on me, but I got the story wrong. The seeds that fall on rocky ground grow quickly, but die quickly in the sun because there is no depth to the soil and the roots can't develop. On reading the actual parable, I guess I'm more akin to the thorns that immediately choked off the growth. After this parable, his disciples ask him why he speaks in parables. Jesus, who seems somewhat exasperated by his stupid disciples, explains it all to them, but then launches into more parables.

Chapter 14 relates a couple of famous incidents. One is the beheading of John the Baptist at the behest of Salome, the beautiful dancing daughter of Herodias, the wife of Herod. Her dancing bewitched Herod to the point that he offered her anything she wanted. She asked for "...the head of John the Baptist on a platter." (v. 8) Countless classical paintings (Wikipedia lists at least 50), and several operas, ballets and plays are based on this incident. I suspect that the fascination with this subject by artists is that it was great excuse to paint a sexy salicious subject while nominally adhering to a bible story. The story of feeding the multitudes with five loaves and two fishes, which follows the Salome story, pales in comparison. At the end of the chapter, Jesus walks on the water, and Peter wants to give it a try. It works for a while, but like Wile E. Coyote, who keeps on running off the edge of a cliff until he looks down, Peter sinks when the wind comes up. Unlike Wile E. Coyote, Peter is rescued by Jesus, who then says one of my favorite lines, "You of little faith, why did you doubt?" (v.31) Actually, I use the line, "O ye of little faith...." but even in the King James version, the line is "O thou of little faith..." I guess I've had it wrong all these years.