Isn't There Another Way?

***CAUTION SEMI-SPOILER ALERT***

The good guys beat the bad guys.

That's about the extent of the spoiler.

Now, as far as the rest of the film goes I only have one thing to add to the continuing conversation on this record breaking production.

It's too bad the film wasn't more creative.

Avatar knocks you over with its wildly beautiful world of Pandora. From the flora to the fauna and all the little bugs in between, the film presents you with a delightful immersion into a colorful and believable world. The native humanoid species to Pandora, the Na'vi, portray a rich, harmonious culture. Pandora becomes not only a world but a world-view that seems so appealing, at least until conflict arises.

Then the creativity ceases.

The final act of the film boils down to all out war between the resource ravenous, heartless corporate baddies and the sensitive, balanced, life affirming (at least when it's not the life of a baddie) goodies.

And in the end the message is one we've heard before. Killing the bad guys makes everything alright. After nearly two hours of exploring the Na'vi culture which seemed to be offering something different, we're brought back to the same tired solution, the myth of redemptive violence.

I was thinking of this film this past week as 2 Corinthians 5:18 was bouncing around in my brain. "God gave us the ministry of reconciliation."

Avatar seems to pick up on the sense of disconnect we can all feel with its portrayal of the Na'vi who can effortlessly connect with each other, past loved ones, and all of creation. Just not with their enemies apparently.

The verse gave me hope that there can be another way to respond to conflict and the separation it brings. There can be another way beyond fight or flight.

Perhaps it was a bit much to hope that a Hollywood film could illustrate this third way. Fortunately, the church has plenty of examples. My most recent favorite is found in Shane Claiborne's book, "Jesus for President." (No, he is not actually advocating for Jesus to run for office). Enjoy it. May it inspire you as you seek to embody God's ministry of reconciliation.

"One time Kassim (age 11) and I (Shane) were walking to the post office...We were walking down a narrow side street and some teenage guys started to follow us. You could just feel the mischief brewing, and the group grew from two young men to four to eight, until there was a little mob of sorts. They started calling out some names, throwing rocks and sticks, trying to stir up trouble. It's always hard on the spot like that to know what Jesus would do. I told Kassim, 'Let's go say hi.' he looked at me skeptically. We turned back and walked toward them, knowing full well that if we had run, we probably would have made it to the post office. 'Hey, I'm Shane. And this is my friend Kassim. We live around the corner,' I said with my hand out. They weren't really sure what to do with that. A couple of them shook my hand and introduced themselves. Others snickered. One or two refused the handshake. We said, 'Nice to meet you guys,' and headed back on our walk.

With the wind taken out of their sails a bit, they regrouped and continued to build momentum toward a brawl. They ran after us, throwing some rocks and bottles, and I noticed two of them now carried broomsticks from the trash. We picked up the pace a bit, and then I looked at Kassim and said, 'No, don't run.' We turned back, and before we know it one of them had clocked Kassim on the side of the head with a stick. I said firmly, 'Why would you do that? We haven't done anything to hurt you.' They laughed. Then they started hitting me with a broomstick until it broke over my back. At this point I decided to bust out a can of holy anger. I looked them in the eyes and said as forcefully as I could, 'You are created in the image of God...every single one of you. And you are made for something better than this. Kassim and I are followers of Jesus, but we love you no matter what you do to us.' That wasn't exactly what they expected or hoped for. They looked at each other, startled a bit. For the first time they were quiet. And then they scurried off in every direction." (-Jesus for President, pages 264-265)

Posted by Brandon