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The Holy Spirit Goes to the Movies

WELCOME TO TODAY'S WORSHIP SERVICE


May 31, 2009

The Holy Spirit Goes to the Movies

Open your Bible






Light a candle



 

OPENING SONG
Every Time I feel the Spirit





READINGS
 
From the Bible:


John 20 (King James Version)

John 20
1The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre.

2Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the LORD out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him.

3Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulchre.

4So they ran both together: and the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulchre.

5And he stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in.

6Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie,

7And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself.

8Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, and believed.

9For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead.

10Then the disciples went away again unto their own home.

11But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre,

12And seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.

13And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my LORD, and I know not where they have laid him.

14And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus.

15Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away.

16Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master.

17Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.

18Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the LORD, and that he had spoken these things unto her.

19Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.

20And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the LORD.

21Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.

22And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:

23Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained


FROM SWEDENBORG:

Spiritual Experiences (Buss) n. 481
481. CONCERNING THE SPEECH OF SPIRITS. THAT SPIRITS RECOGNIZE EACH OTHER AND TEST THEIR QUALITY IN VARIOUS WAYS SO AS TO BE ABLE TO FORM CONSOCIATIONS WITH THEM
You will see above [nos. 207, 424, etc.], that human souls suppose themselves to be men furnished with a body. Indeed they suppose that they are clothed with garments, so that it is with difficulty that they can be plucked away from their phantasy. They also mutually converse with one another, just as in this world, for speech is only a series and composition of ideas which, with man in the body, falls into words such as those of his idiom. The pure ideas of spirits are what fall into the words with man, wherefore they all speak his language, even among themselves; it is his tongue, whether he knows this or does not know it, or whether [he speaks] in another [tongue], as it is known that the Apostles could speak in every tongue, which was from spirits [Acts ii 13]. Moreover, there is also given a communication of ideas as of words; indeed, by means of ideas alone combined together they can express more within a minute than can be expressed by the words of man in whole hours, as I know from very much experience. Meanwhile, it is evident that souls converse amongst themselves, and this in like manner as do men in this world, and I have indeed heard that in like manner they can also preach, and one teach the other.




 
MESSAGE
 
When there is 5th Sunday in a month – such as today – I like to use the opportunity to explore in more depth the spiritual themes of the Movie of the Month.
This month’s movie is Erin Brockovich; chosen for Mother’s Day.
Yet I could not ignore that in the Common Lectionary many Christian Churches use;  today is “Pentecost Sunday;” the time when the apostles began to speak in tongues when the Holy Spirit arrived like a great wind. So today’s theme seemed clear: “The Holy Spirit in Erin Brockovich.” The lectionary movie concordance listed a number of movies under the theme of “holy Spirit” and pointed out that “breath” or “wind” is often used in movies to show times when Holy Spirit is at work.   The concordance suggested The Music Man and Wizard of Oz as examples. I downloaded The Music Man from Netflix and watched it again; but I could not find see any wind or particularly significant breathing except for the blowing of the 76 trombones! The Wizard of Oz wasn’t available for download, but I remembered the story of the tornado that carried Dorothy and her friends to Oz. Whether or not that was “holy spirit” … who is to say?
So perhaps today’s theme should be: “The Holy Spirit in Erin Brockovich and the Wizard of Oz.” To fully understand the meaning of the Brockovich movie, I needed to learn more about the real Erin Brockovich.   I had hoped to learn something of her sense of spirituality. I could only find one piece of information: Her favorite movie is not Erin  Brockovich but Pay It Forward.
So, to fully understand her, I needed to understand more about this movie. It was not available from Netflix for instant download, but I had seen it some years ago. Where did that movie theme come from?
From a novel, Pay it Forward by Catherine Ryan Hyde.  So to understand Erin Brokovich, I needed to understand the movie Pay it Forward, which could only be fully understood by reading the novel on which it was based.  It was available as an instant e-book, so I stayed up late last night, unable to put the book down.
By now, the message was getting titled: “The Holy Spirit in Erin Brokovich, the Wizard of Oz, and Pay it Forward.” I decided to drop “The Wizard of Oz,” since I had no opinion on the role of Holy Spirit in the Kansas tornado that his Dorothy’s house. I decided on  “The Holy Spirit Goes to the Movies” as a pretty all-encompassing title!
I’d like to start with a brief over-view of Swedenborg’s concept of  Holy Spirit, and then take those ideas into our movies and book. You might want to start the popcorn now, as you could be spending the rest of the day watching movies!
 
Swedenborg’s view of Holy Spirit is one of the key elements that differentiate Swedenborgian Christianity from mainline Christianity.
Swedenborg  rejects the tradition concept of “trinity” because God is one essence … not three.   The Lord is the one Divine being, who has three aspects:
When one enters heaven – the 3rd day after death, one is taught “that the Holy Spirit is not a separate God: the Word uses the phrase to mean the divine action that radiates from the one omnipresent God. [TC, #138].
He points out that  The Holy Spirit is the divine truth and also the divine action and effect that radiate from the one God, in whom the Divine Trinity exists: the Lord God the Savior.
He goes on to clarify that The Holy Spirit was not in existence before the glorification. However, in John 20:22, when Jesus appears to the disciples after the resurrection, “He breathed on his disciples and said “receive the Holy Spirit.” [TC, 140]. He then says that this is “because breathing on someone is an outward represent station of divine inspiration.” 
In a number of places, Swedenborg talks of “wind” as a correspondence for spirit in general.  
Spirit is likened to wind in John 3:8, and consequently, the spirits present with me at this day, many and most of the times have come with a wind, which stroked my face, indeed even moved the flame of the candle, papers, (the wind was cold,) and this very often when I was raising my right arm. This surprised me, and I do not yet know the reason for it.   [SE 479]. 
That is not necessarily the Holy Spirit, but it does add an interesting dimension to the role of wind in music, art, and movies.
So,  I started with Swedenborg’s definition: The Holy Spirit is the divine truth and also the divine action and effect that radiate from the one God. It seemed to me  that times in which we experience the Holy Spirit at work could be when we have a sudden grasp of the truth of a situation: a truth that leads us to action.
I thought that the Erin Brockovich movie had several such places. You probably know that Erin is  a single Mom – with little formal education --who desperately needs a job. She ends up as a file clerk for a lawyer, as she becomes curious as to why medical records are filed in a real estate file. She asks for permission to investigate this further, and goes to visit one of the people in the file.
 
 
In that scene, the subject of “chromium” comes up in a conversation with the woman she visits. She leaves the house and seems to be in a thoughtful mood. [note how the wind is rustling the trees]. She then visits a professor, who distinguishes healthy from destructive chromium.
I see this is a crucial series of scenes where she learns a devastating truth – and begins to take the actions that made her famous.
But, of course, to understand more of what motivates the real  Erin Brockovich we need to look more closely at Pay it Forward. The book -- and the movie – is the story of a social studies teacher in a junior high school who gives his class an extra-credit assignment: do something to change the world.
Trevor, the central character, comes up with the idea of “pay it forward.” He will do three good deeds for 3 different people. They will be something “big” that the person could not do for themselves. And the person is not to “pay back” Trevor for the good deed, but rather to do 3 big good deeds for other people – and ask them to do 3 such deeds for other …
In time, everyone in the world will be doing good deeds for each other, over and over again. It doesn’t seem to work that way for Trevor, however. He invites a homeless man to stay in his home – something Mom is not too pleased with. The man relapses on drugs and is put in jail and refuses to see Trevor when he comes to visit. He helps a woman beautify her garden, but she dies overnight, so doesn’t seem available for 3 good deeds. At least not on earth. His third deed is to try and match up his Mom with his social studies teacher: a deed that neither Mom nor teacher seem to appreciate.
Trevor assumes that his social studies project is a failure, but he gets an “A” for effort. He is unaware  that actually a whole movement of “pay it forward” is rapidly spreading and a reporter is trying to track back how who started the movement. Here is the scene where he is given this assignment, and starts to grasp its possibilities:
 
 
I can see these same themes in Erin Brockovich. Erin lives her life with the intention of doing good for others, regardless of the consequences for herself. She is a devoted Mom, whose caring for her children shows throughout the movie. And she really cares about people. She gets involved in the project about how chromium has damaged many people. Unlike the lawyers later in the movie who are distant from their clients, Erin becomes part of the lives of the people who are their clients. She is by their side throughout the process of suing the company who knowingly dumped dangerous chromium in the environment. We see her tears and her laughter as her love for others motivates her actions every day.
I would call both of these stories to be examples of Holy Spirit – as truth and action. The true Erin Brockovich movie and the fictitious Pay it Forward novel and movie have many examples of people who reach a deep knowing of a truth that had eluded them. Out of that knowing, they shape the actions of their days and their lives. Sometimes, we even see wind or significant respiration in those moments!
It should be noted that the concept of “pay it forward” did not originate with the novel. It goes back at least to Robert Heinlein and then back to Benjamin Franklin. Of course, one could argue that actually it goes back at least to Jesus who gave a Golden Rule that exists in some form in all religions: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Swedenborg clarifies that doing good is its own reward. As we regenerate in our spirituality, we are not doing good for the sake of being paid back. We are doing it because we find that making others happy is the greatest joy we ourselves could have.
Throughout these stories, we see the power of Spirit [however you want to define that] in people’s lives by showing deeper truths, and showing them the true rewards of giving without being repaid personally; for the “paying it forward” is everyone’s reward.
Have you had any “Holy Spirit” moments in your life – where you came to grasp a deep truth that led you to new ways of acting?

 
CLOSING SONG
Spirit of the Living God





   



And close the Bible.            
 

 
Go forth; knowing that the Holy Spirit is at work in your life every day.