Last night, I had the evening to myself, as The Bud is off on an adventure. I got my "have to do's" out of the way and then sat down to watch a movie by myself that I don't think he would have had patience to sit still for: the more-than-three hour marathon that is "Ben-Hur."
(i highly recommend doing this by the way, if you ever get the chance-- sure, you guys are married, but there definitely are movies that I would like to see that I would never subject him to sitting through and vice versa. When I get some time to myself, i like to watch those types of movies.)
Anyhoo, I've never seen the movie in its entirety; I remember seeing parts of it when i was young --the part where the mom and sister are revealed as lepers in the dark courtyard of the family home always sticks in my mind -yikes! And I've even tried to read the book --it's very long and I was busy raising three little Lovelies.......not a good combination, and I've not gotten back to it yet.
In any case, I wanted to see what made it a "classic" from the Golden Age of Hollywood of the 50's and 60's --the time when there were huge studios, making sweeping epics of classic stories, using insane amounts of money, manpower, and time to recreate some of the greatest architectural structures in human history. Seriously. Look up how the whole chariot-race scene was constructed and be amazed. You will never see money spent like that again....not with today's CGI technology available to multiply three people into thousands or create background using a green-screen and computer. Sad, really.....but I digress.
Anyway, as I sat there watching the movie, for all it's glorious cheesiness --I mean, I was almost uncomfortable as I watched Charlton Heston reconnect with his boyhood friend, Masala....as they looked deeply into each others eyes and had tears forming, I thought, "please, dear god, do not kiss him"....that just goes to show you how trained our emotions have become from years of TV and movies in the current day. Sad, really.....oops, but I digress again!
BAaaackk to the glorious cheeze-whiz --lots of silly dialogue, classic use of beautiful foreign girls as the main romantic lead ("can't speak English very well for an English-speaking movie --but she looks good in a toga, so let's do it!"), but awesome sweeping action scenes, and good triumphing over evil. All great identifiers of this genre.
HOWEVER, there was one thing added in this film that was so quietly understated, it screamed out at me --I'm sure this was William Wyler's intention all along as director --it was the fact that all the while Judah Ben-Hur was going through his trials of losing his social status, being drafted as a galley slave, then being shipwrecked and eventually being adopted into highly influential Roman family, all the while this was going on, another Man was living His life too, in the same region. This Man was not out for revenge or his own gain, as was Ben-Hur, but was teaching another way to see the world and your place in it. This Man was teaching forgiveness, to love your enemies, and to enter into the rest God offers mankind because of one man's sacrifice.
Jesus was not the main character in the film.....but then again He was. That's the point --it cannot be helped; whenever God is involved in a life, His grace and mercy permeate the scene whether you realize it at the moment or not.
Eventually in the movie, Judah and many of the people around him receive this new way of thinking and the movie ends very gently and very open-ended. It allows for the viewer to leave the theater (or in my case, turning off the TV) to ponder their own life and where God fits into it.
For me personally, I also suddenly realized that as I go about my daily life with Christ and having His grace and mercy flowing all around me constantly, that there are many people around me who simultaneously do not have that same inward peace. They are living here around me, but aren't as involved with the teachings of Jesus and His love, grace, and mercy as I am. They are constantly bombarded with thoughts of defeat, fear, hopelessness. Situations arise in their lives daily where they struggle to figure out what to do and how to solve the latest dilemma.
They may not be wrongfully accused of trying to kill a Roman governor, they may not be thrown into a dungeon for years and develop leprosy, they may not have to be chained to the galley of a ship to row and row until they die from exhaustion......but, their 21st century problems can feel all the same.
Am I aware of that as I go into Walmart? Am I aware that when I walk into the bank, the teller is worrying about how she will pay her mortgage next month? Am I aware that the mom who just passed me in the aisle of Kwik Trip (--for all my east coast friends, that's like a Wawa here in the Midwest!) is worrying about why her daughter doesn't seem to talk to her anymore and why she seems scared or nervous when she comes home from school all the time? What about the family whose son just got another bad medical report and they don't know what to do now?
These are the Judah Ben-Hur's, the Tirzah's, the Miriam's of our time. And I am the woman who follows Jesus as He goes around the region teaching and extending love and grace. When do the two groups collide?
At
The
Cross
Literally. In the movie, you see Judah's wife bringing him and his family to Jesus, not knowing that Jesus is, at that moment, being tried and then executed. Pivotal moment in the movie.
I need to remember that many people around me know nothing of the peace that the cross has brought to the world. Peace that passes all comprehension, peace that can become part of their reality as they go through what they are going through.
May we try to remember that as we go about our lives, there is life going on around us, but that we can bring REAL life into the situation.
......yeah....all that from a cheesy old movie.
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