Sermon for January 8th, 2017

John 1:1-4

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was in the beginning with God. 3All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being 4in him was life, and the life was the light of all people.

1 Corinthians 14:10-11

10There are doubtless many different kinds of sounds in the world, and nothing is without sound. 11If then I do not know the meaning of a sound, I will be a foreigner to the speaker and the speaker a foreigner to me.

1 Corinthians 13:12-13

12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. 13 And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.

Faith & Film V - Arrival

For the next six weeks, my sermons will feature aliens, samurai, WWII medics, wizards, airplane pilots, and jazz pianists. If you're relatively new to First Presbyterian Church, you might be thinking, "Wait a minute...I don't remember any of those things in the Bible." But if you've been here awhile, you know that this is the time of year when we talk about movies. Not just any movies, but some of the most watched or crititically acclaimed movies of the past year across a broad spectrum of styles and genres--usually everything from historical drama to science fiction and fantasy, comedy and romance to action-adventure, animated family film to art-house films. I try to include something for everyone, while also stretching people beyond the types of films they usually might see.

But why movies? Shouldn't we stick to just the Bible? Isn't that the only story that really matters? Well, yes and no. As Christians, the Bible is our greatest, most cherished story. But there are many other stories out there, too, that reflect who we are as 21st century people--our hopes, dreams, and fears. Bringing the stories of our culture into dialogue with the story of our faith helps us to understand each one better, to recognize common themes and messages they share, as well as how all of our stories shape and influence us, in our faith as well as our day to day lives.

So with that, let's take a look at our first film, Arrival.

Arrival International Trailer: https://youtube.com/watch?v=N7V9kqENkT0

=Three Minute Film Summary

Since not everyone has seen this film yet, I like to start with a brief plot summary, which is tricky to do without giving too much away, and even trickier in the case of this film, because the story is non-linear--things don't happen in chronological order, but rather jump backwards and forwards in time. There's also a huge plot twist right at the end that I'll try not to give away, but which actually puts everything into a whole new context.

The film begins in darkness with the voice of a mother telling her daughter, "I used to think this was the beginning of your story." We watch as a baby girl is born in the hospital, followed by images from her as a toddler playing with her mother, then as a young girl telling her mother "I love you," then as a teenager telling her mother "I hate you." Next we see the teenaged girl back in the hospital, dying of cancer as her mother grieves, and we hear her voice saying "And this was the end." Fade to black again. After awhile, the mother continues, "But now I'm not so sure I believe in beginnings or endings. There are days that define your story beyond your life... like the day they arrived."

The mother, Dr. Louise Banks, is a linguist and a college professor. She's