Sermon for January 14th, 2018
Philippians 2:4-11
4 Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others.
5 Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, 7 but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, 8 he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross.
9 Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Faith & Film VI: Ferdinand
Three Minute Film Synopsis
Ferdinand is a movie based on the classic 1936 children's story written by Munro Leaf and illustrated by Robert Lawson. The main character is Ferdinand, a young bull who would much rather sit and smell the flowers than fight and butt heads like all the other bulls.
In the film, Ferdinand escapes from "Casa Del Toro" the ranch that breeds bulls for prizefighting. He finds a new home with a young girl, Nina, and her father, who raise him, treat him like one of the family, love him for who he is, and watch him grow into an enormous, gigantic, but gentle bull.
Every year, Ferdinand's favorite event is the "festival of flowers" in the nearby village. This year, however, when he sneaks into the festival, he has the misfortune of sitting on a bumble bee, which stings him and causes him to fly into a wild rampage, quite contrary to his usual meek and mild nature. Ferdinand unintentionally terrorizes the village, destroying a china shop among other things, and he is eventually captured, tied up, and carted away by the local police.
At this point, Ferdinand is returned to his first home, the "Casa Del Toro" where he is reunited with his childhood acquaintances, plus a few new ones.
Clip #2 - Ferdinand Is That You?
Clearly, that last bull (Angus) is a good Presbyterian. Of course, so is the brown and red one (Guapo), played by actor and real-life Presbyterian, Peyton Manning.
When the country's most famous bull fighter, El Primero, shows up to select the best bull for his final fight, all the other bulls go head to head vying for the honor of being chosen. Ferdinand refuses to fight, but is ultimately chosen anyhow, due to his obvious size and strength. Two of his fellow bulls, having been passed over by the bullfighter, are sent to the "chop house" where they will likely be slaughtered. A common refrain of the bulls in the film is "You're either a fighter, or you're meat."
Ferdinand resolves to escape again from Casa Del Toro rather than be taken to the bullfight. He rescues his friends from the chophouse, and after a wild and crazy chase through the streets of madrid, Ferdinand manages to get all of the bulls on a train to the country where Nina and her father live. But he himself is captured in the process, and is taken to the arena where he must finally face El Primero--and his own convictions about fighting--in front of thousands of spectators.
