Sermon for January 28th, 2018
Contents
John 1:1-5
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being 4 in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.
Faith & Film VI: The Post
Three Minute Film Synopsis
The Post is based on the real life events of 1971, as the classified government documents known as the "Pentagon Papers" were leaked and published by several major Newspapers, among them the Washington Post.
Katharine Graham (played by Meryl Streep) is the publisher and owner of the Washington Post, a regional paper aspiring to become a national force. The paper was originally acquired and published by her father, then passed to her husband, and its leadership fell to her after her husband's death. Throughout the film, we watch Graham struggle to find her voice, to be taken seriously as a woman leading in a male-dominated industry.
The editor in chief of the paper is Benjamin Bradlee (played by Tom Hanks) who is referred to more than once in the film as an opportunistic, no-holds-barred "Pirate," but we can't help but admire his steadfast loyalty and commitment to the principles of the first amendment and the freedom of the press.
When Graham and Bradlee come into possession of the leaked documents, they race to publish them, but their rivals, the New York Times beat them to press. The Nixon White House successfully wins an injunction preventing the Times from publishing any more documents, and at this point, the Washington Post faces the difficult decision of whether to risk their very existence by defying the White House and going to press, or on the other hand, risking their journalistic integrity (and their opportunity to become a major player in national news) by allowing the government to silence them.
Against the advice of her lawyers and business advisors, Graham makes the bold decision to publish, landing both her paper and the New York Times in front of the Supreme Court, which ultimately decides in their favor, setting the stage for the golden era of journalism, the Washington Post, and the downfall of the Nixon presidency.
The Power of the Word
The opening scene of the film takes place not in a newsroom, but in the dark jungle of Vietnam, as American soldiers prepare to engage with their enemy. We see the soldiers putting on camouflaged face paint, loading their rifles, weapons everywhere. And then in the midst of all those weapons, we see...a typewriter. It belongs to Daniel Ellsberg, who tags along as an "observer" and later famously (infamously?) is the one to copy and leak the Pentagon Papers to the press.
But he juxtaposition of a typewriter in the midst of the weapons of war is quite intentional, right at the outset of the story. We all know the old saying that the "pen is mightier than the sword" and this film makes the point over and over: The printed word, the press, is powerful. It can stop wars, bring down governments and presidents, and change the course of a nation.
The evangelist known to us as John also begins his story with the image of the Word, which he equates with nothing less than God himself: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God . . . All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being."
This is also a reference back to the first chapter of Genesis, where God creates the entire world not with hands or tools or explosions...but simply by the force of his words: "And God said, let there be light. And there was light."
Prophets and Kings
The film highlights the courage and bravery of Katharine Graham and Benjamin Bradlee in standing up to the President of the United States. At one point, Robert Macnamara, Secretary of Defense under Presidents Kennedy and Johnson, and a close friend and advisor to Katharine Graham, warns her that if she publishes the papers, Nixon "will muster the full power of the Presidency, and if there's a way to destroy you, by God, he'll find it."
Interestingly, the Pentagon Papers were written before Nixon was elected President, and their most damning revelations were not against the Nixon White House, but against the Kennedy and Johnson Administrations that came before. This made Graham's choice particularly difficult, as her family were close personal friends with the Johnsons, and (although only alluded to in the following clip) Bradlee himself had been close friends with the Kennedys.
Where does one draw the line between allegiance to one's friends, one's country, and the chosen leader of that country?
This is a familiar dilemma for the Kings and Prophets of the Old Testament. The Prophet Samuel anoints Saul as the first King of Israel, and urges the people to listen to their new King, saying "there is no one like him among all the people." When Saul turns away from God, Samuel is devastated and cries out to the Lord all night, before finally rising to confront and denounce the King he had once served.
The prophet Nathan is a court prophet, part of King David's inner circle of friends and advisors. But it is Nathan who confronts David over his affair with Bathsheba.
King Hezekiah consults the great prophet Isaiah, and values his counsel. Isaiah prays for Hezekiah when he becomes ill, and asks God to heal him. But then Hezekiah is succeeded by his son King Manasseh, who, according to tradition, executes Isaiah by placing him in a log and having the log sawn in half.
Like the journalists and publishers in The Post, the Old Testament Prophets had to work with the rulers of the land, dining with them and getting to know them. But they also had to hold them accountable, remembering that their
The Light Shining In the Darkness
(let justice roll like thunder)
Democracy dies in darkness
