Sermon for February 12th, 2023
Contents
John 15:12-17 (NT p. 109)
12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15 I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing, but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. 17 I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.
Faith & Film XI - Top Gun: Maverick
- [Film Clip #1 - Trailer]
Three Minute Film Summary
Top Gun Maverick takes place a little over thirty years after the events of the original Top Gun Film. Pete Mitchell, known by his call sign "Maverick" is now a test pilot whose military career seems to have stalled. Although he has a long list of achievements, he also has a long pattern of defying orders, getting in trouble, and then getting bailed out by his long-time friend and former rival, Tom "Iceman" Kazansky (now Admiral Kazansky).
When this pattern repeats itself at the beginning of the film, Iceman recalls Maverick to to the Top Gun school where they first met. This time, his task is to train a group of young pilots (all recent graduates of the Top Gun program) for a dangerous mission over enemy territory. Among the young pilots is Bradley Bradshaw (call-sign Rooster) who is the son of Maverick's best friend and co-pilot Goose, who tragically died in the first film.
The heart of the film centers on the strained father-son-type relationship between Maverick and Rooster, the grueling challenges faced by the pilots as they train, and Maverick's struggle to let go of the past and face an ever-changing future with courage, humility, and grace. Well...that and some pretty harrowing flight maneuvers, lots of explosions, things going really fast, beach football, great one-liners, and...sunglasses.
Love of Country, Love of God
Patriotism has fallen on hard times the last decade or so. So it's refreshing to see a Hollywood blockbuster that celebrates the love of one's country and a willingness to defend it. I also like how this film doesn't feel the need to denigrate any other country in order to lift up our own--the "enemy" referenced in the film is never named or identified, because it doesn't really matter that much in the end.
In the bible, love for God always comes first, before anything else. But if you read the Psalms, you find that love for one's country comes in as a pretty strong second place. There are more psalms about Zion and Jerusalem than almost any other kind. The Psalmist will ask God to bless his homeland, to protect it, to avenge it, to restore it, or sometimes he'll just sing about how beautiful it is, and how much he misses it. It's okay for us to do the same.
This is Your Savior Speaking
Is there a Christ type in this film? Well, kind of? Maverick appears to die on a couple of occasions, and then almost miraculously comes back to life. He challenges authority and breaks the traditional rules, just like Jesus was known to do. And Maverick, also like Jesus, has disciples--his students that he leads, loves, and teaches. BUT...that said, I think this is a movie about valiant self-sacrifice, and so everyone gets to play savior to some extent, almost to comical effect.
[Film Clip #2 - I Saved Your Life (0:50)]
So Maverick saves Rooster; Rooster saves Maverick, and then just a little while later when they're both in trouble...
[Film Clip #3 - This Is Your Savior (0:48)]
