Sermon for January 15th, 2017 - Revision history

Iraneal at 04:38, 15 January 2017

2017-01-15T04:38:06Z

Iraneal at 04:22, 15 January 2017

2017-01-15T04:22:58Z

Iraneal at 04:21, 15 January 2017

2017-01-15T04:21:54Z

Iraneal at 03:08, 15 January 2017

2017-01-15T03:08:42Z

Iraneal at 01:56, 15 January 2017

2017-01-15T01:56:11Z

Iraneal at 01:42, 15 January 2017

2017-01-15T01:42:51Z

Iraneal at 01:33, 15 January 2017

2017-01-15T01:33:27Z

Iraneal at 01:06, 15 January 2017

2017-01-15T01:06:08Z

Iraneal at 23:50, 14 January 2017

2017-01-14T23:50:43Z

Iraneal at 17:30, 14 January 2017

2017-01-14T17:30:32Z

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 ==Faith & Film V: Kubo and the Two Strings==
-*[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=p4-6qJzeb3A Movie Clip #1: Trailer]
+*[http://youtube.com/watch?v=p4-6qJzeb3A Movie Clip #1: Trailer]
 ====Three Minute Film Summary====
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 I usually try to show three or four clips of the movie we're discussing, but today I wanted to show one, much longer clip--the climax of the film--that captures so many of the things we've been talking about and weaves them all together.  Watch as Kubo confronts his grandfather, as he embraces his humanity, as he takes off his armor and re-strings his instrument.  Watch as the cloud of witnessess, the communion of saints (the living and the dead) gather around him, and watch as that same community makes a critical decision in the closing moments of the story.
-*[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=eP2XXSj4DuY Film Clip #2: Grandfather's redemption]
+*[http://youtube.com/watch?v=eP2XXSj4DuY Film Clip #2: Grandfather's redemption]
 Wrapped up in this scene are the powerful themes of forgiveness and redemption.  In Kubo's story, the evil God is forgiven and embraced by the people.  In Christianity, it's the opposite:  A loving God forgives and embraces a sinful people. In either case, what happens is the end of one story, and the beginning of a new one; a clean slate, and a chance to live in community with one another.  To remember is not always just the act of calling to mind events of the past.  At the core of the word, to "re-member" is to make someone a member again; a member of the community, a member of God's family.

@@ Line 45: / Line 45: @@
 Actually, filial piety is a cornerstone of both Western AND Eastern civilization.  In Judeo-Christian tradition, it shows up as the sixth of the Ten Commandments: "Honor your father and mother."  There is no time limit placed on this commandment; honor and reverence extends even beyond the earthly lives of our parents, and at many places in the scriptures, we are commanded to remember and honor all the saints who went before us.  In the film, Kubo's care for his mother and his reverence for the memory of his father eventually grows into an appreciation for all of his people and ancestors who have proceeded him.  It is in them that he finds a sense of identity and purpose.
-====A strand of three cords====
+====A Strand of Three Cords====
 For most of the film, Kubo's magic derives from his shamisen--a traditional Japanese instrument that is similar to a guitar or a banjo, but with three strings.  The movie is called Kubo and the two strings because his shamisen has only two--his mother broke a string while using the instrument's power to save him as a child.  Later, Kubo uses the instrument to save himself, each time breaking a string.  In the final battle with his grandfather, there are no strings left, so Kubo takes a strand of his mother's hair that he had worn on his wrist, a bowstring that had belonged to his father, and finally a strand of his own hair, and uses all these things to restring the instrument.  The message is that all his magic, his power...comes from the memory of his parents, his family, and his power is strongest when these three strands are woven together as one.

@@ Line 36: / Line 36: @@
 Kubo's fight is not against flesh and blood enemies, but against spiritual forces.  Against them, he is commanded to find and put on the "breastplate impenetrable,"  the "helmet invulnerable" and the "sword unbreakable."  Of course, this should remind any Christian of Ephesians 6, where the Apostle Paul tells us that against spiritual forces we should put on the "helmet of salvation, the "breastplate of righteousness" and the "sword of the spirit."
-But then watch in the following clip from the film's final battle scene between little Kubo and his evil grandfather (who has taken the form of a giant dragon) where Kubo realizes that a samurai's armor just isn't his thing...and he takes it off in favor of a more "humble" weapon...
+But then in the film's final battle scene (which we'll see later) between little Kubo and his evil grandfather (who has taken the form of a giant dragon) Kubo realizes that a samurai's armor just isn't his thing...and he takes it off in favor of a more "humble" weapon...his shamisen, which he strings with three strings, representing his father, his mother, and himself.
-−
-*Film Clip #2: Taking off the Armor
 This should be familiar to us:  In the Bible, in 1st Samuel, the young shepherd-boy, David, takes off the armor he has been given by King Saul, and instead chooses the weapons he is more familiar with (a sling and five smooth stones) to face the giant Goliath.
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 Actually, filial piety is a cornerstone of both Western AND Eastern civilization.  In Judeo-Christian tradition, it shows up as the sixth of the Ten Commandments: "Honor your father and mother."  There is no time limit placed on this commandment; honor and reverence extends even beyond the earthly lives of our parents, and at many places in the scriptures, we are commanded to remember and honor all the saints who went before us.  In the film, Kubo's care for his mother and his reverence for the memory of his father eventually grows into an appreciation for all of his people and ancestors who have proceeded him.  It is in them that he finds a sense of identity and purpose.
 ====Jesus, Buddha & Divine Family Dynamics====
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 I want to be careful here.  There is much in the Buddhist tradition that inspires me.  Some scholars of world religions have even pointed out that Buddhism is not really a religion, but rather a set of disciplines.  I spent a few years studying those disciplines and found many of them compatible with Christianity.
-But for me, there was always one thing I couldn't get past.  One of the core tenets of Buddhism is that all suffering comes from attachment...and therefore to end suffering, we should not be overly attached to anything.  In order to attain Nirvana, or perfection, we must become detached, fixed and unmoved, like the celestial bodies in the heavens. This is exactly the philosophy articulated in the film by the Moon King in the following clip:
+But for me, there was always one thing I couldn't get past.  One of the core tenets of Buddhism is that all suffering comes from attachment...and therefore to end suffering, we should not be overly attached to anything.  In order to attain Nirvana, or perfection, we must become detached, fixed and unmoved, like the celestial bodies in the heavens. This is exactly the philosophy articulated in the film by the Moon King.
-*Film Clip #3: I know why you want my eye
+In the climax of the movie, when Kubo's grandfather tells him why he wants to take his eye.  He says:
 While I will admit that's probably not the best interpretation of Buddhist philosophy, Kubo actually rejects it, and instead embraces suffering, embraces humanity and all the flaws and imperfections that go with it. Likewise, Jesus rejects the view of the Pharisees that God is cold and legalistic, and instead embraces the outcasts, the flawed sinners, and those rejected by society.
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 Memory is a key theme in the film:  Kubo's mother suffers from bouts of memory loss, and his father (in the form of Beetle) has forgotten that he is Hanzo, the samurai.  Kubo journeys many miles with Monkey and Beetle without realizing they are manifestations of his parents.  In fact, in the form of Monkey and Beetle, Kubo's parents don't even recognize each other until the very end.  Here we might be reminded of the walk to Emmaus, and the disciples who traveled with Jesus after his ressurection without realizing who he was, until he prayed and broke bread with them.
-But the most poignant scene of the entire film comes after Kubo has defeated his grandfather, the Moon King, and somehow his grandfather becomes a mortal man...who has lost all memory of who he was.  Given all the death and destruction the Moon King has caused, Kubo and the people of his village would have every right to be angry with him and take their revenge now that he is in such a weakened form.  But watch what they do instead:
+But the most poignant scene of the entire film comes after Kubo has defeated his grandfather, the Moon King, and somehow his grandfather becomes a mortal man...who has lost all memory of who he was.  Given all the death and destruction the Moon King has caused, Kubo and the people of his village would have every right to be angry with him and take their revenge now that he is in such a weakened form.  But instead they do something very unexpected.
-*Film Clip #4: Grandfather's redemption
+*[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=eP2XXSj4DuY Film Clip #2: Grandfather's redemption]
 Wrapped up in this scene are the powerful themes of forgiveness and redemption.  In Kubo's story, the evil God is forgiven and embraced by the people.  In Christianity, it's the opposite:  A loving God forgives and embraces a sinful people. In either case, what happens is the end of one story, and the beginning of a new one; a clean slate, and a chance to live in community with one another.  To remember is not always just the act of calling to mind events of the past.  At the core of the word, to "re-member" is to make someone a member again; a member of the community, a member of God's family.

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 A core theme in this film is what's called "filial piety" or the reverence given to ones parents and ancestors. It's a common misconception among Christians that Asian religions practice ancestor worship.  "Worship" by definition is devotion given to those believed to be gods or dieties.  Reverence on the other hand is respect given to those who are acknowledged to be human.  At both the beginning and end of the film, Kubo is shown speaking to his deceased parents.  This is not worship, but devotion.  Even Jesus, in three of the four gospels, is described speaking to the deceased spirits of Moses and Elijah, and this is not considered "worship."
-Actually filial piety is a cornerstone of both Western AND Eastern civilization.  In Judeo-Christian tradition, it shows up as the sixth of the Ten Commandments: "Honor your father and mother."  There is no time limit placed on this commandment; honor and reverence extends even beyond the earthly lives of our parents, and at many places in the scriptures, we are commanded to remember and honor all the saints who went before us.  In the film, Kubo
+Actually, filial piety is a cornerstone of both Western AND Eastern civilization.  In Judeo-Christian tradition, it shows up as the sixth of the Ten Commandments: "Honor your father and mother."  There is no time limit placed on this commandment; honor and reverence extends even beyond the earthly lives of our parents, and at many places in the scriptures, we are commanded to remember and honor all the saints who went before us.  In the film, Kubo's care for his mother and his reverence for the memory of his father eventually grows into an appreciation for all of his people and ancestors who have proceeded him.  It is in them that he finds a sense of identity and purpose.
 ====Learning, Forgetting, and Remembering Who You Are====
-====Two Strings, Three Strings====
+But the most poignant scene of the entire film comes after Kubo has defeated his grandfather, the Moon King, and somehow his grandfather becomes a mortal man...who has lost all memory of who he was.  Given all the death and destruction the Moon King has caused, Kubo and the people of his village would have every right to be angry with him and take their revenge now that he is in such a weakened form.  But watch what they do instead:
-====Jesus, Buddha & Divine Family Dynamics====
+*Film Clip #4: Grandfather's redemption

← Older revision		Revision as of 01:56, 15 January 2017
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	====Filial Piety in Eastern and Western Tradition====		====Filial Piety in Eastern and Western Tradition====
−	In Asian ~~culture as well~~ as in	+	A core theme in this film is what's called "filial piety" or the reverence given to ones parents and ancestors. It's a common misconception among Christians that Asian religions practice ancestor worship. "Worship" by definition is devotion given to those believed to be gods or dieties. Reverence on the other hand is respect given to those who are acknowledged to be human. At both the beginning and end of the film, Kubo is shown speaking to his deceased parents. This is not worship, but devotion. Even Jesus, in three of the four gospels, is described speaking to the deceased spirits of Moses and Elijah, and this is not considered "worship."
		+
		+	Actually filial piety is a cornerstone of both Western AND Eastern civilization. In Judeo-Christian tradition, it shows up as the sixth of the Ten Commandments: "Honor your father and mother." There is no time limit placed on this commandment; honor and reverence extends even beyond the earthly lives of our parents, and at many places in the scriptures, we are commanded to remember and honor all the saints who went before us. In the film, Kubo

← Older revision		Revision as of 01:06, 15 January 2017
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	Kubo and the Two Strings is a stop-motion animated film by Laika studios, which is known for making children's films that are somewhat dark in tone, and don't shy away from difficult topics, like death and tragedy, but which also contain a lot of deep spiritual imagery and subtext.		Kubo and the Two Strings is a stop-motion animated film by Laika studios, which is known for making children's films that are somewhat dark in tone, and don't shy away from difficult topics, like death and tragedy, but which also contain a lot of deep spiritual imagery and subtext.

		+	The hero of this story is Kubo, a young boy living in a magical version of ancient Japan. When Kubo was just an infant, his grandfather (the evil and God-like Moon King) stole one of his eyes and killed his father, the legendary samurai warrior, Hanzo. At the opening of the story, Kubo lives in a cave taking care of his mother (who suffers bouts of memory loss) and earning money in the local village by telling stories, playing his enchanted shamisen (a traditional Japanese instrument) and by practicing his own enchanted version of another traditional Japanese art, Origami (folding paper).

		+	The action begins when Kubo's aunts (evil, witch-like spirits) come on behalf of his grandfather to take his other eye. Kubo escapes, but loses his mother in the process. Kubo then embarks upon a quest to find his father's enchanted armor, the only thing that can protect him from his grandfather. He is joined on this quest by a demanding, but protective monkey, and by a giant insect-like samurai beetle. Piece by piece, they recover the armor, as Kubo's own magic grows stronger. Along the way, he bonds with Monkey and Beetle, and eventually learns that they are none other than his own mother and father in enchanted form. Ultimately, Kubo returns to his village and with his newfound confidence in his abilities and in his family identity, and defeats his grandfather the Moon King in battle, saving the villagers, who embrace him as his larger, adopted family.

	====A Hodgepodge of Biblical Parallels====		====A Hodgepodge of Biblical Parallels====

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:30, 14 January 2017
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	====A Hodgepodge of Biblical Parallels====		====A Hodgepodge of Biblical Parallels====
		+
		+	====Filial Piety in Eastern and Western Tradition====

	====Learning, Forgetting, and Remembering Who You Are====		====Learning, Forgetting, and Remembering Who You Are====