As the film progresses we discover that the only hope for the city is found in people who devote their lives to making it better. “You don’t owe these people anymore. You’ve given them everything,” someone says to Bruce Wayne. His response reveals the heart of the film: “Not everything, not yet.” The fate of Gotham will be determined by just how much he and others are willing to give.
At the risk of being over-dramatic, it strikes me that each of us are called by God to just this sort of heroism. Though tempted to remain content in our own prosperity, or to complain against the mistakes of others, or to simply try to “wait things out,” we are summoned by God to lay down our lives in service to the world around us. “A new commandment I give you: love one another as I have loved you.” We have been loved completely by one who gave everything for us, and that very love compels us to do likewise. And unlike the superheroes of our age who must only rely on themselves, we can give ourselves without fear, for our lives are hidden in Christ, securely kept for us.
I am left with two simple questions: what does it mean for me to give my life to the family and community God has placed me in? And will I be willing to do it?
The more blockbusters I see the more clear it becomes that every one of them is a shadow of which Jesus is the substance.
That's a good quote. I was struck by how, in the second Batman movie, Batman takes the sins of another - he has them imputed to him - for the sake of the city as a whole. (And, now that I think about, I'm struck by how this fails in the third movie - it's exposed as the ruse it is.)
ReplyDeleteI've seen a number of movies that illustrate exactly what you're talking about.