Seriously, it's my love of pastoring, chickens (they are just a few steps away from velociraptors) and ninjas all wrapped into one movie. If there was juggling, I would have to shell out the $4 to watch it, but the trailer has been enough.
I confess I have watched the trailer multiple times and shown it to those I love because this kind of horror has to be shared. I still scream every time he eats the guy in the confessional - the trailer is truly enough.
The plot is age old.
Here is the summary from Rotten Tomatoes: After a devastating family tragedy, a priest travels to China to find deeper spirituality, but instead is endowed with an ancient ability that allows him to turn into a dinosaur. At first, he is horrified by his newfound superpower, but a local prostitute convinces him to use his newfound gift to fight evil -- and ninjas.
Okay. Maybe that twist with the ninjas is not age old, but the rest is as old as humanity. VelociPastor is a new twist on the old story that we can kill our way out of evil. If only the good guys could kill all the bad guys, then we all could be happy.
This story never turns out well even when there aren't dinosaurs and ninjas involved. I love the idea, don't get me wrong, people do horrible things to each other and there is something rewarding in the drug dealing murderer getting eaten in the confessional.
But, then I look at Jesus hanging on the cross and I have to recognize I follow someone who refuses to repay evil with evil, but clings to mercy even in the midst of horror. I have to recognize I follow a God who tells us time and again not to judge and we are not in charge of vengeance.
Mercy. Love. Forgiveness. Grace. These are the words that shape our life of faith and ministry.
There is one point in the trailer where his prostitute friend says, "you talk all the time about helping people and this might be the first time in your life that you can." This is what starts him on his killing spree.
Jesus never actually calls us to "help" people because I think he had a good sense of humanity's distorted ability to destroy people and call it helpful. We are called to love, gather, feed, and serve all God's beloved children. I'm pretty sure eating them isn't acceptable.
No comments:
Post a Comment