YOU CAN SAVE THE WORLD:
WONDER WOMAN AND HEATHER HEYER
This
June, I went and watched the Wonder Woman movie while it was playing in our town.
Like most boys, I was a big fan of Marvel comic books when I was a young lad. I
liked the movie so much this year that I went back and watched it again,
something I rarely do.
This
time I took some notes about the literary movement in the Wonder Woman story
plot. The power in any fiction story lies in the change of mind or heart in the
main characters. In the case of Wonder
Woman, it is a classic tale of movement from innocence lost to consciousness
gained.
The
movie begins with Diana Prince slowly discovering her origins and her destiny
to save her people and, beyond that, to “save the world.” In her youthful
innocence, she believes that she must defeat the source of evil in the world,
which in this case is personified as Aries, the Greek god of war (he might as
well have been personified as Satan). She expresses her personal mission
statement in one great, brief soliloquy: “Zeus created men [sic] to be strong and
wise, just and compassionate. Once I destroy Aries, there will be good men
again and the world will be better.”
Her
journeys take her from battle to battle to battle, pointless war to pointless
war, until she finally confronts Aries himself, and with great difficulty and
violence, defeats him. To her shock, grief and dismay, the treachery and fighting
and hate among humans continues unabated.
Eventually she wins the day’s battle, but she has
learned there are no permanent victories over evil. Her lost innocence gives
way to consciousness, and consciousness always comes at a price.
“I
used to want to save the world, to end war and bring peace to mankind. But then
I glimpsed the darkness that lives within their light. I learnt that inside
every one of them there will always be both. The choice each must make for
themselves – something no hero will ever defeat. And now I know…that only love
can save the world. So now I stay, I fight, and I give
– for the world I know can be. This is my mission now, forever” (Diana
Prince, “Wonder Woman”).
On
Saturday, August 12, 2017, an American woman was killed fighting Nazis, on
American soil.
NAZIS.
On American soil. Let that sink in for a moment.
Heather
Heyer was thirty-two years old. She was killed by a speeding automobile that was
deliberately driven into a crowd of men and women seeking peace and resisting
racist hate. Friends said she dedicated her life to standing up for those who had
not been heard or respected. She died standing up for what she believed in, and
what she believed in was love.
Diana
Prince (“Wonder Woman”): “I used to want to save the world, this beautiful
place. But the closer you get, the more you see the great darkness simmering
within. I learnt this the hard way, a long, long time ago.”
“It’s
about what you believe. And I believe in love. Only love will truly save the
world.”
Our
bishop sent out a letter in response to the hate attacks in Charlottesville
last week. In that letter, he reminded us that we, as United Methodists, have
made these promises to God and each other in our baptismal/membership vows:
“On
behalf of the whole Church, I ask you:
Do
you renounce the spiritual forces of wickedness, reject the evil powers of this
world, and repent of your sin?
Do
you accept the freedom and power God gives you to resist evil, injustice, and
oppression in whatever forms they present themselves?
Do
you confess Jesus Christ as your Savior, put your whole trust in his grace, and
promise to serve him as your Lord, in union with the Church which Christ has opened
to people of all ages, nations, and races?
According
to the grace given to you, will you remain faithful members of Christ's holy
Church and
serve as Christ's representatives in the world?”
As
hate has reared its ugly head once again and seems to be more and more enabled,
emboldened and energized, some of those on the front lines at Charlottesville
last week were CLERGY, from various races and denominations, praying and
ministering as Jesus himself would do.
Two
scriptures have come to mind in the aftermath of these events and have stayed
there:
"Anyone
who says 'I love God' and hates their brothers or sisters are liars; for those
who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom
they have not seen. The commandment we have from him is this: those who love
God must love their brothers and sisters also" (I John 20-21).
"The
only thing that matters is faith working through love" (Galatians 5:6).
“So
now I stay, I fight, and I give – for the world I know can be. This is my
mission now, forever.” “Only love can truly change the world.”
Dr. Bill >)));>
