What Sim Could Have Been Thinking About If He Had to Write Something On the Spot

I wrote this paper just a while ago. Yet, I can't get around the fact that Simon has impacted me in such a way that I can actually write such an ingenuous prose. So, kudos to Sim, my "cape crusader"!

What is the Gospel?

Imagine being a sidekick of a superhero. Imagine the fame, glory and honor for being able to participate alongside Batman in the action of saving Gotham City. Do halt pondering about the metaphor immediately if you are thinking about the ludicrous red velvety tights Robin wears. Unfortunately, such a figurative manner of portraying the gospel has its limits. Then again, by using this approach, a reasonable, yet fresh, understanding of the gospel can be observed. So, if God is the hero and those who have responded to the gospel are God’s sidekicks, the gospel can then be fully comprehended as an invitation in partaking in the mission of God’s kingdom. Thus, the good news becomes a verb in the present continuous tense, rather than just a product that guarantees salvation if accepted at a certain point in life. Nonetheless, many church-going, Bible-believing Christians are more inclined to take the latter definition of the good news, probably writhing at the thought of becoming God’s Robin. After all, who in the right of mind wants to wear such a tight and humiliating outfit? Anyway, aside from the crude humor, perhaps modern Christians are so indoctrinated with the “product gospel” because the modern church has so codified the gospel in the consumerist language. This obviously also results in the good news of Jesus Christ becoming a doctrine about the “I” pronoun, rather than being about what God has done. After all, do we not hear in church that the good news is about “my” salvation, “my” baptism and “my” Jesus?

Sadly, we have replaced the cover of every Batman comic with that of Robin’s images. Such a thought only brings chills to one’s back, especially if it has to do with Robin’s ridiculous costume. Yet, it is the truth. For what God desires is, through His gospel, a partnership with humanity – He is the hero and we are his sidekick. Nonetheless, the postmodern and post-enlightenment good news has been degraded to the point that God has no place in it anymore. Even if He does have a room in such a gospel, He is still almost always not the focal point of it. Much worse, God acts like a puppet king, whereby we act as his ventriloquist, mouthing words as if they are the actual words of God. For instance, many Christians often have their preconceived ideas about the gospel, and to justify their opinions, they make it seem as if their message is in accordance to the Bible.

Perhaps, we might have jumped a little ahead of what the gospel, in its simplistic form, means. Despite the tying in with the hero-sidekick mythos, the gospel is still about the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. Thus, without Jesus, there is no good news. Nevertheless, the gospel is not just about what God has done through Jesus. There is a choice to be made after the gospel is presented. Either one rejects it or one accepts it. There are no maybes here. If one chooses to accept the good news, that person is essentially joining with Christ in His mission of opening the eyes of the blind, of freeing the captives from prison and the releasing of those who sit in the dungeon of darkness.

Of course, this partnership is also hinted at in the wedding feast of the Lamb in Revelation. Here, the church, the bride of Christ, celebrates and participates with her Bridegroom. The wedding feast is not depicted as a Christ-only affair. It is the merry-making with the Church – an act of cooperation. Similarly, when Jesus promises the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, He is talking about the Christian individual working together with God. Thus, the good news of Jesus Christ is not merely about God alone, or humankind alone. It is a beautiful picture of the coming together of the Divine and His people in a oneness – a dance, one might even add – never thought possible. Without one or the other, the good news sounds vain and is no different from the other world religions. In any case, Christ has not left us with that definition. That only brings back the metaphor of Batman and his sidekick, the leader and his assistant swashbuckling through the darkness of Gotham City. It really does make so much sense to picture Christ as Batman and the church as Robin, does it not?

Much Ado About Nothing

Yeah, yeah, I know, I haven't been really blogging much. I suppose, with the amount of work I do these days, I'm basically much ado about nothing. Ah well, the life on an English major, or otherwise known as a paper-writing machine. Here's my newest addition to my repertoire of essays (sigh):

The Neighbor According to Jesus

Perhaps one of the most illustrious parables of Jesus, the parable of the Good Samaritan is found only within the Gospel of Luke. In the 10^th chapter, beginning with the 25^th verse, Jesus is confronted with a question by an “expert of the Law,” who asks, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Instead of giving the answer, Jesus throws back the question to the lawyer, who in turn answers his own inquiry. Drawing his response from the Torah, or the Law, the expert responds, “'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'” Jesus, then, commands the man to do similarly. However, to justify himself, the expert again queries Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” In reaction, Jesus begins to tell the man a parable, the parable we now dub the parable of the Good Samaritan. In his story, Jesus talks about a man, who came from Jerusalem, and is heading to Jericho. On the journey, a band of robbers comes into the scene, beats the traveler up, steals his possessions and leaves him to die. Subsequently, a Jewish priest comes by the same road; sees the injured man, and passes by the other side. Next a religious Levite treads around the place, and does the same as the priest. Finally, a Samaritan turns up, and upon seeing the man, the readers are told that he bandages and cleans the half-dead man, and takes him to an inn to recover. Of course, the Samaritan’s benevolence is further demonstrated as he pays, also, the bills of the wounded person. After finishing with the parable, Jesus again asks the Torah expert, “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” The lawyer answers, “The one who had mercy on him.” Then, Jesus charges the man to do likewise. (The New International Version, Luke 10.25-37)

From the reading of the passage, it is clear that the Law requires its adherers to love their neighbors, implying that the neighbor is the object of the act of love. However, Jesus’ view of the neighbor does not just encompass the traditional perspective. Rather, he challenges, if not redefines, what a neighbor should be to his listeners. Thus, through the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus includes that a neighbor is not only a person who is in need, but also one who is different from us and simultaneously, us.

Firstly, in the parable, in accordance to the Law, the injured man can definitely fit into a definition of a neighbor. After all, he is the recipient of the mercy dispensed by the Samaritan. This certainly matches with the Random House Dictionary’s definition of the word neighbor, “one’s fellow human being,” as the Samaritan shows mercy to an equal species, the injured traveler. Yet, one may question why Jesus’ parable ends up with the Samaritan as the neighbor instead of the beaten-up traveler. Assuming that Jesus has not misheard the expert’s question, one can either witness Jesus as he detangles a common stereotype, or conclude that he has no shred of intelligence to come up with an adequate answer. However, for the sake of a purposeful evaluation, let us assume the former, and discard the latter (with no hint of regret, lest the reader turns into a pillar of salt). As such, Jesus is not trying to undermine the traditional view of one’s neighbor. On the contrary, he desires instead to unravel the often times clouded, misled and discriminatory perception of who a neighbor can also be.

Since the neighbor is the Samaritan, rather than a Jew, it can be implied that Jesus is hinting that the neighbor can also include a person who is different, perhaps even despised. Of course, Jesus’ tactics in proving his point can be argued against. Obviously, it is only Jesus who can set up such an elaborate trap, which requires the poor lawyer to choose the Samaritan as the only suitable answer to his own question. Even then, the expert fails to utter the word Samaritan, only able to pronounce weakly, “the one who had mercy.” This indirectly reveals his discrimination of the reviled half-Jewish inhabitants of Samaria. From the subtle example, one can unquestionably observe the expert’s intolerance of a person dissimilar from him. Therefore, when Jesus portrays the Samaritan as the neighbor, he is essentially jabbing at the man’s prejudice of someone or something different from him. Furthermore, to compliment his point, Jesus depicts the Samaritan as helping a non-Samaritan – an act of showing love to a stranger. Doing so, Jesus is helping the lawyer to see beyond his discrimination, and recognize that a neighbor too can be the one he hates.

Finally, as Jesus commands the expert of the law to “do likewise,” he is also implying that the man should be a neighbor like the Samaritan. In other words, Jesus means that the neighbor is us, as well. This certainly ties well with another definition of “neighbor” found in the Random House Dictionary, “a person who shows kindliness or helpfulness toward his or her fellow humans.” When the lawyer asks the question about the identity of his neighbor, his intent lies in his desires to hear an answer from Jesus that he can easily digest. Thus, his motivation to is to show that he has done all he can to love such a person. However, instead of addressing the lawyer’s issues of the neighbor’s identity, Jesus points back to him, almost as if accusing him, “Have you yourself been a neighbor to others?” Then, he commands the man to be a neighbor, just like the Samaritan, who shows mercy in the parable. So, in this case, Jesus desires that we should be neighbors to others.

Thus, it is irrefutable that, according to Jesus, a definition of a neighbor transcends stereotypical beliefs and personal prejudices. On the wide spectrum, Jesus offers his view of a neighbor, that he is not only a person we are able to love, but also includes our enemy, while at the same time being ourselves. Apparently, the conclusion of who should be our neighbor ends up differently from what is expected. Such a feat is nothing less from Jesus, who is intentional in not mouthing out clichés. On the contrary, the Lion of Judah is aggressively out to take captive a people to make into critical thinkers.

When It Was All Over

When it was over and they could talk about it
She said there's just one thing I have got to know
What in that moment when you were running so hard and fast
Made you stop and turn for home
He said I always knew you loved me even though I'd broken your heart
I always knew there'd be a place for me to make a brand new start

Oh love wash over a multitude of things
Love wash over a multitude of things
Love wash over a multitude of things
Make us whole

When it was over and they could talk about it
They were sitting on the couch
She said what on earth made you stay here
When you finally figured out what I was all about
He said I always knew you'd do the right thing
Even though it might take some time
She said, Yeah, I felt that and that's probably what saved my life

Oh love wash over a multitude of things
Love wash over a multitude of things
Love wash over a multitude of things
Make us whole

There is a love that never fails
There is a healing that always prevails
There is a hope that whispers a vow
A promise to stay while we're working it out
So come with your love and wash over us

- From: Sara Groves, Add to Beauty

A Structuralist's Critique of Optimus "Past-His" Prime

The city in smokes, ruined, with all hope sapped out. The scene, gleaming in hues of brown, red and black amidst the gray-covered sky, paints a picture of despair. In the midst of the destruction, the coup de grâce that will ultimately squeeze all remaining expectation of deliverance is issued: “Constructicons merge for the kill!” Six identifiable robots subsequently emerged, and combines into the monster robot, Devastator. The behemoth, then, approaches the last remaining fortress of the Autobots, the “good guys.” Announcing, “Prepare for the extermination,” in a gruff voice, Devastator begins his destruction – slamming and breaking the city into rubble. Nothing seems as bleak as this opening scene in the 1986 animated movie, The Transformers: the Movie. Yet, just as everything appears as if the Decepticons, the “bad guys,” are winning, a spacecraft descends from out of the blue sky, as if signifying hope. A grand red-colored robot, then, descends into the war-torn city. Transforming into the celebrated red industrial truck, the Autobot leader, Optimus Prime exclaims, “Megatron must be stopped, no matter the cost.” Coupled with the heroism, the background song The Touch raises a banner of glory, declaring aloud, “You got the touch! You got the power!” Cutting through the enemy line without much of an effort, Prime easily immobilizes his enemies. Drums rolling, he finally faces off, one-on-one, with his arch nemesis, Megatron, the merciless leader of the Decepticons. A fight ensues, where both robots are shown to be equals in strength, power and determination. Nonetheless, Megatron is soundly defeated. With his gun pointing at Megatron, who is begging mercy from Prime, Prime replies half-mockingly, “You who have showed no mercy now plead for it? I thought you were made of sterner steel!” Unknowingly to Prime, Megatron is actually trying to inch his way to a gun stashed under a pile of wreckage. Before the villain grasps the gun, a newbie Autobot rookie tries to jump in to stop him, only to become a hostage. Unable to fire at Megatron, Prime is shot at numerous times, sending him to his knees. To top it off, the antagonist nears the hero, tossing aside his hostage, and sneers, “I could have waited for an eternity for this, and it’s now over Prime.” With the last of his strength, Prime swings unexpectedly at the weakened Megatron, responding to the Decepticon, “Never!” Falling down to the bottom from where he fought with Prime, Megatron, now looking like scrap metal, is cowardly collected by the fleeing Decepticons. Though the Decepticons are defeated, the loss of the Autobots is tremendous. This is especially so when Prime dies in the movie, a sign of a true veteran hero.

According to the Merriam Webster Online dictionary, a hero is defined as a legendary male warrior endowed with “great strength or ability,” renowned for his “achievements and noble qualities.” Though helpful, a dictionary’s definition of a hero is, tragically, redundant, especially in today’s day and age where action movies pass here and by. Therefore, it is no longer surprising that a common layman with no surplus training in English can just as easily characterize what an action hero is without a dictionary. From action films such as Diehard, Spiderman, Indiana Jones and etc., it is apparent that the main protagonist is nearly almost represented as possessing an almost god-like strength, and then goes through a series of hurdles, of which he will, in the end, overcome. Of course, the most important trait of an action hero is that he is revered. Thus, it is clear that the animated movie’s Optimus Prime, portrayed as a self-sacrificing, courageous and fearless leader, with no hint of dim-wittedness or casual humor, is the action hero of the movie.

However, in 2007, movie director, Michael Bay released his live-action Transformers film. Instead of sticking to the character canon of Optimus Prime, Bay reinvents the robot. His reimagining of Prime is not only limited to the welcomed redesign of the overall machine’s appearance, but also in the subtle changes of his personality in the blockbuster. Unfortunately, the director should have kept his hands off from an attempt to renew the hero’s character. Instead of making Prime epic in the movie, to the chagrin of loyal fanatics, Bay’s version of the robot appears weak, bumbling, and ultimately not the hero of the motion picture.

Although Prime looks astounding in the recent film, his character is, unfortunately, incompetent. In the almost anti-climatic final battle scene, Prime is pitted against Megatron to a death match. Again and again, Prime succumbs into Megatron’s endless attacks, unable to hold his ground. Perhaps the director desires to show the audience just how desperate the war against the Decepticons is. Possibly still, Bay wants to highlight the terror of Megatron as the ultimate villain – after all, the Devil needs to have enough power to challenge God. So, in order to artificially convey his story, the director attributes much strength to Megatron – maybe a tad too much. Furthermore, he does it at the expense of Prime’s chief characteristic: his ability to triumph against evil. A real Prime is one that can square off against his arch-nemesis, even if the battle can be long drawn, and still emerges as the victor. Thus, there is no evidence that the recent film’s Autobot leader is a genuine Prime, much less the hero. To further tarnish the Prime’s role, the one who actually deactivates Megatron, towards the end, is none other than the excruciatingly insignificant human character, Sam Witwicky.

Secondly, Prime in Bay’s film is, sadly, shown to be a clumsy leader (if one could even call him that). After arriving from space, Prime is taken to Witwicky’s home, where he and his equally blundering allies are inevitably depicted as trashing the outdoor garden into ruins. Apologizing to Witwicky, another uncharacteristic quality the movie’s Prime suffers from, the head of the Autobots cries, “My bad.” Talk about appalling lines! What more, such a script reserved for the legendary Prime! It is as if the live-action Prime is devoid of his once lavish, yet valiant, dialogues. Such a line only serves to erode what little admiration the audiences have left for Prime. What a terrible injustice committed against the series’ fans as they watched writhingly their childhood hero suddenly appear in the limelight with a sort of amnesia.

Finally, Prime in this recent film is not even the hero of his own show. To further add insult to injury, the Autobot leader in the film needs to depend on Witwicky, to vanquish the nemesis. Moreover, sounding even more absurd, the teenager pronounces death by simply inserting a piece of metal, the Allspark, into the chest of the enemy. Such a conclusion suggests as if all the damages that Prime has sustained in battling Megatron are in vain. Why did Prime even bother risking his life to defend the humans when it just takes a skinny adolescent to easily end the war? Going along this line, one can also conclude that the movie should rather be titled “Sam Witwicky” rather than “Transformers.” In fact, Prime in the movie can even be renamed as Optimus Past-His-Prime. If Witwicky is the main hero, the appearances of the Prime, even the Autobots, has unexpectedly become superfluous, unnecessary and, like a death blow, irrelevant.

Regrettably, the character, Optimus Prime is not properly represented as an action hero in Bay’s theatrical adaptation of the Transformers. Instead of being the ultimate victor, the brave leader and the hero of the film, Prime is reduced into nothing more than just a stage prop sarcastically labeled as “Optimus Prime,” debilitated and castrated. Will there be a day when the Hero will rise from the ashes?

A Plea for a Friend

O Gracious Father, You who hear our prayers,
Listen to our pleas for Hebe, Dear Lord,
God, heal her, free her from the devil's snares,
Lead her, guide her, show her Your grace is poured
For her, Your Son Jesus her burden bears.

Though broken she lies, you will wipe her tears,
For death has been defeated. Peace you give,
As not the world gives, that vain not the jeers
You suffered, sin still smothers us captive.

Yet, Jesus rose from death, our cries He hears.

Lord, come, as this prayer falls on Your ears,
O Holy Ghost who groans inaudibly
Will you quell not, Your child, Hebe from fears?
We trust You are with her no less subtly,
As one we resound our "Amens" and cheers.