A Keyser Söse Moment - February 25
Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 50; PM Psalm [59, 60] or 19, 46 ; Deut. 9:23-10:5; Heb: 4:1-10; John 3:16-21
One of my favorite movies in High School was the film The Usual Suspects. Since the film is over 25 years old, I feel no problem at all in spoiling the ending. The film follows the arrest of a low-level con artist with cerebral palsy named Verbal Kent (played by Kevin Spacey) who is one of two survivors of a massacre on a boat dock. The movie is a mixture of interrogations and flashbacks from Kent’s past. The police are trying to figure out just who this Verbal Kent character is and his involvement and connection to this infamous crime lord named Keyser Söze.
As Kent is being interrogated, he begins to tell the story about all of the usual suspects that the police believe might be involved in the case and at each turn, the story becomes more and more elaborate. The story involves jewel thieves and heists, the mob, corrupt cops, and drug runners. When you are watching the first time, you are mesmerized by the story and the details and how everything works together.
Finally, at the end of the movie, the police believe that Kent is harmless and as he limps out of the police station, there are these flashbacks to the investigating officer connecting the dots. The officer recalls a coffee mug on the table manufactured by a company with the same name as the person Kent was talking about or connecting to names of things that are on the bulletin board. With just a few minutes left, the officer realizes that the entire story was made up. As Kent leaves the building, his limp straightens, and the viewer realizes that Kent is actually Söze and the entire story was a fabrication to the police made up using the bulletin board in the interrogation room. It’s an absolutely brilliant movie, and if you haven’t seen it before, well, I have ruined for it you!
And here is the thing. If you stopped watching the movie at any point before the last five minutes, you would be so far from understanding what actually happened that no one would be able to comprehend what movie you actually watched, if you described it. You have to see the whole movie to understand any of it!
I think of Scripture, much in the same way. It is far too easy to focus on one or two lines of scripture that we miss the entire point of the larger story. Just look at the difference between verses 3:16 and verses 3:17 in today’s Gospel. Taken from the Gospel of John, verse 16 is likely the most memorized passage of scripture we encounter. I have seen more bumper stickers that say John 3:16 than bumper stickers that begin with “My child is an honor student at...” The language of “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life” are so foundational to the core beliefs of many. This Scripture is beautiful and powerful but has also been used as a weapon to those who don’t believe. Listen to what comes next: “Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”
The whole world! God’s work is not just limited to who might perish but it is actually about redeeming the whole world. Where is my John 3:17 bumper sticker!
And while verses 18-21 do suggest the necessity of belief in God in Christ, I only want to point that when we add more of the story, it gets more complicated, more beautiful, and more challenging. Oddly, I believe Christ’s resurrection is the Keyser Söze moment. Everything is different and it changes the whole story. All the other stuff doesn’t make sense without it. God saves the world, not condemns it. The challenge for us to not get bogged down on a few details that we miss the big picture. Or even worse, totally miss the crazy plot twist at the end.
John+
Questions for Self-Reflection: What scriptures are most important to you and why? Are there other passages of the Bible that you find are in conflict with what you believe? How do you reconcile the differences?
Daily Challenge: Read an entire book of the Bible. I suggest something shorter. Mark’s Gospel can be read easily in one sitting. Much shorter books might include the Book of Ruth or Jonah or Paul’s Letter to the Galatians.