Here we are enjoying another relaxing Sunday afternoon. Per my general routine, I found myself revisiting a movie from my small (but oh, so good) collection while eating a delicious lunch (today it was leftover pasta with ground beef in a red sauce). The cinematic selection was a philosophical film from 1979 called The Frisco Kid. In this comedic clash of cultures a Jewish rabbi from Poland named Abram (played by Gene Wilder) ventures across the United States to deliver a Torah to a new synagogue in 1850's San Francisco. The rabbi is obviously out of his element when Tommy--a scruffy looking bank robber, played by Harrison Ford--meets up with him. Tommy offers help a little at a time until next thing you know the two are trudging through the snow of the Rocky Mountains.
It is at this point in the film where I encountered a line that had in the past only been a humorous jab, but today packed more of a poignant punch. The unlikely amigos are bedding down in a stable when Tommy suggests staying put for a few months to wait out the bad weather. Abram insists that too much time has been wasted already, and Tommy gets flustered because some of that time has been due to Abram's strict adherence to the Sabbath.
For those who don't know, God commanded the people of Israel to not work on the Sabbath--what we would call Saturday--and because of this the Jews made a lot of rules to ensure that no work would occur on the Sabbath. Among the rules is a statute forbidding them from riding on the Sabbath. They won't ride a train or a horse...though I wonder how Abram managed to cross the ocean without jumping overboard for a Saturday swim.
Here comes the part that caught my attention. Abram reminds Tommy that it is against his religion to ride on a Saturday. To which, Tommy replies, "I got me a new religion too! And one of the things you ain't allowed to do is die!"
I don't know how many times growing up I heard my Dad say, "if you want to get rich, start a new religion." So the notion of Tommy inventing a new religion so that he could get what he wanted was just another comical gesture...until today. This time as I was enjoying my afternoon amusement I realized that Tommy was stating the most important tenet of the most religious majority of people in this world; Thou shalt not die.
We were discussing this very thing in Sunday school this morning as we considered the implications of a creator of all things. If there is a creator of all things, then there is a God and it is not me. He is the one who determines the how and the why. He sets the standard of morality, righteousness, and justice. He makes things as they are and I have no place trying to make them anything other than what he created.
However, if there is not a creator of all things, then the only god in my world is me. There is no higher authority unless I submit myself to some other thing. I say what is right and wrong. I say what should and shouldn't be. I can look at what is and find no qualms in spending a great deal of time, effort, and resources in making it other than what it is. There is no standard that really matters. If I can do something, why shouldn't I?
Though there is a problem with being god. If I am god, then my story ends with god dying. Therefore, we as gods need one rule; you're not allowed to die. And we have tried to follow that rule. Countless resources and man-hours--nay, man-lives--have been given to the search for immortality; yet to no avail. Again, if there is a God then we have no right to change what is to what was not meant to be.
Yet, age after age the world reels against the flow of time. Day after day over 150,000 people cry out, "I'm not supposed to die!" It's against their religion.
Is this all they are living for? Another day, another chance to survive the cosmic lottery. They believe that lottery is what jump-started life from a primordial ooze. But do they realize that in such a universe the lottery is still running? Only now it is not a gamble to start life, but to end it, and each day we are playing against the odds.
IF, however, there is indeed a God and creator of the universe, then our lives--each and every one of them--has meaning and a purpose. Because that means that God chose to make YOU. He didn't have to do it. It wasn't enough for this world to have me, your weird cousin, and the guy who makes sure the printer at the New York Times is running. He wanted to make you. His plan isn't complete without you having some role in it.
Our lives are not by chance. We are not just giant fruit-flies; here to pester the world for a few days while we try to eat as much as possible and lay our eggs before we die so that our descendants can continue to torment the world for ages to come. We are so much more. We are created in the image of God so that we can have a personal relationship with Him. Do you want that? I should warn you, there are no rules about not dying. But He does promise that you will live with Him forever. If you ask me, that is infinitely better.
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