It seems fitting that this post is being formed in light of this past week’s events off the Coast of Italy. If you haven’t heard, the cruise ship from the pictures in the link ran aground and the captain of that vessel jumped ship before the ship had been completely evacuated. Even though lives were still at sake, he left.

In this series on Once Upon a Time, I have made a connection between Emma and the role of the Messiah. As time progresses in the series we begin to wonder what is keeping Emma in Storybrooke if she doesn’t believe what Henry has been saying. To Regina’s dismay, she has stayed for a few weeks and still feels somehow compelled to do so.

Temptation

Ever present in this series is the idea of greed. Greed is what makes Rumpelstiltskin make vicious deals with everyone; greed is why the queen attacked happiness in the first place; you might even say it is greed that convinces Cinderella to trade something for happiness in the first place. Isn’t that the case for us? Greed is ever present in our lives. If we aren’t experiencing it personally, we at least know others who practice it regularly. This form of self-centeredness tells us that our plans are far greater than anything or anyone else that might be in the way of accomplishing those plans. Emma has seen great amounts of this greed in her time in Maine. But some how, she seems apart from it up to this point. She even risks her safety by making a deal with Mr. Gold in order to save Ashley’s (Cinderella’s) baby.

Jesus wasn’t greedy

Imagine if Jesus had been greedy. Imagine if He came to earth, realized it was difficult, and left because it was outside of His will. What would have happened? At the temptation in the wilderness Jesus was offered the prospect of giving up His mission, but He refused. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prayed that the cup of suffering may pass from Him (Matthew 26.36-46). He wanted out, but chose instead to remain until His mission was accomplished. He suppressed the temptation to greedily take His life as His own and instead stayed here and sacrificed it on our behalf. He wouldn’t have made the sacrifice because He would have thought Himself better than that (cf. Phil. 2.1-11).

Emma could have left Storybrooke (or not even come in the first place) but she stayed because she loved her son. The captain of the ship mentioned above should have stayed for all of those still in danger, but left out of love for himself. In the same way, Jesus loves His people and stayed until it was finished. And He finished it well for us.

This is part five in an ongoing series on finding the themes of Scripture in the television series Once Upon a Time. For previous posts, click the links below:

• Introduction: Every Story is a Reflection
• Pilot Episode: Welcome to Storybrooke
• The thing you love most (ep. 2):  Convince Me
• Snow Falls (ep. 3): Why do we love happy endings?

If there is one thing that we like in entertainment, it’s happy endings. I have discussed this in a previous post, but it is beyond worth mentioning again. Think about it. Unless you’re a sucker for bad endings, you want the good guy to win, get the girl, etc. That’s why Star Wars Episode 5 ends with a hopeful note (Luke’s hand being repaired). It’s why the Matrix trilogy ends with a happy scene in some sort of new Matrix (yes, I agree the second and third movies weren’t that great). Even the last movie I discussed here had a happy ending (despite not having the padded “prosperity gospel” ending).

Why is this? Well, as with Once Upon a Time, movies, T.V. shows, et cetera are looking forward to the ultimate happy ending. It’s the world we all want! Like Snow White, we want that hero to come and rescue us. But unlike Prince Charming, Jesus is after more than just some jewels in a pouch, he’s after our hearts. But we continue to reject God and His plan. We have been attacked by His enemy and so desire to live a life apart from this God. In fact, we’re so bent on not wanting His ways, that we steal from Him daily. Yet He pursues us. When we were still sinners, He came after us. When we were dead in our trespasses, He died for us. This is the draw for us. We know there is something or someone out there who cares much for us, but because we refuse to see Him at times, other, less meaningful things become the focus. We replace this fountain of living water for broken cisterns that can hold no water. We replace our Charming for the pearls He carries.

This is part four in an ongoing series on finding the themes of Scripture in the television series Once Upon a Time. For previous posts, click the links below:

• Introduction: Every Story is a Reflection
• Pilot Episode: Welcome to Storybrooke
• The thing you love most (ep. 2): Convince Me
• Interlude: A Reluctant Messiah

When does life begin?

That is the question that Caleb, the main character, faces as he joins the PHC Moot Court team. Along with his Moot Court partner (and hopeful girlfriend) Rachel, he embarks on the quest to prove that abortion is in violation of the Constitution, namely the 14th Amendment. Meanwhile, his mother is busy in the Supreme Court arguing the right of pregnant teens to have abortions without their parent’s knowledge. What this independent film lacked in quality (being only the first film made by this group of homeschoolers) it gained in creativity and depth. Throughout the whole movie, Caleb is bogged down by the question of whether or not he should argue against Roe v. Wade in their Moot Court Competition; a decision he knows will cost him his enrollment at PHC or the respect of his peers (including Rachel) there, depending on what he chooses.

Another Christian movie

You, like me, may complain that another movie has been made that inadvertently touts a prosperity gospel (like others which end with a bald man getting hair, a team winning their biggest game, a barren woman giving birth, etc, all because people started trusting God again). However, Come What May destroyed my expectations. Here are some things that I enjoyed and found encouraging from this film:

• The End: Without giving it away, I’ll just say that the ending was a pleasant surprise; a breath of fresh air in the arena of Christian Films (unlike the one mentioned above). It isn’t what one would expect, which pleased me.
• The story felt like it was going somewhere. This is important in any movie, but particularly in the realm of Christian Film making. If we are trying to gain some ground with our media, we need to be sure we’re saying something with what we’re making.
• Aside from all the technical portions of this film that made it worth the watch, the subject matter was a beautiful one. This film is about the matter of abortion and how it is immoral, but before that it’s about sticking up for what is right come what may. Thus making it more far reaching than the subject of abortion.

I would encourage you to see this movie. You may disagree with some of its stances, but overall, Come What May is worth the watch.

In addition to the trailer above, here’s a pretty decent clip from the film:

And again 8 months in…

This year has been marked by the great and glorious grace of our Father. Only He could bring us together in love and unity and only He sustains us continuously to that end. Thank you all for your prayers for us as we have continued in this journey together. Emmalie, this is one year down, and countless more to go. I love you!

Tonight, billions of people around the world will make New Year’s Resolutions. Tomorrow, about half of the resolutions made will have been broken. By next week, many of the rest will be toast as well. In light of this, I offer my reading goal for the year. This aspect of the blog has fallen slack over the past two years, but it’s my hope to build this up again!

12, not 60

A couple years ago I tried to read 60 books: 5 books per month. Yeah, that didn’t work. So I thought about trying for 24 this year (outside of school reading), but my wife lovingly told me it would be a good idea to stick with 12 (one per month). So, without further ado, here are the first four I hope to get through:

Golfing with God: A Novel of Heaven and Earth and Breakfast with Buddha are both comedic novels about life, death, philosophy, and theology. My supervisor gave them to me to read and I look forward to seeing what others have to say on these matters. Having read a few pages in Golfing I think I know where the author (Roland Merullo) is coming from on these. But more on that later.

Ethics is looking like it will be a great read. Dietrich Bonhoeffer never actually finished writing this book before his imprisonment in Nazi Germany, but the pieces that we have in a book seem to be worth a spot on every bookshelf.

Gospel Wakefulness: I have heard author Jared Wilson preach a few messages on this topic of Gospel Wakefulness- the idea that we can believe in Christ but not have a real awakening to the beauty of His grace. I look forward to reading more to this end.

I hope I can read well, for God’s glory, this year. We are to honor Him with all things, our minds included.

What have you done to fix this? is a question we might ask. But there is a more important one that needs to be answered first: What has God done to fix this? God is a God of order and peace, especially among His people. So what has He done? Does He even care about your conflicts? Yes:

And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

God cares about your conflicts so much that He sent Jesus to reconcile us to Himself. And what does that do for us? It makes it possible to be reconciled towards others. So next time you’re enraged towards others in your family or the Church or anyone (!), remember what Jesus has already done about your conflict. He cared enough to die and raise again that we might have victory.

If you have been watching the show faithfully, you surely know how reluctant Emma is to accept the truth about Storybrooke. She barely wanted to come in the first place; each time the subject comes up, she deems her son as crazy (but in nicer terms) and she does her best to convince people otherwise.

I have noticed that people like to make Jesus into that kind of hero. You know, the guy who was raised in a good Jewish home and never meant to be anyone or anything big, but then people just start following Him because He’s such a nice guy. That’s not my Jesus. Here’s what God has to say about this:

Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. (Isaiah 53.1-3)

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2.5-11)

These, and many other occasions in Scripture point to the truth that Jesus was not some reluctant hero who didn’t know what was happening and all of a sudden ended up with a following. Nothing would have attracted people to this man outside of Him being God. He was lowly and humble, but He came with a purpose- a delightful joy to do His Father’s will. He humbled Himself for us, we celebrate that in a special way a week from today.

This is part four in an ongoing series on finding the themes of Scripture in the television series Once Upon a Time. For previous posts, click the links below:

• Introduction: Every Story is a Reflection
• Pilot Episode: Welcome to Storybrooke
• The thing you love most (ep. 2): Convince Me

I don’t envy Henry. He has the daunting task of convincing everyone in Storybrooke that they are all Fairy Tale characters under the curse of an evil queen. However, he has taken to this seemingly impossible task with joy and hope that a reluctant Emma will actually come through and save the day. How futile his hope seems, yet how urgent the need for this truth in Storybrooke.

The consequence of the truth

One cannot help but wonder at the opposing possibilities at this stage in the show. Two options- both have massive implications for Henry and the rest of the town. On one hand, Henry could be 100% right: everyone is actually a character from the book and the queen must be defeated in order to ensure Happily Ever After. If Henry is right, then it’s imperative that the town believes him and stands up against the queen. But what if Henry is wrong? Then everything that he has done– getting his birth mom to come, disobeying his adoptive mom, his attempts at convincing others– will have been in vain. There is no chance of, “well at least we had a good time” if he is wrong about this. His correctness in this matter means life or death for the inhabitants of Storybrooke.

Not in vain

Paul hammers a similar point home in 1 Corinthians 15.12-19:

Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.

For us, there is no hope to say, “If we’re wrong, at least we lived a moral life.” If we are wrong about the gospel of Jesus, we are to be most pitied. My life has been wasted if Jesus is not who He said He was. Later on in this same chapter, Paul will tell us that if Christ has not been raised, we should continue eating and drinking to our hearts’ content for “tomorrow we die” and it doesn’t matter!

But it does matter. Jesus did come; He died; He rose again from the dead to assure our hope in Him. And why? So that we could come to Him and trust in what is ultimately important- His finished work at the cross. And He brought change! The moment He stepped foot on this earth, Jesus began a change in this world; He defeated sin and death and they are being conquered daily. Like Emma in Once Upon a Time, Jesus stood up to our greatest enemy and began change in individuals and our situations. But ultimately, this change will only be defeated when we are able to say, “Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O death, where is your victory.” O death, where is your sting?”; when Jesus returns and finalizes what He started nearly 2000 years ago.

This is part three in an ongoing series on finding the themes of Scripture in the television series Once Upon a Time. For previous posts, click the links below:

• Introduction: Every Story is a Reflection
• Pilot Episode: Welcome to Storybrooke

Lead is just one of the ways that these guys continue to minister to my heart. I have been encouraged in many great ways by them, especially in the most recent conference.

Once Upon A Time is, at its core, a story about hope. “For us, that’s what a fairytale is. It’s that ability to think your life will get better. It’s why you buy a lottery ticket—because if you win you get to tell your boss that you’re quitting and you get to move to Paris or wherever and be who you always wanted to be. And that’s Cinderella, right? One day she’s sweeping up and the next she’s going to the ball. Adam and I just wanted to write about something hopeful that for one hour a week allows one to put everything aside and have that feeling that your dreams just may come true.”
– Edward Kitsis, Co-Creator/Executive Producer (from the website; read the show’s synopsis, here)

Looking for hope

I couldn’t agree more! In the end, most of us are looking for hope… but why? Why are things not the way we think they should be? Or better yet, why on earth should we hope for and expect a better life? In Once Upon a Time, things are supposed to be a certain way. Everyone is about to experience “Happily Ever-After” but then something happens: a curse comes upon all the inhabitants of Fairy Tale Land (or whatever it’s called!). This curse affects everyone. It is brutal. It is all encompassing. But with the curse comes a great promise that means hope to our beloved fairy tale characters: Emma, Snow White’s Daughter, will return when she turns 28 and save everyone from the curse. Like clockwork, on night of Emma’s 28th birthday, her son shows up to bring her to Storybrooke to break the curse. And they plan on accomplishing this by convincing everyone that they are part of a Fairy Tale.

Far as the curse is found

We are under a similar curse. Like the citizens of Storybrooke, mankind was created for a happy ending; we were made for peace with our creator. But something happened. No, our enemy didn’t curse our happiness, but he provided the temptation necessary to place us under the curse of sin and death. So our bed of roses became a hedge of thorns, and we were expelled with a promise:

 The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” (Gen. 3.14-15)

With this promise came hundreds of other promises and foreshadowings of one who would crush the head of the serpent (Satan) and break our bondage to sin and death. And like clockwork, Jesus came. He came to break our slavery to sin and rescue us for His Kingdom of light.

And time ticks on

When Emma made the decision to stay in Storybrooke to figure out what was going on (as she doesn’t yet believe Henry’s tale), the town clock began to tick again. Until this point, everyone had been frozen in time– suffering with no end in this un-happily ever after. But Emma stayed, and the second hand moved… and kept going. Her coming had started something and we have seen that every time since then that she has done something new, more areas of the curse have been lifted. In the same way, Jesus’ incarnation (which we celebrate with Christmas in two weeks) was the initial swing of the pendulum. And with His coming, things began to change; He started to show new aspects of His long awaited kingdom in that,

“…the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.” (Matt. 11.5-6)

It has already begun- His initial victories were won in the Manger, the Wilderness, and at Calvary; we now await His coming when He will take back what is His. And He will! And Happily Ever After will belong again to Him and His people!

This is part two in an ongoing series on finding the themes of Scripture in the television series Once Upon a Time. For the first post, click below:

• Introduction: Every Story is a Reflection