Demetrius and the Gladiators

Tuesday night are always my "movie nights" because that's when my RST 135 (The Bible and Film) class meets. Last night we watched Demetrius and the Gladiators, the sequel to the movie we watched last week, The Robe. The story follows the life of Demetrius, (the slave of the protagonist of the 1st movie) a member of the early church in Rome who loses his faith and finds it again. It is an excellent film, a movie from an era when movies with openly biblical themes and characters regularly graced the screen. Not to say that movies today don't turn my thoughts to GOD, but they are a select few.

The story of Demetrius' faith, his hard long fall into disbelief, and his dramatic recommitment is a very engaging one, but the character that really stuck out to me was Peter. Jesus' disciple is good friends with the fictional Demetrius, and stands by Demetrius in everything, even in his unbelief. There is one scene in particular where Peter is speaking to the underground (literally) church after two of their congregation were martyred. Though the things that he said were thought up by some screenwriter in Hollywood, the power in his words of encouragement struck a chord in me.

I can only imagine how powerfully GOD worked through Peter in those early formative years of the church. He didn't really get it when Jesus was alive, but once he died and rose again, Peter finally understood every word that Jesus said. All of his teachings and parables that seemed like foolishness he realized to be the keys to abundant life, in this life and the next. I imagine that he would often close his eyes and remember the taste of the bread that he and Jesus shared at their last meal together. The caress of Jesus' hands as they washed his feet. The touch of the water on his skin when he jumped out of the boat to swim towards Jesus. The bitter tears that rolled down his cheeks as the cock crowed that dark morning of denial. It was all there, memories of the intimate presence of Christ in his life. Nothing else mattered.

I know that my relationship with God is not based upon my emotions or my experiences, (or lack thereof) but how I love to close my eyes and remember those moments in my life when I could almost feel God's tender embrace. How they shine when all else goes dark, how they comfort when I've nowhere to go but to the foot of the cross. Not only do my memories comfort me, they empower me; to never stop, never compromise, and to live a life worthy of the calling I've recieved. I am convinced that GOD is good; nothing else matters. See you soon.

"But when the day was now breaking, Jesus stood on the beach; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. So Jesus said to them, 'Children, you do not have any fish, do you?' They answered Him, 'No.' And He said to them, 'Cast the net on the right-hand side of the boat and you will find a catch.' So they cast, and then they were not able to haul it in because of the great number of fish. Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, 'It is the Lord.' So when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put his outer garment on (for he was stripped for work), and threw himself into the sea." (John 21:4-7)