Thought for Today
Genesis 9:15 I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh.
Psalm 22:27 All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the LORD; and all the families of the nations shall worship before him.
Luke 23:42 Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."
Philemon 1:4 When I remember you in my prayers, I always thank my God
We went to see The Odyssey this weekend with our son, daughter-in-law and grandson. First thing on my mind this morning is how much fun it was to watch that epic movie with Greta sitting at my left and our grandson at my right. His parents were sitting just beyond our grandson. I am always amazed when we go to the theater today at the seating. Our seats were much more akin to the leather recliner in our den than to the seating when Greta and I were dating in the 1950s and 1960s.
I suspect that wherever Cecil B. DeMille is in eternity, he is both envious of and in awe of what Christipher Nolan was able to do with Homer’s ancient Greek epic poem. We really enjoyed Nolan’s movie. As I watched his recreation of Homer’s 8th century BCE poem, I was fascinated by several things. The Trojan War occurred in the 12th century. Homer was ‘remembering’ events from his ancient history, events even further in our own past. Yet, some of what Homer wrote is as timely today as it was more than 3000 years ago.
That probably should not surprise me, since parts of the Bible deal with events even further back in history. Yet, every time I read the Bible, in almost every verse I read, I find new meaning and applications to my life today. I believe the Bible is more timely and relevant than Homer’s Odyssey.
In yesterday’s Boston Globe, I read an article comparing this movie to Homer’s epic poem in terms of scope and faithfulness to the storyline. I am comfortable to leaving such discussions to the cinema and literary critics. I just found the movie very entertaining. I was struck by how familiar many of the things recreated in the movie would have been to Jesus and his disciples. The weapons and armament of the Greek soldiers was very similar to what the Roman legions used in the 1st century CE. I’m sure armament experts would point out significant differences, but a spear looks like a spear, a sword looks like a sword, etc. Metallurgy changed, some details of construction changed, but the basics were the same for centuries. We have advanced (?) our weapons of destruction greatly during the last 2 centuries. The boats used by Odysseus and his men would have been familiar to many until the 2nd millennium CE. Metallurgy changed, some details of construction changed, but the basics were the same for centuries.
I was interested in a detail some may not notice. At one point, several references are made in the movie to the Sea People. “The Sea Peoples is a phrase used to describe an unidentified seafaring confederation or group of tribes hypothesized to have attacked Egypt and other Eastern Mediterranean regions around 1200 BC during the late Bronze Age . . . Hypotheses regarding the origin of the various groups are the source of much speculation. Several of them appear to have been Aegean tribes, while others may have originated in Sicily, Sardinia, Crete , Southern Italy, Cyprus, and Western Anatolia.” (en.wikipedia.org)
In the movie, the suggestion is advanced that the Sea People included the Greek warriors returning from Troy. I have never encountered that suggestion previously. The whole idea is interesting, however, because I have read articles suggesting that the Phoenicians, the Philistines and possibly even the tribe of Dan were descendants of Sea People who settled along the southern Mediterranean coast. Some have even suggested that the Hyksos were also part of the Sea Peoples. “The Hyksos . . . were the kings of the Fifteenth Dynasty of Egypt . . . the term Hyksos is used ethnically to designate people of probable West Semitic, Levantine origin.” (ibid) Might that explain, “Exodus 1:8 Now a new king arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph.”?
The word ‘remember’ appears 150+ times in the Bible. Memory and remembrances are important. Thankfully, there is one immutable, unchanging thing throughout all of history. From “in the beginning” until today, our Creator God has remained, immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent.
Remember whose we are, remember God’s commandment to love, trust God,
Pastor Ray