Learning Our Lines

Getting in the game not sitting on the sidelines

01/28/2023

Mk 4:26-34 Jesus said to the crowds: “This is how it is with the Kingdom of God; it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land and would sleep and rise night and day and the seed would sprout and grow, he knows not how. Of its own accord the land yields fruit, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. And when the grain is ripe, he wields the sickle at once, for the harvest has come.” He said, “To what shall we compare the Kingdom of God, or what parable can we use for it? It is like a mustard seed that, when it is sown in the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth. But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade.” With many such parables he spoke the word to them as they were able to understand it. Without parables he did not speak to them, but to his own disciples he explained everything in private.

Few things in the world are as powerful as good story-telling. This is why I love to go to the movies. What really lies at the heart of a romance or comedy, an action-adventure or sci-fi movie but a really good story: compelling characters, a plot and drama. And the power a story exerts over us is it helps us remember certain lines and important lessons. In other words, the power of story-telling is to persuade us of the truth of things while it entertains us. We learn while we are laughing, and learning lines that slowly become our own.

Here are my top five movies and lines and lessons I have learned from them. I am going to give you a quiz by repeating the lines and seeing if you can guess which famous movie it comes from. In what movie does an angel named Clarence tell George Bailey, “No man is a failure who has friends”? That is from the movie, “It’s a Wonderful Life.” In what other movie does Admiral Josh Painter tell the CIA analyst Jack Ryan, “Russians don’t take a dump, son, without a plan”? Although the war in Ukraine might be an exception to Russians always having a plan. That is from “Hunt from Red October.”

Another favorite line is when the innocent inmate, Andy Dufresne tells Red, “Get busy living or get busy dying.” That was from “Shawshank Redemption.” Here’s one that you have to knonw. Wesley and Princess Buttercup are about to run into the fire swamp, and Princess Buttercup said fearfully, “We’ll never survive!” Wesley wisely replies: “Nonsense. You’re only saying never because no one ever has.” That is, someday someone might survive, and indeed they do.

Finally, who can forget when Don Corleone does a favor for a man and says: “Someday, and that day may never come, I will call upon you to do a service for me. But until that day, accept this justice as a gift on my daughter’s wedding day.” Obviously, that is from “The Godfather.” In other words, we learn lines and life lessons from movie, even while we laugh. And slowly, those lines become our own.

In the gospel today, Jesus harnesses the power of story-telling in the form of parables. You see, Jesus’ parables are simply powerful stories in miniature, condensed movies you might say, and they are meant to teach timeless life lessons. Today in Mark he tells the parable of the sower and the seeds. And then the gospel writer, St. Mark, adds: “With many such parable he spoke the word to them as they were able to understand it.”

In other words, Jesus knows that the best way for us to learn and remember important life lessons is through story-telling. And so Jesus tells mini-stories called parables so we will remember what he taught, like I remember the famous lines from the Godfather and Princess Bride and Shawshank Redemption. Jesus’ words and lines should become the lines we learn best.

One of the things I really admire about Ozark Catholic Academy is that all new students must take part in a Shakespearean play. This year, I believe, it will be “Taming of the Shrew.” Now, few people understood the power of story-telling better than the Bard (that’s Shakespeare’s nickname). And here at OCA students don’t just watch plays, like modern Americans go to watch movies. No, here you have to be in the play as a character.

That is, you cannot just be a spectator, but you must participate in the play. You have to learn the lines by heart so you will remember them, and not just for the play, but for life. Shakespeare does not want you sitting on the sidelines of life, but rather to be a full and active participant. Life is not a spectator sport. Get in the game. In the play Taming of the Shrew, like in Jesus’ parables, Shakespeare teaches us life lessons while he makes us laugh, and we learn our lines.

Have you ever noticed how the Mass is like a play and a parable? We have actors who take certain roles. I get to be Jesus, and you are the apostles at the Last Supper. And one of you is Judas! Just kidding, we are all Judas when we commit sins. We have lines we must learn and practice until we say them perfectly. Why do have to say these lines and learn them by heart?

Because salvation is not a spectator sport. You cannot sit on the sidelines and just watch the world go by. You have a part to play. In other words, Mass is not just Jesus’ story about what happened to him 2,000 years ago. It is our story and what is happening to us today. Like movies and parables and plays, the Mass harnesses the remarkable power of story-telling to teach life lessons. Only in this case, the lessons are about eternal life, and about eternal death. And that is why we have to learn our lines.

Praised be Jesus Christ!