Odds and Ends

Have I used the above title already for one of the previous posts? Well, if so, it just goes to show that there's nothing new under the sun (c.f., Eccl. 1).

Last evening, we went to see the movie Eragon. It was the movie of the weekend here in Petersburg. It's also the first movie we've watched here. I know I've previously mentioned how we get one recent movie each weekend (unless the auditorium is being used for some other event). The girls (all three of them) had read the book and wanted to see it.

Do any of you recall watching movies in a high school auditorium? Well, it hasn't changed all that much. The seats are much better -- real, authentic, theater seats. But unlike what one finds inside a cineplex, the atmosphere was -- for lack of a better term -- homey. You're bound to know someone, or many somebodies, in the room. All the kids know pretty much everyone else. So prior to the showing, the place was quite noisy -- lots of conversations, people milling about, walking in and out to get concessions.

The movie itself, well, the reviewers are probably right. It's a case of "ignorance is bliss" (c.f., Eccl. 1 towards the end of the chapter where the Teacher laments that meaninglessness of knowledge). I hadn't read the book, so I had no idea where and how badly the movie deviated from the book. Even then, I thought the whole thing was pretty shallow, dialogue seemed almost contrived and very simple, and the plot not entirely believable. I came away with the impressions that it wasn't very good, but not horrifically bad, and it was sufficiently entertaining. Now for those who were wise and knowledgeable in the ways of Eragon, it might have been like taking in a laxative -- not very good going in, and not very good going... well you know.

This afternoon I went and visited a woman who had written in to It Is Written. I've been trying to visit her since before Christmas, but it was only today that I was finally able to do so.

She is suffering from a number of health issues making it impossible for her to work. She lives on Social Security and lives with her son. There's a friend that comes by to help. With heating and electricity costs skyrocketing, she is finding it very difficult to make ends meet, meaning she often has to do without basic staples. Most of her family cares little for, or is hostile to, spiritual matters.

The skeptical and cynical side of me says that her family really ought to pitch in more to help. Or that maybe she could make some changes to her life in order to free up some cash flow.

And then I'm reminded of the story of the Good Samaritan, and also where Jesus says, "What you do to the least of these... you've done it to Me." And I think of God's grace... God doesn't ask any of us to change before grace is offered. It's because we've received grace that we are able to make any changes.

So it may sound foolish when common sense or conventional wisdom is considered, but I don't think I have a choice -- for whatever reason, God is asking me to help this individual when no one else will. I'll ask around to see if there is any assistance from other places that are available for long-term purposes, but ultimately, it seems God is asking me to be responsible. All I can say is, "Freely I've received, freely I choose to give." And who knows, perhaps I've been called to paint a more accurate picture of Jesus for her family.