Turning the Tide
This afternoon I attended an Oregon Ducks men's basketball game, something I do as much as I can afford time and money-wise each year. The Ducks played Alabama's Crimson Tide, a match that doesn't occur often as they are in different conferences and regions. As I watched the Alabama fans up and across the arena from my seat holding up a white and red CRIMSON TIDE banner periodically thru the game the images of an actual crimson tide swam thru my mind. The game was an exciting one and the win could have gone to either team right up until the last three minutes.
Fortunately, Oregon won.
This series takes place in the DC Comics universe when Bruce Wayne is a young tween, "Batman" just a tiny glimmer of his future. Jim Gordon is just starting his career as a detective with the Gotham City Police Department and his first case is the murder of Bruce's parents whose very presence apparently was holding the tide at bay. Gotham is a city well known for its corrupt nature, being controlled by mob interests and politicians only committed to their own interests. The perfect place for breeding crazy masked villains such as the Penguin, the Riddler or Harvey Two-Face Dent.
Jim Gordon is a man of honor, a man committed to upholding the law and seeking justice. His motives and goals are pure and he willingly puts himself on the line in order to stand up for what he believes in. He could easily allow himself to become tainted and corrupted, just like seemingly everyone else around him. He does sometimes stumble and mess up, but overall he stands his ground despite the pressure to compromise.
It seems that great change is on the horizon for Gotham. The powers-that-be are on the verge of crumbling. New leaders...good and bad...are rising. Jim Gordon has caught the attention of the entire city and he has gained respect from many...good and bad...and he is sought after for help from multiple "sides". The timing of Gordon's arrival in Gotham seems to be perfect. Almost like he was the key piece of the puzzle to shake things up and bring about change. Of course, we all know that in the future his relationship with Batman will be key in the vigilante superhero's success at fighting crime.
I once had a student complain that too many Stories, movies, lessons, sermons focus on thoughts revolving around the unexpected hero, the every-man who saves the day. He felt there were too many Frodo's and Luke Skywalker's... Jim Gordon's... and that these Stories serve as mushy, feel-good themes. I listened and understood his perspective but didn't take it to heart. The past few weeks have confirmed for me the value in such Stories as we have been looking at individual Old Testament characters each week in Sunday School.
Last week we looked at Caleb and Joshua. These two men were among the twelve spies that Moses sent to scout out the Promised Land so that the Israelite people would know about the land they were about to enter. Part of the task of these spies was to determine the defenses and abilities of the people already living in the land as it was likely the Israelites would have to battle them in order to take the land. The report of the spies is found in Numbers 13:26-33 (English Standard Version):
26 And they came to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation of the people of Israel in the wilderness of Paran, at Kadesh. They brought back word to them and to all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land. 27 And they told him, “We came to the land to which you sent us. It flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. 28 However, the people who dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large. And besides, we saw the descendants of Anak there. 29 The Amalekites dwell in the land of the Negeb. The Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the hill country. And the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and along the Jordan.”
30 But Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, “Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it.” 31 Then the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are.” 32 So they brought to the people of Israel a bad report of the land that they had spied out, saying, “The land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people that we saw in it are of great height. 33 And there we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak, who come from the Nephilim), and we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them.”
The spies basically all came back with the same report: the land was fertile and abundant, a lush, great place to live but it was occupied by terrifying people groups, warriors, giants. The report was the same, but the recommendation of ten of the twelve spies was quite different than the recommendation given by Joshua and Caleb. Ten of the twelve spies felt it was unwise to enter the Promised Land, but Caleb and Joshua remembered the promises of God and they remembered the many miracles and provisions that God had already done for the people. An entire nation was waiting for advice before deciding what action to take, and Joshua and Caleb were in the minority when it came to the advice being given.
It would have been easy to go along with the crowd, to allow fear and lack of faith to make the decision. It would be quite reasonable for the Israelites to avoid confrontation and stay safe by traveling away from the intimidating peoples in the Promised Land. The response toward Caleb and Joshua could have been ugly. The people could have ignored them or even chased them off for delivering a challenging message.
Joshua and Caleb stood against the tide and their courage was rewarded. The people did not listen to their recommendation, but God honored their faith. The Israelites were left to wander in the wilderness for forty years because of their lack of faith. God allowed Caleb and Joshua to be the sole members of that generation to enter and settle in the Promised Land; they were honored among that next generation and given special allotments of land.
As my former student said, there are many other examples of average individuals, the every-man, who resisted peer, cultural or societal pressures to stand up for what they believed, to be the individual who shows us that one person truly can "turn the tide", and these are all Stories we like to hear. We like to be reminded that each of us has the potential to change the world, to turn the tide. And I do believe this is true.
And so the challenge for each of us is to recognize our own potential and to prepare ourselves to make that stand when the time comes. It is good to surround ourselves with good support systems of individuals, but we should also be prepared to stand on our own. What if those we rely on are not available when the tide comes against us? Or what if we find that our support has become part of that tide? By its very nature the tide is overwhelming and we cannot allow ourselves to be unprepared.
Anakin Skywalker is someone who was not prepared. Unfortunately for Anakin, he spent the majority of his life being manipulated and influenced by the leader of the Galactic Republic, Chancellor Palpatine who was secretly the Sith Lord Darth Sidious. Anakin's very thinking was skewed, his perspective a confusing knot of lies and half-truths. When the truth was finally revealed and the Jedi Order needed to arrest and remove Palpatine from power, Jedi Master Mace Windu ordered Anakin to remain at the Jedi Temple and remove himself from the situation. Mace Windu realized that Anakin would have a hard time dividing his loyalties between the Jedi Order and Palpatine.
Unfortunately Anakin was unable to stay out of the action. He did not obey Mace Windu's command to remain at the Jedi Temple. He raced to the Imperial Palace and entered just in time to see Mace Windu and Palpatine locked in a power struggle.
With just a few words of manipulation from Palpatine, Anakin struck Mace Windu down giving Palpatine the victory and officially making Anakin his apprentice, Darth Vader.
How might galactic history have been different had Anakin obeyed the Jedi Master and remained at the Jedi Temple? It is likely that Mace Windu would have overpowered Palpatine, as he had the upper hand when Anakin entered the office, and the Sith Lord might have been arrested or killed. The Republic would have been salvaged. There would be no Empire, no Emperor, no Darth Vader. Anakin might have been able to live happily ever after with Padme. Luke and Leia could have been raised by their parents and known their Force abilities from the very beginning. The Jedi Order could have survived.
Anakin is the picture of one single person whose choice had galactic consequences. His choice to go with the tide caused decades of chain reactions of destruction for star systems and individuals.
But then we have... Corrie ten Boom. Rosa Parks. Jim Gordon. Joan of Arc. Martin Luther. Aragorn, son of Arathorn. Nelson Mandela. Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Esther, the cousin of Mordecai.
One choice, one decision, can make or break a person, a situation, history.
One person can stand against the tide and change everything.
Wonderful words again, Corey.
ReplyDeleteAs parents, we are trying to teach our children to follow God. We pray that when the time comes for them to really make major decisions on their own, they will choose Him.