005. Wondering While Wandering—August '23
What Does the Apostle Peter Have in Common with Indiana Jones or Han Solo?
Leaving a Legacy: at the Box Office and in the Scriptures
I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but now more than ever, movie theaters are filled with films starring legacy characters from movies made in the 70s and 80s. These characters are returning 30 years or so after their initial adventures in new movies that showcase them in one final adventure that gives us, the audience, the chance to see where they’ve come in the time since their initial exploits. These characters have an opportunity to go on a last adventure, fix some of the mistakes they made along the journey, and impart some final wisdom to their protégés and also to us as the audience.
While there are many actors who have done this recently, in my mind, Harrison Ford is the premier example of this trend. In the past seven years he’s revisited three of his iconic characters from the 70s and 80s. First, in 2015 he got back in the pilot’s chair of the Millenium Falcon for 2015’s Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens as he returned as the lovable scoundrel Han Solo. Next, in 2017 he reprised his role as Blade Runner’s Rick Deckard in Blade Runner 2049. And just this year he put on the iconic fedora for one final adventure as archeology professor and adventurer Indiana Jones in Indiana Jones and The Dial of Destiny.
Did you know that we get snapshots of the legacies of some of the characters in the Bible in a similar way? One example of this is the Apostle Peter.
Let me explain. We see Peter depicted chiefly in three areas of the New Testament. The Peter we read about in the Gospels who is a fisherman and disciple is the equivalent to the Harrison Ford from Raiders of the Lost Ark or the original Star Wars. It’s our first introduction to this individual and we get to know him over the course of these initial adventures. The Apostle Peter in Acts that we experience in the book of Acts is the Harrison Ford from the The Last Crusade or Return of the Jedi. This is a man at the top of his game, with the most experience and effectiveness. When we leave him, he’s able to effectively ride off into the sunset for a time. But in Peter’s letters 1 and 2 Peter, we get to see where Peter ended up decades later just like we get to see what happened to Han Solo and Indiana Jones in the movies from the past few years.
And some of his parting wisdom is contained in in 1 Peter 2:4-10, where he paints a picture of Christ’s identity, shows both the identity of the people of God and how it is based on the identity of Christ, and shows us the two responses to Christ’s identity and their consequences.
The above is the introduction to a recent sermon that I gave. If you’d like to hear the rest, let me know by replying to this email (or emailing me at mister.joshua.ray@gmail.com if you’re reading this on the web) and I’ll send you the link.
Funnies
We are living in the truth of the second part of this tweet:
Accurate:
Nightly routine round these parts:
Kid Corner
Reading, Listening, or Watching
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds—SNW season two lived up to the wonderful first season. Highlights would have to include the crossover with Lower Decks and the musical (yes, you read that right) episode!
Ahsoka—we’ve enjoyed the opening few episodes of the latest Disney Star Wars show and are eager to see where the rest of the season takes Ahsoka, Sabine, and the rest of the Rebels.1
The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien, Narrated by Andy Serkis—I’ve read this one before but got the audiobook for my birthday from my sister-in-law and my brother-in-law and am enjoying going through again it while cooking or doing dishes. Andy Serkis does a masterful job with this one!
Mission Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One—there’s a reason that Tom Cruise is the unofficial President of the Movies and one of Hollywood’s last true movie stars. Great film that continues the recent string of excellent entries in the series.
Thank you as always for reading and caring. What are you enjoying, reading, watching, learning, etc?
Yeah, it’s the New Republic but almost all these main characters are alumni of Star Wars: Rebels