Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics Countdown

Anyone who knows me even remotely well knows that when there's an Olympic games on TV, be it summer or winter, I drop everything and soak it up.  I've been doing this ever since I was a kid, and many times I've pondered on why it is that I love the games so much.  Is it the bright colors, the fanfares of cultures and music, and the athletic energy all coming together under the banner of competitive sports?  Is it the ideals behind the Olympic movement, of coming together in good faith with the rest of the world for friendly competition?  I've mentioned before that in some small way, I love the idea of the Olympics as a miniature glimpse of heaven: every tongue, tribe, and nation gathered under one roof (or in this case, inside one gigantic sports arena), all united together for the opening and closing ceremonies and the parade of nations that takes place.  Of course, then how much more so will heaven be absolutely amazing, when instead of coming together from all corners of the globe for the sake of competitive sports, we will gather with all other believers and worship together the Lord of Creation, Jesus Christ our Savior.  Regardless of these reasons, I think it simply suffices to say I genuinely love seeing people get excited for their respective nation, and the Olympics give me as an American a chance to rally around a common cause of excellence in sportsmanship and cheer on our athletes.

As I write this, we're less than 20 days out from the start of the 2010 Winter Olympics, being hosted to the north of us by our Canadian neighbors in British Columbia, in the lovely city of Vancouver.  Already I'm getting excited.  Whereas 2 years ago I cheered on the efforts of Michael Phelps, Nastia Liukin (from whom I received an autograph as part of a larger incident recounted here), and Bryan Clay in the 2008 Beijing summer games; this year will see the efforts of many new and some old faces in the winter games.  My personal favorite athlete in these games is Apolo Anton Ohno, I've been watching him hone his skills over the course of the past two Winter Olympics, 2002's Salt Lake City games and 2006's Torino games.  Known almost as well for his winning season on Dancing With the Stars in 2007, he's most naturally at home not in dance shoes but on long blades, zooming around the ice rink in the short track speedskating races he's famously put on the map.  Then there's Shaun White, the "flying tomato," as famous for his carrot-top mop of hair as his tricks in a halfpipe with a snowboard strapped to his feet.  Look for him to run the tables much as he did in the 2006 games.  Finally, to round out the "big 3" as I see them, look for Lindsey Vonn, already being dubbed as "America's sweetheart on skis," to bring back the good old days of other American female skiers like Picabo Street.  She's sure to be a medal threat in all 5 of her races, and chances are good she'll give the competition the best she has to offer.  All 3 of these athletes are proud to represent the country, but in a genuine way that doesn't fist-pump of self-celebrate in the face of other nations.  I know, not all of our athletes are perfect (Phelps was arguably a bit of a tool in Beijing and the months that followed, and at the Torino winter games the infamous Bode Miller was an embarrassment to the nation), but overall I couldn't be more excited to see our team travel north and give it their best in the name of good, clean, competitive sports.

On a final note, I've been watching a lot of videos of the torch relay the last few days.  You know, the torch relay that takes the Olympic flame through the whole of the host nation, ending at the Opening Ceremonies and the lighting of the Olympic Cauldron?  Well, it's happening right now in Canada, and from the looks of these youtube videos here and here, the people there couldn't be more excited and proud to host the games.  (I love the second video, where the guy at the 1:40 mark keeps saying the word "about" with that great accent, hehe).  Watch and contemplate on the following: these people are excited, coming out in droves to see the flame as it passes them by on the way to the games.  I'm not trying to downplay their excitement one bit, I find it thrilling too simply because of my love for the games and I like seeing a nation come together.  But from a deeper train of thought, it struck me that as Christians, we too carry a flame.  An infinitely more important and everlasting flame.  The Holy Spirit lives within us, and as Paul reminds us in 2nd Corinthians 4:7, "We have this treasure in earthen vessels, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God, and not to us."  As Christians, we're called to "let [our] light shine before men, that they may see [our] good deeds and praise [our] Father in heaven" (Matthew 5:16).  The concept of light shining in the darkness is used all through scripture, Isaiah the prophet famously foretold the coming of Christ using such language when he said "the people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned" (Isaiah 9:2).  Verse 3 goes on to say what happens when that light of Christ - who He is and what He's done - has dawned on the people who once walked in darkness: "You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy; they rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest, as men rejoice when dividing the plunder."  Rewinding back to the Matthew passage, Christ himself tells us that we "are the light of the world.  A city on a hill cannot be hidden.  Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house" (Matthew 5:14, 15).  This light, this treasure, this flame inside of us - it's not meant to be kept to ourselves.  Like the Olympic torch, we're to take that light and lift it high, and run to the darkness, bringing hope and the message of salvation through faith alone by grace alone in Jesus Christ to all nations, both those abroad, and those at home in our own backyard.  The writer of Hebrews tells us to "lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfector of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God" (12:1, 2).  I have a feeling Paul himself would have shared my love for the games by the sheer number of athletic analogies he gives in his letters to describe the Christian life.  In many ways, he best sums up the point I'm trying to make when he writes the following in 1st Corinthians 9:24, 25, "Do you not know that in a race all the runner compete, but only one receives the prize?  So run with that you may obtain it.  Every athlete exercises self-control in all things.  They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable."

The athletes at these Olympic games will receive medals of gold, silver, and bronze... all elements of this world that will fade with this world.  In fact, we'll have for pavement in heaven what they consider the most prized medal - gold - given out at these games (think about that for a second).  All their awards are perishable, temporary, and will not last forever.  As you watch people celebrate the torch relay in those youtube videos, keep in mind that as believers, we have an infinitely greater reason to celebrate.  If two weeks of winter Olympic sports is enough to elicit that level of emotion and joy from the inhabitants of Canada and Olympic fans everywhere, how much more so ought we, who've been ransomed by grace unto God, proudly run with the light of the gospel in our hearts, an inextinguishable flame that burns into eternity?  It's something to think about over the next few weeks as the torch makes it rounds and you capture glimpses of it in photos and on TV.  Perhaps go out and rent the film Chariots of Fire if you've never seen it before or haven't seen it recently and marvel anew at the parallels between the physical games of the Olympics and the eternal race marked out for us as Christians, powerfully portrayed in the life of Eric Liddell.  Come February 12th, I'll be watching the games live and cheering on the U.S. in their respective events.  But the course of my life ought to be to bring glory and honor to the nation from which I've received a higher citizenship through Christ, the kingdom of heaven.  One last thought: the motto for these winter games in Vancouver is "With Glowing Hearts."  A rather fitting motto for the lives of believers everywhere as well, since we know the source of that eternal glow, don't you think?    

Indescribable Reactions to God's Creation

The other day I was driving home after a rather long afternoon looking for work and employment and finding none.  To say I was discouraged was an understatement, I was downright depressed.  And then I rounded the corner and saw this sunset.  Now, I'm not some sort of transcendentalist, but I do have a deep emotional response to displays of God's glory in his created universe.  And that's exactly what happened here... as I cruised along the freeway, I gazed at this sunset and thought about how many times filmmakers, photographers, painters, sculptors, writers, and yes, even bloggers, try to capture the natural beauty of the world around them in images and words.  Sometimes they succeed better than others, but they never can fully replicate the original display before them.  Here I am proving that very point... I'm trying to verbalize a sunset that was simply indescribable.  I've included a simple picture from my iPhone that doesn't do it justice (and for the record, yes, I know it was dangerous to operate a vehicle and a camera at the same time).  To put it simply, there is nothing that I, as a mere man being part of the creation, can do to add to or surpass what the Creator himself has done.

David knew this when he wrote Psalm 19:1-6, which says "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.  Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge.  There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard.  Their measuring line goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.  In them he has set forth a tent for the sun, which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber, and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy.  Its rising is from the end of the heavens, and its circuit to the end of them, and there is nothing hidden from its heat."

When Lafayette H. Bunnell, a member of the first expedition of white men to enter Yosemite Valley in 1851, first came upon that magnificent valley, he wrote the following in his diary: "It has been said that 'it is not easy to describe in words the precise impressions which great objects make upon us.' I cannot describe how completely I realized this truth.  The grandeur of the scene was but softened by the haze that hung over the valley, light as gossamer, and by the clouds which partially dimmed the higher cliffs and mountains.  This obscurity of vision but increased the awe with which I beheld it, and as I looked, a peculiar exalted sensation seemed to fill my whole being and I found my eyes in tears with emotion... for I have here seen the power and glory of a Supreme Being, the majesty of His handiwork is in that 'Testimony of the Rocks.'"

Now I don't know about you, but whatever problems I have, whatever my current situation is, I know I serve a God who created this sunset, which is only one of 365 He gives us each year... those are matched by equally beautiful sunrises each morning.  He's the same God who created something as magnificent and eye-popping as Yosemite Valley.  He actually spoke everything that we see around us into being, something that ought to cause us some serious mental aerobics.  Dwelling on the majesty and supremacy of God as displayed in His creation, I find my depression taking a back seat and instead being replaced by a deep-seated sense of awe and wonder at the amazing grace that had been poured out on folks like you and me, to be front-row participants in the greatest display of beauty and power ever recorded.  Anyway, that's something along the lines of what was running through my head that day on my drive home.  For more images of creation, check out this video and dwell on the lyrics. May we never get so caught up in the things of this world, which are fleeting and do not last, that we lose sight of the Author of life itself, who's handiwork is on display each and every evening, and has never been matched by any attempt of man's.  

Film Review: Up in the Air

The other day I got the chance to finally go see a film I'd been hearing quite a bit about these past few weeks.  Jason Reitman, son of legend Ivan Reitman and director of Juno and Thank You For Smoking, has made what I consider to be his best film to date with Up in the Air.  Starring George Clooney, Vera Farmiga, and Anna Kendrick (in a role that steals the movie), the film tells the story of a man who keeps relationships at a distance while arguing for the necessity of personal interaction when it comes to work.  The ironic tone of the film delivers moments both genuinely profound, moving, hilarious, and unsettling; all the while weaving a story-line that eerily mirrors the headlines of today.  

Ryan Bingham (Clooney) works for a company that hires him out to other companies during their lay-off periods to do a simple job: he does what these bosses don't have the courage, training, or tact to do in letting an employee go.  He has his performances down to an art, having the right tone, facial expression, and response ready for any and all situations he encounters when talking to an employee right at the moment they get the axe.  Priding himself on his ability to handle any situation, he lives from airport to airport, always "up in the air" above all the messy drama of relationships beneath him.  His attachments are minimal as he is living virtually out of his suitcase (or "backpack" as one recurring motif would have it), and has no real relationships of value to keep him grounded to this place we all call the real world.  That begins to change when he meets Alex Goran (Farmiga), a beautiful woman roughly his age who more-or-less lives the same lifestyle, and the two of them engage in an intense relationship based on sexual encounters and mutual desires to not turn anything into a bigger deal than it needs to be.  Their relationship has no real weight of commitment to it, and both parties seem fine with it continuing that way for the time being.

Enter Natalie (Kendrick), a brilliant and determined young woman who has developed a new system that allows the company to continue to fire employees without the traveling and face-to-face encounters.  Her system, which basically consists of video conferencing to fire someone in a rather impersonal way over the internet, begins to cause Bingham's world to collapse.  The man who's built his life around the comfort of not being tied down suddenly finds himself "up in the air" in a different context, as his services and skills are - much like the people he's been letting go his whole life - no longer needed.  Bingham makes a plea to his superior (played with candor by Jason Bateman) that Natalie's ideas, while noble, will never work in real-world scenarios.  There's an art to what we do, he demands, setting people adrift in this river of post-employment uncertainty.  His boss listens, and decides that to test the theory Bingham needs to take Natalie on the road with him and show her the ropes.

What follows is an often hilarious, sometimes heart-wrenching study in differing personalities, business models, ideologies, and worldviews.  Reitman as a director concocts just the right mixture of real world scenarios and drama peppered with humor that everyone can relate to.  In the end, both individuals discover what they're lacking in their understanding of the way the world works, and for some the blows come heavier and carry more weight than they (or we as the audience) were anticipating.  At it's core, the film hits home a very real and very important message that's easy to lose sight of in a world that's becoming smaller and yet more impersonal.  Our relationships are the heaviest components that affect our decisions and make us who we are... relationships with ourselves, our surroundings, and especially our family and friends.  For the believer, the film takes on more weight when one considers the relationship we have with our Savior that (should) trump all other relationships.  (Potential spoiler alert!) As Ryan comes to grips with the emptiness of his relationship with Alex (she calls him a "parenthesis" in the final scenes of the film), the viewer is presented with the ultimate poster child for what NOT to be in this time of economic uncertainty: an island unto himself.  And the bittersweet final line of the film best sums up the lifestyle that Ryan will continue to live, devoid of weight, depth, and anything heavier than that which ends "up in the air."

The acting is strong, the script is good (albeit too much unnecessary language plus a brief glimpse of rear nudity), and the directing - as already noted - is nearly pitch perfect.  Up in the Air perfectly captures the mood of the times and the state of the culture in which we live, as well as leaving the audience with a few thought provoking questions about the nature of having a tangible community and the importance of real relationships.

Rated R for language and some sexual content.  Running time: 109 minutes.

New Year, New Blog

Well let's cut to the chase.  I used to have a blog.  Two actually.  A few people used to read them.  I stopped because of.... I'm not sure.  For whatever reason I just got tired of it I suppose.  So here we are in 2010, and I figured I ought to give it a new try, so I've wiped the slate clean and am starting over here.  What's the idea behind this one?  Oh, the same as the other ones I suppose.  A place to gather my thoughts and musings on everything and anything I feel like writing about: life, culture, history, theology, film, travel, news, etc.  Perhaps a few more people will read this one, perhaps not.  That's not why I write.  Anyway, the title of this blog comes from the Nine Inch Nails song "Hurt," which was made much more famous and profound when it was covered with tremendous depth and poignancy by the late Johnny Cash.  My empire of dirt... that phrase has haunted me lately.  How many people, myself included, spend the better part of their lives storing up treasures here on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal?  Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes that "all are from the dust, and to dust all return."  Not the best investment of ones time and talents to build up empires of dirt here... He also reminisced about the vexations brought on in the pursuit of wisdom, hence my new blog's sub-title.  

The past few years of my life I've desired to learn more about the world I live in and the One who made it perfect before it fell into disrepair.  He redeemed it through the ultimate act of sacrifice and love, and all too often I know I forget the magnitude of that act.  I believe He's still there, still watching, still unfolding His master plan of redemption in my life and the lives of others.  Regardless of that belief, the past few years of accumulating wisdom have sadly reinforced the idea that ignorance sometimes is bliss.  There are things about this world I wish weren't true.  I wish there wasn't such a thing as broken promises, as love gone sour, as genocide and hunger.  But that's the world we're called to live in and minister to.  We are commanded to invest ourselves into this world in some capacity.  It will be full of sorrow.  And yet for the believer, our best days are always ahead of us, it will get better.  I think Dostoevsky said it in an achingly poetic manner when he wrote in The Brothers Karamazov: "I believe like a child that suffering will be healed and made up for, that all the humiliating absurdity of human contradictions will vanish like a pitiful mirage, like the despicable fabrication of the impotent and infinitely small Euclidean mind of man, that in the world's finale, at the moment of eternal harmony, something so precious will come to pass that it will suffice for all hearts, for the comforting of all resentments, for the atonement of all the crimes of humanity, for all the blood that they've shed; that it will make it not only possible to forgive but to justify all that has happened."  

I guess you could say I chose this title not because I'm in a deeply conflicted or depressed mood (although watching my arch rivals win the national championship earlier this evening didn't help much, haha)  but because I simply like to hold myself accountable.  I like to be constantly confronted with the need to make sure my priorities are straight and true.  To be daily dependent on the Truth (with a capital T).  To quote Daniel Craig in the film Defiance, "every day of freedom is an act of faith."  May we never grow weary or let our guard down in that daily fight to keep the faith in a world intent on throwing in the towel.  And that strength to do that is only found when we live our lives in obedience and accordance to His word, through the spirits enabling power within us.  So bring it on 2010.  It's a new year and, God willing, I'm ready for it.