Thursday, December 13, 2012

movies in my mind


Some film images stick with us forever.

Yesterday a scene from a film I had seen recently (Flight) kept playing over and over in my head.

Early on in the film, the central character, a pilot, almost miraculously manages to crash land a completely disabled airliner.  But the plane still crashes.  There are a handful of dead.  Many more injured.

As the pilot regains consciousness, he is being dragged from the plane.  We see white-robed rescuers pulling other passengers from the wreckage.  They look like angels.

And I have no doubt that is exactly what the filmmakers intended.  The rescuers were from a Pentecostal church near the crash. 

They had rushed to provide service while still wearing their baptismal gowns.  Black and white.  Men and women.  They were there to serve.  To rescue the perishing.

It was a powerful image.  The film presented a rare positive picture of Christian faith in action.  Fundamentalist faith.  Doing what Christians should do best.  Offer relief for a world in distress.

I know why that image was there.  All day I have been praying for our blogger pal, Laurie of Honduras Gumbo.

Laurie is a missionary in Honduras.  Her work emphasizes child welfare.  But she is a friend to all in her community.  Her posts are filled with the dire circumstances in which Hondurans live.  And how she is making a difference.  One life at a time.

Yesterday she informed us in Honduras: Coups, Chaos, and Curfews that things can get worse.  And have.  Please take a look at her post.  She says it better than I can.

And then remember her in prayer. 

There is a line from the musical Book of Mormon that is one of the few not ensconced in irony.

I must trust that my Lord is mightier
And always has my back

Laurie is one of those angels that walks amongst us.  The work she does on behalf of her God -- my God -- is the very essence of the faith taught by Jesus.

I pray his protection is with her.

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