MOVIES THAT MOVE US

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this 15^th Sunday in Ordinary Time [A]  is, “Movies That Move Us.”

This is a very easy homily. It will be about something I not only  enjoy - but something I understand: movies. I say that even though I don’t go out to too many movies anymore - which is one more signal of old age. I see most movies on TV - especially  Turner Classics - old black and white movies - as well as “shoot-em-ups” like The Bourne Movies. 

How about you?  What have been the movies that moved you?

In this homily I’m going to ask you to look at movies that moved you - movies that grabbed you - movies that have influenced your life.

TODAY’S GOSPEL

Today’s gospel features Jesus’ use of parables - comparing them to seeds - that enter into the soil of another person - and some parables grow on and in us. 

Some parables evoke groans and challenges in our gut - like the groans and challenges in today’s second reading from Romans.

Today’s gospel - as well as today’s first reading Isaiah 55 - present the theme of growth - consequences - returns - what impacts us - what moves us - producing - results.

Today’s gospel is basic communication for dummies. There are 4 kinds of people - 4 kinds of listeners - 4 kinds of audiences.

The first is the dead head, the macadam mind. The seed, the word,  lands on them, but nothing happens. They are like the seed that lands on the path. Nothing happens - except the birds gobble up that word.

The second is shallow persons. They are the rocky soil - no depth, no soil, no soul, nothing really grows or goes anywhere.

The third type is the person with depth, but there are too many other things growing and going on - in their mind - in their lives. The word gets choked.

And the fourth and last type are those with good soil - and depth - and they are willing and open for growth.

MOVIES THAT MOVE US

The title of my homily is, Movies That Move Us.

Movies are like parables - stories - novels - that influence our way of seeing, thinking and being.

There are four  types of people who see movies - just like the ones I just mentioned for parables as Jesus taught us.

Let me use - let me mention - let me run through 5 movies and then say, “Conclusion.”

As I’m going along, I challenge you to come up with your 5 movies - movies that moved you - that had a lesson - for life.

You don’t have to list them in cement - like I don’t include Casablanca or My Cousin Vinny - but I might think differently the next time I think about this theme.

FOREST GUMP [1994]

The first movie would be Forest Gump.

I was in Chicago - with 3 other priests - for a scripture workshop. It was for continuing education.

We had an off night so one the guys I was with - suggested a movie.

Good.

We’re heading for the car after supper and this other guy - a diocesan priest - asks if he can come along. He had heard we were going out for a movie.

5 of us - a bit cramped - got in the car - but it was only a 15 minute ride to the movie complex. Good thing - because two of these guys were big guys.

In the car I asked, “What was the movie?”

Pat says, “Forest Gump.”

I said, “Never heard of it.”

I figured it might be a western, from the word, “Forest” or a comedy, from the word, “Gump”.

We see the movie.

We’re standing outside after the movie while one of the guys went to get the car.

I asked the diocesan priest, “How did you like the movie?”

He says, “I didn’t get it. I had no idea what it was about.”

That surprised me, because I liked it.

We get in the car and drive the 15 minutes back to the conference center. The other 3 guys are talking about how they loved the movie - the funny scenes, the history lessons with Forest Gump meeting all these presidents, the Vietnam war protests, Forest being so loyal to Dan, Forest being dumped by Ginny, and how he was so loyal to her as well, and how he started running as his way of dealing with losing her.

We get back to the conference center and I’m standing there. Some other priest asks the priest with us, how he liked the movie. He says, “It was great” - and he began telling some to the ideas he heard in the car to this other guy.

I remained quiet hearing that.

However, I began thinking about that experience. I learned big time from that. Sometimes we learn from the movie while watching it; sometimes we  learn  from talking about the movie or the play or the parable or the song or the experience afterwards.

LAWRENCE OF ARABIA [1962]

The next movie was Lawrence of Arabia.

Wow did that movie make me thirsty - with all that sand.

It won 7 Oscars.

We wouldn’t be in some of the mess we are in the middle east today if people had listened to T. E. Lawrence.

I think of two learnings from that movie.

T.E. Lawrence takes 50 men and crosses the Nefud Desert to get to Aqaba. On the trip, a guy named Gasim falls asleep on his camel and falls off. T.E. Lawrence, upon hearing that at a rest stop, gets back on his camel. Someone says, “It is written….” and says something like you don’t go back. Well, I don’t remember the lines, but basically Lawrence says, “I don’t buy that….” and he goes and finds the guy and brings him back. This impresses the Arabs with him.

The second learning was the backdoor approach to solving problems. The Turkish fort at Aqaba had all its guns facing out to sea - the only way to attack it. Its back was completely open - because nobody could attack them from the back - from across the desert.

Sometimes in life - when challenging a situation, the better approach is the unexpected backdoor approach.

THROW MOMMA FROM THE TRAIN  [1987]

The third movie is Throw Momma From the Train.

Larry Donner is Billy Chrystal and Owen is Danny DeVito.

There is a scene in that movie that I love.

It taught me something that I use all the time.

Owen says to Larry, “Do you want to see my coin collection.”

Larry says, “No way!”

Owen asks him again as he gets it.

He pulls back a rug takes up a floor board, and takes out a small metal box - like one of those boxes someone keeps index cards in.

Billy Crystal says, “I’m not interested.”

Owen takes out his coins - three quarters, two nickels and a penny…. Something like that.

In the meanwhile Owen has laid down on the floor and then Billy Chrystal as well.

Owen holding a quarter says this quarter was change my dad let me keep after buying a hot dog at a Peter, Paul and Mary Concert.

“This quarter was change my father let me keep at the Hollywood Palladium, when we attended a  Martin and Lewis concert.

And on and on.

What I got out of all this was that different people have different experiences from all kinds of places and situations - and if we want to be in good human contact with each other, we need to respect all these meanings we give to persons, places and things.

For example we’re going by a cemetery - and it’s just a cemetery - but it’s very different if someone has a loved one buried there.

Every time I go by the Treaty of Paris Restaurant at the top of Duke of Gloucester street I think of my niece Margie and her husband Jerry. That’s where he proposed to her.

BLACK  HAND  [1950]

The next movie was, The Black Hand.

Gene Kelly - plays the part of an Italian young man named, Giovanni “Johnny” Colombo.

How about that? An Irishman playing the part of an Italian.

The scene I remember is a group of young men are standing on the wooden deck of a small freighter - and they are talking about why they are going to America.

When it comes time for Johnny to speak, he pulls out a stiletto or a switch blade and aims it at the floor and the point goes right into the wood. He says, “I’m going to America to avenge the death of my father who was killed by the The Black Hand - a Mafia type group.

What I got out of that scene was how different folks have so many different motives.

Immigrants - legal and illegal - want to come to America for all kinds of different reasons.

All of us here in church today - we’re all here for all kinds of different reasons.

We just have to ask each other, “Why are you here?”

Motive.

One of my favorite stories is about a young lady who went to a small community college in West Virginia. I heard this when I was preaching a parish mission in a small town along the Ohio River.

This young lady was getting horrible grades, D’s and F’s.

She was called in to see the Dean of Academics and he or she said, “Why are you here?”

And she answered, and I wrote down her answer on a Styrofoam cup that is on my bookshelf for a good 17 years at least. She said, “I came here to be went with, and I ain’t been went with yet.”

Why are you here in church today?

STILL ALICE [2014]

My 5^th and last movie is, Still Alice.

I just saw this movie last week - up in New Jersey. Someone offered this 2014 movie at the end of the day  - after a picnic and a get together.

It’s a movie I never heard of.

Julianne Moore plays the part of a lady who gets early onset Alzheimer’s and you see her losing her memory right before your eyes - on the mirror called a movie screen.

I was wondering in the back of my mind about the title of the movie: Still Alice. I didn’t get it at first, but then, “Boom!” It hit me.

She was still Alice  - as is - no matter how lost she was becoming.

I don’t know if I’ll remember this movie for the rest of my life, but for the rest of my life, I hope I won’t forget every person in my life, every person in every nursing home, every person who is losing it, is still Charlie or Sam or Mary or Michelle.

CONCLUSION

Enough already.

This has been an easy homily.