So I really do like Chuck Norris jokes. I really can't help it, they are funny. That being said, the man recently caused me to think about some issues in the Church these days.
Recently the man himself (the Chuck) was cast in the sequel to the 1980s and 90s action star packed film 'The Expendables". I will admit, I saw the first one, but out of morbid curiosity. (I will probably see the second one for the same reason) The first movie possessed the depth of a soap dish, but the action of every war combined. The real draw of this movie however was the bringing together of all the famous action stars of the 80s and 90s. The film included Sylvester Stallone, Jet Li, Bruce Willis, Jason Stathom, etc. However, in the sequel they literally went to the extreme and found every old action star and threw them in a feature film (i.e. Van Damme, Norris, etc). This is where Norris comes in.
I assume with all the recent buzz around the Chuck Norris jokes Stallone and producers wanted Norris in the film. However, Norris being a publicly (and published I might add) professed Christian had a problem with the script, namely the amount of cussing. If you saw the first Expendables you might know what Norris was referring to. He quickly responded saying that if he was to be apart of the movie they must limit the amount of swearing in the film. The Christian world was impressed and he got his way.
This being said, looking at the broader outlook of the movie, is cussing the thing to be upset about? In the first movie, hundreds if not at least a thousand people die in variou bloody skirmishes. I imagine with the increasing star pool, the Expendables 2 will have the same amount of death if not more. I appreciate the stance of Norris, but what does it say when a Christian seems to care more about the display of cursing rather than the extreme violence in such a movie. For some reason, it seems we have become more comfortable with violence as a way of life, than swear words.
When examining the Biblical Witness, we might note that the emphasis is quite the opposite. Granted I imagine Jesus would not have been happy having those who followed him being vulgar, but I believe the gospel narrative is more pointed about killing and violence. Everything from the beatitudes, to the Garden of Gethsemene, to even the cross suggests that the Christian life is not one that promotes violence. The core of this Christian story lies just in that incendiary moment where the Son of God peacefully offers up his life for all. Thus a Christian should take for granted the life of all, because Christ certainly does. Maybe we are taking the wrong things for granted when this becomes the norm.
This past week was Pentecost. However, it was also Memorial Day. I had a friend at a Church in another state tell me that the ratio for prayer requests for the latter vastly outweighed the former. (Namely 5:0) After exploring a few other friends who are pastors/leaders in congregations the result is the same. This leads me to believe that the Norris is not the only one to take the wrong thing for granted. My friend told me of two particular things said consistently. 1.) We should be grateful to those who sacrificed so we can come in here. 2.) I pray that the young people can learn the importance of Memorial Day.
Granted, I do not think we should disregard those who have died in our midst. But we are grossly mistaken if we think that America is the reason we can gather. In fact, the Church gathered for centuries before it was legal and that time is possibly the golden period of Christianity. Furthermore, and onto the second, I am much more concerned that our congregations feel more pedagogical about Memorial Day than Pentecost. The fact that I could get a better discussion to the question "What is the importance of the 2nd amendment?" than I could to the question "What is our responsibility to the story in Acts 2?" scares me. The Church is always a place where we should take the RIGHT things for granted. Such as mourning death, not celebrating violence and remembering where ultimate peace comes from The Cross, not Chuck Norris.
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