The Gospel According to PIXAR pt 5, "Being Incredible", by Rev Steven R Mitchell

The Gospel According to PIXAR pt 5

“Being Incredible”

By Rev Steven R Mitchell

Mountain View United Church, Aurora, CO 8-4-2013

Based on Philippians 3:3-11 and movie The Incredibles

 

        There is a marvelous scene in the movie Snow White where the wicked queen goes before a magic mirror and asks the mirror, “Mirror, mirror on the wall, ‘Who’s the fairest of them all?’”  The mirror responds, “As lovely as you are my Queen, Snow white is truly the fairest of all.” (loosely paraphrased)  In the movie Shriek, we have Lord Farquaad asking his magic mirror, “Mirror, mirror on the wall, isn’t this the most perfect Kingdom of them all?”  The mirror responds, “Well technically, you’re not a king.”  And in the movie Death Becomes Her, the Broadway Star says to her mirror in the opening scene, “Mirror, mirror on the wall, hope they don’t see the little scars (referring to her face lift.)”  When I look into the mirror, I ask the mirror, “Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s that face I see looking back at me?”  My mirror doesn’t seem to speak to me, just reflects a face of someone older than what I perceive myself to be.

        In this morning’s Gospel, the Apostle Paul is writing to the church that in Philipi and reminding them of who they are, of where they find their true identities.  As a person, one’s identity is at the very essence of being known and of knowing who we are.   When we are born our name becomes a part of our identity, the things that we do throughout our lives also become come attached to our identity.  There are a couple of ways in which we can see ourselves, through the eyes of those around us, much like the mirror reflecting, and also through our own internal ways of seeing and understanding who we are.

        Paul indicates in his letter to the Philippians that he has a pedigree that far exceeds most.  Among that long list he includes being a member from the elite tribe of Benjamin, a true adhere to the law of Moses, and would persecute any who violated the law!  If anyone is a Super Hebrew, Paul certainly was.  

        Knowing who we are is essential to how we are able to navigate through life.  In the movie The Incredibles, can see the theme of identity being explored.  We see through the characters of Bob Parr, his wife Helen Parr, young Buddy, and through the two Parr children how their lives are fulfilled or restricted by how they identify with who they are.  The three main characters, Bob, Helen, and Buddy give us differing perspectives of how we incorporate those things that give us our “identities”.    The two Parr children show us behavior when we are being told at an early age “not to be ourselves.”  The Parr boy Dash, is constantly being invited into the Principles office with discipline issues because he isn’t able to go out for sports and use his natural ability of speed to re-enforce his God given talent.  Violet, on the other hand in being told not to be herself develops insecurities about who she is, which is stopping her from developing relationships with others.

        For Bob, AKA Mr. Incredible, a guy who prior to marriage knew who he was and lived out his identity – a super hero; a man with multiple abilities.  Mr. Incredible understands who he is from within himself.  He knows all of his abilities, recognizing that he has something special that only he can offer the world and in this recognition uses his powers for good, saving the world from the bad guys. 

Knowing who we are from within, that ability to properly understand who we are, what talents we possess is a good virtue, but it is also a two edged sword.  One of the pitfalls of being so “incredible”, is that you start playing by your own rules and often intervening or superseding the wishes of others when their desires interfere with your vision of what “is.”  This happened to Mr. Incredible when he saved the life of a man who wanted to commit suicide by jumping from a tall building.  The man was injured while being saved and because of a lawsuit, Mr. Incredible and all Super Hero’s for that matter were forbidden from doing acts of saving.

With this new law forbidding Mr. Incredible from being able to be who he truly is, we see how he copes trying to live as “ordinary” Bob Parr, an insurance claims adjuster.  In Bob Parr, we see a man who is very unhappy, bored, detached from his wife and family, rebellious, and deceitful.  When Bob is given the opportunity to once again be who he is, his attitude changes; he is happy, engaged with his family, creative, having lots of energy, having self-confidence once again.  With this new lease on life, Mr. Incredible also becomes totally self-absorbed with himself, losing sight of the most important things in his life – his wife and family.  

The opposite of Bob Parr is a little boy called Buddy, who did not possess special super hero powers but admired to a fault Mr. Incredible and felt that his self-worth could only be found in becoming the sidekick to Mr. Incredible.  Of course this wasn’t acceptable to Mr. Incredible, leaving Buddy with a sense of rejection.  What Buddy eventually realized was he had a great mind, but from the lack of proper self-esteem developed his mind for evil purposes.  Buddy becomes Syndrome, arch enemy of Mr. Incredible and all other Super Heroes.  Syndrome is the picture of Champion of “self-reliance”.  His goal was to create a destructive force that only he could conquer, there by becoming the Super Hero he desires.   In church talk, we would say, “salvation through works.”  “I will be good enough if I do enough good works.”  The affirmation of identity comes through external sources.

For Helen, her identity is seen through her relationship as wife, mother, and home maker.  She seems to not miss the use of her Super Hero powers or the lifestyle she once lived.  Yet when her family and husband is in danger, she once again becomes Elastigirl. As Helen, she desires only stability and peace for her family.  Because of her husband Bob’s abdicating his responsibilities within the family, Helen is seen as the “law maker” causing all sorts of negative energy among her family.  She struggles to instill confidence into her children of “how special” they are while also saying, “you can’t be who you truly are.”  Helen is finally called into her natural roll as Elastigirl in order to save her family.  While doing this, she realizes the harm that she has been doing to her children by not allowing them to grow into who they truly are, that of developing their special abilities.

One of the cornerstones of the movie is a law forbidding Supers to be who they are.  Why have a law forbidding Super Hero’s from acting out as Super’s?  The reality is Supers cause incredible physical damage with buildings crumbling, cars smashed up, even preventing people from doing what they wish to do that they feel is right for themselves. 

This is how the Apostle Paul approached his understanding of living either under the law or living in Christ.  The biblical truth that can be seen in this movie , is that identity comes from outside of us, not from within.  Through the death and resurrection of Jesus, He imputes to us his identity.  Our ultimate value is Jesus’ value, and it is not something that can be compromised or diminished.  And since our ultimate identity does not have to do with our abilities or disabilities, self-congratulation or self-satisfaction has no place.  This is the reason why Paul states that his pedigree has no place in his life, but rather “because of Christ all things I once thought were so important are gone from my life.  I don’t want some petty, inferior brand of righteousness that comes from keeping a list of rules when I could get the robust kind that comes from trusting Christ – God’s righteousness.”  Let our “being incredible” come not from ourselves but through Christ!  Amen