It's Wednesday and I've secured my ticket for the midnight showing of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe tomorrow.
At midnight.
And I can't wait.
It's become something of a tradition for my friends and me. Starting with Star Wars Episode I, where my friend waited in line for two weeks to buy 50 tickets so I could mosey up to the front of the line and stand with him for an hour and a half and then be the second person in the theater. (I felt kinda bad about that one.)
I waited in line for about four hours for Episode II. (My friends had been in line MUCH longer, of course. We brought them food.) It was fun, hanging out with my friends. Episode III wasn't as fun because we were INSIDE the theater and it was uncomfortable, stinky, and crowded (with uncomfortable, stinky people). The stinky people were my friends, who HAD been camping out to be first in line.
My friends and I did the same thing for Lord of the Rings. All three movies. Of course, a midnight show of a three hour movie is a little more difficult and a few of my friends fell asleep.
When Return of the King came out, my friends and I went to an all day showing of the three movies (extended cuts of the first two and an 11:30 showing -- 1/2 hour earlier than the rest of hte showings in my time zone) which also got stinky. The theater gave us free pizza. That was cool.
So, Thursday I'll go to work and then go to the theater to hang out with my friends. Some of these guys I haven't seen since Episode III.
I can't wait for this movie. A Los Angeles friend of mine saw a sneak peak a few months ago. She said, basically, that all the things that Christians were afraid Hollywood would take out of the movie are IN the movie. And I can't wait. I've purposely avoided looking at any commercials or trailers. I've closed my eyes when they come on. I want this to be an experience.
Of course, there's part of me that wonders if all this hoopla and whatnot (Narnia Microwave pizas!) would have been something that C.S. Lewis himself would have approved of. I'm inclined to think not. And there's a part of me that feels as if his legacy is not being honored.
But his message will be seen by millions of people this weekend. Many of them people who NEED his message.
They may not understand it. But they need it.
This is the chance for all of us who chose not to use the messages of The Matrix or Harry Potter in a Mars Hill style of evangelism.
My LA friend also said that people who are not friends with Christ will not understand why us CHristians are going to come out of that movie with such excitement.
It's our job to help them along. To tell them, "Know what? That stuff Alsan did for Edmund? He did for ME TOO!"
People need that message.
It's our job to strap on the Shoes of the Gospel of Peace and tell them.
Ben
PS -- The Shoes of the Gospel of Peace are the armor that Timothy recieves in ArmorQuest #5. Shameless plug!
