Effie Trinket

          “Effie Trinket” was preached at Princeton Theological Seminary on November 4, 2015. The assignment was to take a well-known movie and use it as the main source of imagery in an eight-minute homily. The text must come from one of the Pauline Epistles. I was assigned the movie, Catching Fire. Inspirations for this sermon included scripture, narratives, and the transformation of one of the prominent characters from the movie: Effie Trinket.

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Philippians 2:1-11

1 If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, 2 make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. 5 Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,

6 who, though he was in the form of God,

    did not regard equality with God

    as something to be exploited,

7 but emptied himself,

    taking the form of a slave,

    being born in human likeness.

And being found in human form,

8     he humbled himself

    and became obedient to the point of death—

    even death on a cross.

9 Therefore God also highly exalted him

    and gave him the name

    that is above every name,

10 so that at the name of Jesus

    every knee should bend,

    in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

11 and every tongue should confess

    that Jesus Christ is Lord,

    to the glory of God the Father.

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Effie Trinket is as prim and proper as they come. And this makes sense; she was a citizen of the Capitol. The society that she was born into raised her to be this way. A society known for their ever- and over-flowing wealth; a society whose wealth has caused them to be oblivious to the poverty and the starvation and the sickness that consumed the surrounding districts. Yes, Effie was the model citizen, just as oblivious and shallow as the rest of them. She was known for her flamboyant and unique sense of style. Her outfits matched her bright and bubbly personality exuding her own sense of ecstasy and euphoria. Effie didn’t have to try to be the best dressed; she was the best dressed! She was the epitome of fashion. And even better, she was strict in her manners and controlled in her thoughts! She would make the perfect Capitol Escort for one of the districts in the upcoming Hunger Games. And so that’s what she did. Effie Trinket became the Capital Escort for District 12! And that is where she meets Katniss and Peeta for the first time.

For those of you who have no idea what I’ve been saying for the last minute, I was giving a description of a prominent character from the Hunger Game series. For those of you who haven’t seen or read the Hunger Games, let me briefly explain. The Hunger Games is a trilogy of books turned movies written by Suzanne Collins. In a future, dystopian society, the nation has been split into two main groups – the Capitol and the twelve Districts – after a war labeled as the Rebellion. The citizens of the Capitol were the rulers and the wealthy; they held all the power. Effie Trinket was a citizen of the Capitol. The twelve Districts were the workers who served the Capitol where each district controlled a different industry. The poorest of the twelve – the home of Katniss and Peeta and the district in which Effie was assigned to be the escort – worked in coal mining. In punishment for their Rebellion, each of the twelve districts must randomly select a boy and a girl – the Tributes – to fight to the death in an annual televised event known as the Hunger Games. Twenty-four teenagers were forced to go into an area where there would only be one surviving victor… and this was all for entertainment of the Capitol.

When we first meet Effie in the first movie, she is thrilled and excited to be a part of the Hunger Games. She gets to accompany the Tributes as their escort and serve as their Capitol Guide! She knew it was a great honor, and she loved every minute of it! You can actually see her joy as she selects Katniss and Peeta as District 12’s tributes at the Reaping. Katniss and Peeta fought throughout the game, and in the end, both were named the Victors. But in the second movie, “Catching Fire,” when the Reaping occurred, there is a transformation happening within Effie. Only previous victors would be selected as the Tributes to fight in the games this year. That means Effie would have to select Katniss and Peeta again, two people she has grown to love. When Effie selects Katniss as the female tribute, a single tear rolls down Katniss’s face. But if you look in the background, you can see Effie dressed in an extravagant gown made of monarch butterflies, a beautiful metaphor for the transformation Effie is experiencing. There is no joy on her face this year. She is uncomfortable… sad… distant…  It’s a powerful scene, and you can feel the aura of humility. Effie is conflicted between the life she was given and her newfound compassion for others. A woman born into privilege now feels helpless and afraid. A woman who lived her entire life being exalted was humbled before our very eyes.

I won’t spoil the rest of the movie or talk about the third one, but Effie continues to be filled with compassion and empathy throughout the series. At her core, Effie is still Effie, but there is also this transformation occurring within her. She lives into her own humility. It is rough and shaky and slow. At times, it is even visibly and unbearably uncomfortable, yet Effie grows into a kind and caring soul who does what she can to serve those who have been deemed by society as less than her.

Like Effie, living into this humility is what I’m asking us to do. We are part of the Capitol. I’m not saying that we have been spoiled in life or that everything in our lives is some great gift given only to us, but I am saying that we have been born into some sort of privilege that others will never experience.  We weren’t born into this privilege because we are in any way better, but rather, this is the life we were given.  That means we are not the enemy but because we were born into this life, we have been given the power and the opportunity to do something with what we’ve been given. We have been given a gift that allows us to transform into something that could serve the greater community instead of just ourselves. This transformation starts with the act of compassion.

To feel for one another can be such powerful and contagious act. There is an emphasis of unity that lets others know that they are not alone. You are giving them a space to voice their pain, their struggles, their grief. You are acknowledging that despite how they world may treat them, that they do matter and they do have a place. In humility, regard others as better than yourselves. Be of the same mind. Share the same love. Look to their interests and listen to their pain. Let your light shine as a burning beacon of hope. After all, Christ has done all of this and more for you.

Christ – fully human and fully divine – equal to God the Creator – came to live among us as the Incarnate Son in the form of a slave to humankind. Rather than being born into glory, Christ was born in a manger. He lived a life of obedience, taking the weight of the world on his shoulders. All pain and every sin was given onto him. In everything Christ did, he humbled himself for our sake. He humbled himself even to the point of death by crucifixion. His humility and his obedience led him to the cross. In that moment, in his death and in his resurrection, he was exalted above all things. Name above all names. Every creature will bow down and confess him as Lord. Christ’s work was done for us in the ultimate act of compassion.

Let us imitate Christ. Allow the power of the Savior to transform our bodies of humiliation into bodies of glory. For in the day of the resurrection, we too will be caught up in the divine movement of exaltation. “For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

Effie Trinket is as prim and proper as they come, but Effie Trinket is also compassionate. She was a woman born into power and wealth, but she was also born into a world where she could serve. Effie was transformed before our very eyes. Effie’s humility is an imitation of Christ. Be like Effie. Be like Christ. Humble yourselves and serve the Lord. Compassion can change the world.      Amen.

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If you would like to see the character of Effie Trinket as portrayed in the first movie compared to her character in the second movie, please watch these two short clips. It was in these two scenes where I felt I witnessed Effie's transformation.

Show Us Love

          “Show Us Love” was preached at Lawrence Road Presbyterian Church on All Saints' Day, Sunday, November 1, 2015. Inspirations for this sermon included scripture, commentaries, Christian mysticism, and the French Baptismal Liturgy.  

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Revelation 21:1-6a

1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,

“See, the home of God is among mortals.

He will dwell with them;

they will be his peoples,

and God himself will be with them;

4 he will wipe every tear from their eyes.

Death will be no more;

mourning and crying and pain will be no more,

for the first things have passed away.”

5 And the one who was seated on the throne said, “See, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.” 6 Then he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life.

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We know the story of Lazarus. Lazarus was the brother of Mary and Martha who grew ill. When his illness took a turn for the worse, the sisters sent a message to Jesus saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” But Jesus – being Jesus – dismissed Lazarus’s illness, saying it would not lead to death but rather to the glorification of the Son of God. However, a few days after, Lazarus did indeed die. In a moment of drifting off into an eternal slumber… In a moment of darkness without his Lord and Savior… In a moment where he might have felt abandoned instead of loved, Lazarus died.

They performed funeral rites on Lazarus. They wrapped him in cloths, the bound him from head to toe, and they laid him in a tomb. Mary and Martha grieved that day. And the day after. And the next day and the next. For four days, they grieved the loss of their brother before Jesus came to them. And when he did, it was Martha who first went to him and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” And then Mary went to him and said the exact same thing, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” The sisters began to weep at the feet of Jesus, and in a profound theological mystery – greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved – Jesus too began to weep. “See how he loved him!” the Jews exclaimed! “See! How he loved him!

Jesus then went to the tomb where the stench of the dead filled the air. He had them remove the stone away from the cave where he yelled for Lazarus to come out! Suddenly the dead man came out of the cave. Wrapped in cloths, bound from head to toe, Lazarus walked out of the tomb. For four days he had been dead, yet here he was, alive and well. Free to live the rest of his life. Truly this was a miracle.

After all of this, Lazarus appears again in the gospel of John. He shares a meal with Jesus, his sisters, and the disciples.  There is also a plot by the chief priests to kill Lazarus. But that’s it. That’s all we hear. Lazarus’s story stops there. We don’t know if the chief priests were successful in killing Lazarus. We don’t know if Lazarus lived for many years before he finally died of old age. We don’t know if he died of the same illness that killed him the first time or if he died in some unfortunate accident that no one could have predicted. We don’t know. But we do know that even though Lazarus was raised from the dead once before, he would eventually die again. Death for Lazarus was inevitable.

So too for us, death is inevitable. It’s a part of human life. It is something that will happen to all of us. It is something that has already happened to people we have loved. For some of you, it has already happened to the person you loved most in this world. People grieve through death. We mourn in death. We become angry at death. We become saddened by death. And it never really gets easier to face death. It’s just there, ever present in our lives. Death has happened and death will happen.  Death is a part of human life. But it’s only one part and it’s definitely not the end. God is. God – the Alpha and Omega – is the beginning and the end.

And we hear this good news in our passage today. Which is surprising since it comes from the book of Revelation… which isn’t really known for its good news… the apocalypse and conversations about the end times aren’t usually known to be light and cheery. But I found comfort in this passage because it is a promise that God will show us a world in which death is no more. God will show us love.

But first, let us acknowledge that death does affect us. We have lost people in our lives. Let us take the time to remember those who we have loved and lost in a moment of silence… Let us remember the family members and friends who have passed away this past year… Let us remember the family members and friends who have passed away this past decade… Let us remember the family members and friends who have passed away this past generation…

          When the people who we are closest to pass away, a part of our world passes away too. Death does that. But their names will not be forgotten. We will forever remember our love we shared with them. And we know that this isn’t the end. We use the phrase “passed away” to mean someone has died. It’s the idea that something has gone away. But God’s promise to us is when something has gone away, something new will come to us. And in the similar way to the passing of our bodies, our physical world will pass away and a new heaven and a new earth will come down to us. We will be able to experience this new heaven and new earth with all of our senses. We will be able to touch, hear, smell, taste, and even see it.

Four times in this passage, we have words in we see or saw. “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth.” “And I saw the holy city, the New Jerusalem.” “See, the home of God is among mortals!” “See, I am making all things news.” In the same way when Jesus wept at the death of Lazarus and the crowds exclaimed, “See how he loved him!” something to us is being revealed. I saw. I see. The revelation of God is a new reality in which we live. A reality in which death will be no more. A reality in which mourning and crying and pain will be no more. A reality in which every tear will be wiped from our eyes and a reality in which God will show us all things new.

Julian of Norwich – a Christian mystic of the 14^th century – saw a glimpse into this reality. In a prayerful vision, Julian asked God to reveal her sin. This is what she saw, “And in this he showed me a little thing, the quantity of a hazel nut, lying in the palm of my hand, as it seemed. And it was as round as any ball. I looked upon it with the eye of my understanding, and thought, ‘What may this be?’ And it was answered generally thus, ‘It is all that is made.’ I marveled how it might last, for I thought it might suddenly have fallen to nothing for littleness. And I was answered in my understanding: It lasts and ever shall, for God loves it. And so have all things their beginning by the love of God. In this little thing I saw three properties. The first is that God made it. The second that God loves it. And the third, that God keeps it.”

When Julian asked God to reveal her sin, God showed her love. This is the new reality in which we are supposed to live. Revelation’s vision of the future encompasses human beings and the world itself. For God, this world and all of its human beings are like a small little hazel nut in the palm of God’s hand. What seems so great and mighty to us is small and valued and cherished by God. And with it, God can do anything such as create a new world for us to live in. Where death is no more; there is only new and eternal life with God dwelling among us. This is the promise of the resurrection. And resurrection is the promise of a new existence, a transformed existence. God made us. God loves us. God keeps us. This will always be true especially in the new reality God has created for us.

Living into this reality is our task. It might be a reality that seems too complex and too far off. After all, it’s a new heaven and a new earth – one where the very seas – the waters that were there in the beginning of creation – are no more. A new heaven and a new earth where God dwells among us. And there is no sin and there is no death. It’s hard to understand. But the truth is, we already have glimpses and experiences of this reality now even if we don’t understand it.  We have already felt a love so deep and so rich when we were covered in the waters of our baptism. It’s the same love that moved over the waters at creation and the same love that made covenants with God’s chosen people. It’s the same love that had the Word become Flesh and lived among us full of grace and truth. It’s the same love that entered in the shadow of Gethsmane and it’s the same love that suffered through the horror of Calvary. It’s the same love that cried, “It is finished” with his final breaths! It’s the same love that rose from the dead and ascended into heaven. It’s a love so great and so deep that it was able to defeat the one thing that was undefeatable: death. We love God because God first loved us. All these things God did because God loves us. And we might not be able to understand any part of it but it is all part of the plan for us to live into this new heaven and the new earth.  Like I said, it is not supposed to be understood but it is supposed to be seen and tasted and felt and heard and smelt.

And we do see and taste and feel and hear and smell this reality every time we come to the Lord’s Supper. See the breaking of the bread and the pouring of the cup. This is Christ’s body broken for you and Christ’s blood shed for you. Smell the loaf and the fruit of the vine. This was what God has made for you. Hear the bread rip and hear the juice flow. These sounds are full of grace and love. Taste the grains of the bread and the sweetness of the cup. The body and the blood of Christ mixed together is the ultimate taste of love. And feel the texture of the bread. Feel the liquid in the cup. Feel God’s grace extended to you. These are the gifts of God for the people of God. We are brought into this new reality, if only for a moment, every time we eat the bread and drink from the cup. We are brought before God and Christ while the Spirit comes to us. The Trinitarian God dwells among us. This is the promise of the new reality. What God has spoken, God will do.

God is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. The entirety of existence is framed by the presence of our God. And in this new reality promised in the book of Revelation, God’s presence – the God who gives life – will be among us. All Saints Day is a time where we can remember that death is real and that we have lost people. Death is a part of human life. It is inevitable and it will happen. But All Saints Day is also a time for us to remember that death is not final. We have been promised life and new life. This is the future God has given to us.

God made us. God loves us. God keeps us. Nothing – not even death – will ever change that. In life and in death, God will show you love.

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.        Amen.

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All loving and all mighty God, You are the one true beginning and end. Thank you for your holy Word given to us today. Allow us to take this Word and use it in all of the days to come. Comfort us in death and remind us that death is not the end. You have promised us new life through the resurrection of Christ. Show us your love, O God, now and forevermore. Through your Son’s holy, grace-filled name.    Amen.

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