“What to Do When Everything
Goes Sideways?”
Oscar Film Sermon Series
“Juno”
Song of Songs 2:10-13 John 8:1-11
Rev. Gary Paterson
March 9, 2008
It is becoming a bit of a monthly discipline, to re-read the opening chapter of Genesis, and listen to those amazing words ringing away, like the resonant tolling of a great bell -- “And God saw everything that God had made – and behold it was very good.” Darkness and light; stars, sun and moon; earth and water; green grass bursting forth… and flowers, too; creatures crawling, fish swimming, birds flying… And behold it was very good. Then comes the sixth day, and human beings, male and female, are created in the image of God; the bell continues to sound … these new creatures, they too are very good.It’s something I need to be reminded of, this great goodness of creation, in a life that often becomes so busy that I do not consider the lilies of the field and the birds of the air. Blind to the beauty, the wonder, and the deep-down goodness of creation, I am too easily caught up in worry and cynicism and, eventually, despair. I forget that we live in a world of original blessing.
Then, following directly from that first chapter… with only a passing glance at the second chapter of Genesis… I mean, I know we mess up, badly; that we humans make some real bad decisions, that we sin… I don’t need reminding… no, I would instead, recommend turning to “The Song of Songs”, where there is a wild, sensual dream of returning to the Garden, even if only for a few moments, through the power of human love. “The Song of Songs”… so full of passion, romance, beauty and sexuality -- which may be why it doesn’t pop up all that often on a Sunday morning. If you’re consistent about using the Lectionary, that three year cycle of Sunday morning Bible readings, you get one chance to hear verses from this book of Scripture every three years. Not a lot of opportunities to get caught up by the wonder and the joy of the two lovers at the centre of the story:
Those are the verses you normally hear when “The Song of Songs” is mentioned in morning worship. But I would refer you also to Chapter Six, where the earthiness of this book becomes more explicit. A young man is gazing upon his beloved, and begins to enumerate her delights….hair, eyes, cheeks, lips, neck… perhaps that’s where we should stop? But, no, but he continues on… remember, God saw everything that God had created, and behold it was very good… so we hear about breasts, belly, thighs… well, and here I will stop, although if you continue reading, you will discover euphemisms for our human genitals that you had never imagined. That’s right… part of our original blessing is our sexuality. I think it was St. Augustine who once suggested that the closest any of us are going to get to heaven in this life is in the marriage bed.My beloved speaks and says to me:“Arise my love, my fair one, and come away;For now the winter is past,The rain is over and gone.The flowers appear on the earth;The time of singing has come..The vines are in blossom; they give forth fragrance.…”My beloved is mine, and I am [my beloved’s!]
Now, if sixteen year old Juno of movie fame were present today, she’d probably be rolling her eyes, and squirming with embarrassment… TMI… too much information! But I suspect that she would also be secretly delighted to discover that the Bible affirms that our bodies are wonderful, and that sex can be joy-filled.
Sexuality is one of God’s good gifts… for its pleasure and joy; for the way in which it leads to deep bonding between two human beings, an expression of love and care and intimacy. And, of course, sexuality also brings with it the promise of new life – not always intended, perhaps – yes, Juno, not very smart to have unprotected sex; on the right day, even once is enough to start a baby. But that doesn’t mean that sexuality it wonderful. Listen to this poem, “Gate 22”, by Ellen Bass…. you’ll catch a glimpse of what I mean:
Ah… the hunger for such kisses… crushed in our mouths… our heads tilted up. And behind that, our yearning to know that we are loved… hoping someone will gaze upon us that way… as if we were the first sunrise seen from Earth. Someone who loves us for who we are, precious, and oh so very, very good.At gate C22 in the Portland airporta man in a broad-band leather hat kisseda woman arriving from Orange County.They kissed and kissed and kissed. Long afterthe other passengers clicked the handles of their carry-onsand wheeled briskly toward short-term parking,the couple stood there, arms wrapped around each otherlike he'd just staggered off the boat at Ellis Island,like she'd been released at last from ICU, snappedout of a coma, survived bone cancer, made it downfrom Annapurna in only the clothes she was wearing.Neither of them was young. His beard was gray.She carried a few extra pounds you could imagineher saying she had to lose. But they kissed lavish kisseslike the ocean in the early morning,the way it gathers and swells, suckingeach rock under, swallowing itagain and again. We were all watching —passengers waiting for the delayed flightto San Jose, the stewardesses, the pilots,the aproned woman icing Cinnabons, the man sellingsunglasses. We couldn't look away. We couldtaste the kisses crushed in our mouths.But the best part was his face. When he drew backand looked at her, his smile soft with wonder, almostas though he were a mother still open from giving birth,as your mother must have looked at you, no matterwhat happened after — if she beat you or left you oryou're lonely now — you once lay there, the vernixnot yet wiped off, and someone gazed at youas if you were the first sunrise seen from the Earth.The whole wing of the airport hushed,all of us trying to slip into that woman's middle-aged body,her plaid Bermuda shorts, sleeveless blouse, glasses,little gold hoop earrings, tilting our heads up.
But precisely because of the deep power of sexuality, and the potential for new life, we humans struggle to establish guidelines and norms that will help us in our sexual choices and behaviours. We learn from the wisdom of past generations, who set up signposts: “Here be dragons.” If you carry on in certain ways, then the odds are huge that there will be trouble. If you have any doubts, go read Leviticus. Or scan through recent Parliamentary debate about the age of consent… 14, 15, 16? And is it different for girls and boys, for heterosexual or homosexual?
There are excellent reasons for such guidelines… for rules and laws. How do we protect people from exploitation, the dangers of power differentials, from predators? What about issues of health, safety, contraception? And pregnancy… and sometimes, abortion? And what about broken hearts? No, we need our rules and guidelines. When adult men hit on teen age girls, this is not okay. And when sixteen year olds get pregnant… this is a problem. As Juno said, “My baby needs a good home. I’m not ready for this responsibility; I’m just in high school.”
On the other hand, rules and guidelines have a way of generating their own energy and power, as if they were some vast dam holding back the forces of chaos. We forget their original purpose, and instead they become a means to punish and control; to shame others and demand conformity. They can become a justification for finger-pointing at rule-breakers, back-sliders, those who lack will power, and quickly we categorize people… the nice girls who don’t, and the bad girls who will; a division arises between the righteous and the sinners.
Over and over Jesus challenged this way of thinking – not that he was against rules, but he understood how quickly they become weapons, a means of excluding others, of saying, “Not welcome!” He cried out, “Remember, the Sabbath was made for humanity; not humanity for the Sabbath.” He deliberately broke the rules of who could eat with whom, and spent a lot of time with… well, as the Gospel says… with “prostitutes, tax collectors and sinners”… with those who were on the wrong side of the rules.
Perhaps the classic story was the one we heard today, about the woman caught in the act of adultery. The law said she should be publicly stoned… punishment, deterrent… whatever. But Jesus invited those who were without sin to cast the first stone… a Jesus one-liner that has stood the test of time, no? But it’s the ending that intrigues: Jesus looks at the woman… “Does no one condemn you?” he asks. And she replies, “No, sir.” And he finishes, saying, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and sin no more.” Adultery… not good. Here be dragons. Perhaps understandable, but always problematic… Sin no more. The rules are there for a reason. Nevertheless, let’s not race to judgment, condemnation, finger-pointing … and punishment.
All of which is a long preamble to talking about the film “Juno”. The opening scene sets the stage… sixteen year old Juno, in the local drugstore, working away on her third pregnancy test, hoping the little pink plus sign will somehow magically disappear. Which, of course, it doesn’t. And we’re off and running into the action.
The film feels like a wonderful contrapuntal, interweaving of reactions to this dilemma. Yes, it’s serious – teenage pregnancy is problematic. And on the rise! On the other hand… pregnancy is an ordinary, every-day occurrence. Teens are going to have sex; let’s not pretend. Maybe it’s simple curiosity; maybe they get bored… like Juno and Paulie, watching “The Blair Witch Project” for the 4th time, wondering what else they might get up to. And that’s before any conversation about hormones, and passion, and getting carried away. When Juno’s best friend Leah asked, “What did it feel like to hold Bleeker’s bony body?” Juno answered “Magnificent!” Of course!!
I remember a long ago story, from when I was young. A phone call… a distraught mother to her best friend… “Oh my God, it’s my daughter, oh I don’t believe it, oh what I we going to do?” Eventually her friend finally got a word in edgewise, full of tears, sympathy, totally convinced that the daughter in question was near death’s door -- “What’s the matter? What did the doctor say? Is she dying?” “No, no,” came the answer, “She’s pregnant!” Excuse me! – Yes, serious; but surely not a death sentence!
When Juno finally tells her parents, you watch that same intertwining of reaction. They respond with love, understanding and support; and yet, at the same time, they also express their disappointment. Juno’s father looks at her, saying, “I thought you were the kind of girl who knew when to say when.” And his daughter looks at him, and responds, “I don’t know what kind a girl I am.”
The film is full of sardonic humour, with great witty one-liners, that have you laughing away, until you suddenly realize that you’re laughing at the miracle of new life. Juno points out that in the school halls they call her the “cautionary whale” – it’s true; she is… and you do laugh, and then you think, well, um… shouldn’t we be treating all this more seriously. When Juno talks to the prospective adoptive parents, she says, “If I could just have the thing and give it to you right now, I’d absolutely do it.” Again, you laugh, but what’s with this talking about the baby as if it were a “thing”, an “it”. Even more bluntly, Juno refers to the baby as “this sweet screaming, pooping gift of life.”
But just when you are ready to accuse the film of taking all of this too lightly, then suddenly you have the scene at the ultrasound, where Juno, her friend Leah, and her step-mom Brenda are, all of them, caught by the miracle of new life. “Oh my God,” says Brenda… exactly, say I. Or what about the moment when Allison, the soon to be adoptive mother, oh so cool and well-dressed, meets Juno in the mall, and ends up on her knees, talking to the baby in the womb, “Hello, Baby… can you hear me? This is your mummy talking. I can’t wait to meet you.” That’s when she feels the baby kicking… and you know this is going to be all right. This baby will have a good home, with a lot of love.
Back and forth the movie goes… from abortion clinic to birthing room; to laughter and then to tears. But “Juno” is a deeply moral film, and for all of its smartass humour, it points to our deep human need to be loved. When the marriage of Mark and Jennifer --the couple whom Juno has chosen as her baby’s adoptive family -- when their marriage falls apart, Juno is devastated. She talks to her Dad, “Does any relationship work – how do people stay together?” You know she is remembering the fact that her own mother left her – and while her Dad and her step mother love her deeply, there is still that hurt. But maybe the film is suggesting there is always a second chance. What I would call grace… forgiveness and an open future. Yes consequences – you don’t just get pregnant and then pretend it never happened, whether that pregnancy ends in abortion, adoption or parenting. But there is a future; life is serious… but still full of possibility and laughter and hope.
When faced by his daughter’s question, Juno’s father offers hard-earned wisdom -- “You need to find someone who loves you for being yourself.” And isn’t that what we are all hungering for… to remember that someone once gazed upon us as if we were the first sunrise seen from Earth. To know that we are special and beloved… no matter what happens to us as life unfolds. Juno responds to her father’s words with a flash of recognition. There is a poignant moment of confusion, as her Dad asserts that he is that person for Juno… and that’s true – he does love his daughter for who she is. But Juno is already moving into her own future, and for her, that person is Paulie Bleeker. She runs to him, recognizing the love that they share…. “You’re so cool,” she says to Bleeker, “without even trying.” And then there’s that great line from Bleeker, “I try really hard, actually.” You can feel in that one line all the pain of everyone’s high school struggle to be accepted, the hunger to be accepted, to fit in… to be loved for who we are; to receive kisses and more kisses.
Who knows what will happen to these two young lovers. Hey, they are only sixteen… romance comes and goes. But we watch them with a wistful hope, and a smile, for we know that yearning for love. Probaby we recognize that every human relationship is only an approximation of total acceptance; but maybe in our deepest hearts we can catch a sense that it is precisely this kind of love and acceptance that is offered by God… the one who knows us for exactly who we are; the one who has looked at each one of us, over and over, as if we truly were the first sunrise seen from earth; the God who looks at every human being, and says, “Behold, you are very, very good… and I love you.”