The Journey 278: The Fight Against Evil
Read: Ephesians 6: 10-20
My name is Bond…...James Bond…..These are famous lines said by the movie character James Bond in all the James Bond movies. Today on October 5, for the first time in history, it has been decided to celebrate this day as James Bond day, in commemoration of 50 years of James Bond movies. As a youngster I still remember the conversations taking place in classrooms and doorways of our college whenever a new James Bond movie was released and how some of the youngsters of those days would take pride in saying that he/she just watched a “James Bond movie”. For those of us who were less privileged and who could not watch some of the Bond movies would often feel envious of the rest. But whatever said, James Bond was a character that people adored while watching the Ian Fleming movies. Looking back to the 50 years of James Bond, one finds that the fictional character had larger than life image in the minds of people. How did the name James Bond become so famous. James Bond, whose code name is 007, is a fictional character created by Ian Fleming in 1953, and adapted for television, radio, comic strip and video games formats. But it was in 1962 that the character of James Bond entered foray of movies with the movie “Dr. No”. It was Sean Connery who played as the role of James Bond for the first time and now for the last 50 years the role of James Bond has been played by different actors like George Lazenby, Roger Moore [who seemed to be the most famous actor who played the role of 007], Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan and finally Danielle Craig. The latest of the James Bond movie is Skyfall which is not yet released and is supposedly slated to release may be by the end of this year. What marked these James Bond films from the other films of those days was the extraordinary hi tech gadgets that James Bond and other characters used in each movies, the daring chases especially with the latest cars fitted with all electronic gadgets, the gun fights and of course each of the lead actresses who were supposedly the most beautiful and glamorous of them all. As you watched these movies you were transported to another world momentarily, where you find the secret agent fighting the evil forces of the world with latest armour and then finally emerging victorious. The gain of this fight over evil is that James Bond ultimately wins not only the fight over evil but also subdues and wins the heart of some lovely ladies. By the time you finish watching the movies, the impact of the movie has such an impact that people still try to remain in the imaginary and glamorous world of James Bond, thinking that all fights in the world between good and evil ends in the way it ends in a James Bond movies. But the truth is otherwise. As Christian, I am called out to stand for truth, justice and to resist the devil and the forces of darkness and evil. This is what our mission in the world is, but let us not think that in our fight for justice and peace we will be lavished with praises and that we shall be always applauded. As we meditate on the theme “ Transformed Living” the portion that we shall use for our meditation is from Ephesians 6:10-20. Here Paul exhorts that our fight in this world is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, the powers of this world and against the spiritual forces. For this battle Paul says that we are supposed take up the full armour of God so that we can resist the evil and to stand firm for justice. In the following verses from 14-19, Paul talks about the different resources that one needs to take in the fight over evil. Resources like girding the loin with truth, breastplate of righteousness, gospel of peace, shield of faith, helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit. These are the resources that a Christian uses in his fight for justice and peace and to withstand the forces of evil in the world. We need to remember that in this fight we might be alone and only God would be with us. In this fight we may not be recognized or showered with gifts and other worldly things, as James Bond gets when he fights, on the contrary we may even be ostracized and condemned in our fight for the Lord, in the fight to stand for what is right and just and in the fight against the forces of evil in the world. What is needed today is to ask the question whether we are willing to stand for the cause of justice and the fight against the evil in this world and also the willingness to go alone with God in this fight against injustice and evil. That is the difference between a Christian and James Bond.
Rev. Dr. Joe Joseph Kuruvilla
My name is Bond…...James Bond…..These are famous lines said by the movie character James Bond in all the James Bond movies. Today on October 5, for the first time in history, it has been decided to celebrate this day as James Bond day, in commemoration of 50 years of James Bond movies. As a youngster I still remember the conversations taking place in classrooms and doorways of our college whenever a new James Bond movie was released and how some of the youngsters of those days would take pride in saying that he/she just watched a “James Bond movie”. For those of us who were less privileged and who could not watch some of the Bond movies would often feel envious of the rest. But whatever said, James Bond was a character that people adored while watching the Ian Fleming movies. Looking back to the 50 years of James Bond, one finds that the fictional character had larger than life image in the minds of people. How did the name James Bond become so famous. James Bond, whose code name is 007, is a fictional character created by Ian Fleming in 1953, and adapted for television, radio, comic strip and video games formats. But it was in 1962 that the character of James Bond entered foray of movies with the movie “Dr. No”. It was Sean Connery who played as the role of James Bond for the first time and now for the last 50 years the role of James Bond has been played by different actors like George Lazenby, Roger Moore [who seemed to be the most famous actor who played the role of 007], Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan and finally Danielle Craig. The latest of the James Bond movie is Skyfall which is not yet released and is supposedly slated to release may be by the end of this year. What marked these James Bond films from the other films of those days was the extraordinary hi tech gadgets that James Bond and other characters used in each movies, the daring chases especially with the latest cars fitted with all electronic gadgets, the gun fights and of course each of the lead actresses who were supposedly the most beautiful and glamorous of them all. As you watched these movies you were transported to another world momentarily, where you find the secret agent fighting the evil forces of the world with latest armour and then finally emerging victorious. The gain of this fight over evil is that James Bond ultimately wins not only the fight over evil but also subdues and wins the heart of some lovely ladies. By the time you finish watching the movies, the impact of the movie has such an impact that people still try to remain in the imaginary and glamorous world of James Bond, thinking that all fights in the world between good and evil ends in the way it ends in a James Bond movies. But the truth is otherwise. As Christian, I am called out to stand for truth, justice and to resist the devil and the forces of darkness and evil. This is what our mission in the world is, but let us not think that in our fight for justice and peace we will be lavished with praises and that we shall be always applauded. As we meditate on the theme “ Transformed Living” the portion that we shall use for our meditation is from Ephesians 6:10-20. Here Paul exhorts that our fight in this world is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, the powers of this world and against the spiritual forces. For this battle Paul says that we are supposed take up the full armour of God so that we can resist the evil and to stand firm for justice. In the following verses from 14-19, Paul talks about the different resources that one needs to take in the fight over evil. Resources like girding the loin with truth, breastplate of righteousness, gospel of peace, shield of faith, helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit. These are the resources that a Christian uses in his fight for justice and peace and to withstand the forces of evil in the world. We need to remember that in this fight we might be alone and only God would be with us. In this fight we may not be recognized or showered with gifts and other worldly things, as James Bond gets when he fights, on the contrary we may even be ostracized and condemned in our fight for the Lord, in the fight to stand for what is right and just and in the fight against the forces of evil in the world. What is needed today is to ask the question whether we are willing to stand for the cause of justice and the fight against the evil in this world and also the willingness to go alone with God in this fight against injustice and evil. That is the difference between a Christian and James Bond.
Rev. Dr. Joe Joseph Kuruvilla