Dave spoke about a parable last night and reminded us that Jesus used everyday stories to gain the attention of his listeners; nowadays, he remarked, these are called ‘sermon illustrations’!
Funnily enough, I had been thinking of this since the morning sermon, because the previous day I had watched a 2012 Clint Eastwood film called ‘Trouble with the Curve’ which illustrated perfectly the issues concerning intimacy on which I had preached.
Clint Eastwood, doyen of Westerns, has matured into a thought-provoking director. I’ve loved most of his more recent films (‘Gran Turino’, a parable of meekness, and ‘Unforgiven’, for example, both of which illustrate Christian themes in beautifully written stories, the perfect example of tackling difficult issues obliquely in order to provoke contemplation and discussion.) The synopsis of the film (a sports drama about an ageing baseball scout and his daughter) did not sound overly promising, for I know nothing about baseball and care even less. However, on the basis of Clint Eastwood’s reputation and the strength of the rest of the cast (Amy Adams, Justin Timberlake and John Goodman), I was prepared to watch.
The film, ultimately, is not really about baseball. It’s not really about how to spot talent or about the game, though you undoubtedly learn about baseball from it! It’s actually about the difficult and complicated relationship between the main character, Gus, and his daughter, Mickey (named after his favourite baseball player) and about how this grizzly old man has always had difficulty with intimacy. Following the death of his wife when Mickey was just six, Gus has not been able to cope with his own loss, nor with the responsibility of bringing his daughter up; he has never been able to talk about his feelings, and his actions, meant for good, have nonetheless led to her growing alienation and yet also to her desperation to please him. The tensions of this relationship, how this has meant Mickey is reluctant to enter into other relationships because she fears similar rejection from others, and how old age and illness (prostate problems and macular degeneration are issues here) finally bring the two together for long enough to talk form the real focus of the film. Clint Eastwood plays the character of a grumpy old man with such skill you wonder how much is acting and how much is his own personality, always the reflection of a skilled actor! The difficulties of real relationships are interwoven throughout the action of the film in such a way that anyone who has ever struggled to communicate honestly in a relationship can identify with the characters. The film is perhaps predictable, but there is an underlying sense of honesty about the difficulties of intimacy which resonates, and as with all parables, it is the real theme which lingers. I have already forgotten most of the baseball facts in the film; I will not easily forget the astonishment when Gus realises that his daughter has completely misinterpreted his motives and feels rejected as a result.