Thought for the Week

by the Rev Peter Willox

Vicar, St John's, Ben Rhydding

WE watched an extraordinarily strange film the other day. It was a bit of a gamble as we had not heard of it before, but the actors looked good and the blurb on Virgin films looked intriguing. It was called The Lobster. I have to say we regretted it.

Basically, although I may have misunderstood the plot totally, it was set in a dystopic future where it seemed that all people had lost the capacity to love and to form loving relationships. The film was incredibly depressing and yet… it did get me thinking. What would a world be like if we had no love?

The film helped in a way: its colour was washed out and drab, the acting was deliberately stilted and awkward, and there seemed to be little or no empathy between the characters. Without giving away the plot (just in case), people were paired up, not because they loved each other, but because they had a particular thing in common, which could be as little as both walking with a limp. There was no passion, no real connection, no heart stuff. Folk were not seeing each other as people but as objects, simply things, and a means to an end – if you failed to get partner you were turned into an animal of your choice! (Yes, I know!)

However, something happens between two of the characters that sparks a light of hope in the grey and, without spoiling the end, a decision has to be made which is based on sacrificing something precious for the sake of the other. Could this be love?

Love is a tricky thing to define at the best of times, partly because it comes in so many different shades (not all grey, he hastens to add) and forms. I love watching films (well, most of them), I love my Mum (God rest her soul) and I love my wife. I also love my kids, and my friends, and my dog… and chocolate.

The film got me thinking, perhaps a measure of love is to ask what would I be prepared to give up to ensure not losing the object of my affection. The greater the sacrifice the stronger the love. I wouldn’t give a great deal up for chocolate, and I regret spending £4.50 to view The Lobster. But, I ask myself, what would I give for my wife and my kids, for the ones I truly love? What would I be prepared to give up for the sake of someone else’s children… for other people… even those not from my country… fellow men and women who are in peril… even people who may wish me harm…how much do I love them, and what would I sacrifice for the sake of that love?

God gave an answer to that question by becoming one of us and then dying for us on a cross.