Shining the Spotlight

In John 16, Jesus taught about the Holy Spirit, who would come after He was back in heaven with His Father.
7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.
8 And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
9 of sin, because they do not believe in Me;
10 of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more;
11 of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

The Holy Spirit will illuminate our souls - He wants to bring healing and restoration in our hearts and minds, and He will do that as we take God's Word seriously and allow Him to point out areas in our lives that He wishes to change.  In accordance with His truth, He will reveal how we have fallen short, but the good news is that He doesn't leave us in our insufficiency; no, Christ becomes our sufficiency to right the wrongs, to remedy those areas that need to be healed.

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In Luke 8, we read this passage about transparency and Biblical responsibility:
17 For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light.
18 Therefore take heed how you hear. For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him."

It seems that when you have a major awards show, the discussion following the event will center around controversial moments in the presentations, sometimes at the expense of showcasing who actually won!  I think that the Oscars may have struck a delicate balance of being controversial, but also calling attention to a winner, which itself dealt with a sensitive issue.  Now, I will not endorse some of the language or references in host Chris Rock's comments, nor the language and thematic elements in the Best Picture, Spotlight, but this year's Oscars reminds us of issues that the Church needs to be speaking into.

Rock, of course, an African-American host, did not shy away from the #OscarsSoWhite controversy, which grew this year out of a lack of Black nominees in the major categories - you had some actors who boycotted the show entirely, and some actually attended a fundraiser to benefit the victims of the water crisis in Flint, Michigan.  The much-maligned Stacey Dash, who had chided fellow African-Americans for complaining while embracing BET and Black History Month, was jokingly brought out on stage as some inclusion and diversity head for the Oscars, which reviews said was an awkward moment.

On the Hollywood Reporter website, Daniel Fienberg wrote:

In the end, Rock's monologue was blistering and relevant and really funny, but every viewer is going to decide for themselves whether it accomplished what needed to be done — or if anything needed to be done at all.

Feinberg continued:

But for people who think this actually is a serious thing because movies are supposed to be a reflection of society — and the Oscars are supposed to be a reflection of the best in movies — the actual effectiveness may have been mixed. Rock attacked the problem, while minimizing it; announced the racism, but made it seem benign and friendly; offered solutions, but the main feigned solution was black-only categories like "best black friend..."

So, Rock resorted to what he does - comedy - to perhaps make people in the room feel uncomfortable and to address a serious issue with a lighter touch.  Fortunately, for us as Christians, we can depend on the Holy Spirit to provide a gracious approach when addressing an issue that we need to confront. That goes for race relations...

...and for another topic that has grown from Oscar night: sexual abuse.  The Best Picture went to Spotlight, which dealt with the journalistic treatment of instances of abuse in the Roman Catholic Church.   Richard Ostling wrote on the Get Religion website:

On Sunday, Hollywood did its bit to boost the news biz by giving the best picture Oscar to the must-see “Spotlight,” correctly regarded as the best movie depiction ever of real newspaper work. The film, of course, depicts The Boston Globe effort that exposed the extent of Catholic priests’ sexual molestation in the area archdiocese thanks to shoe-leather fieldwork and documents gained by a strategic lawsuit and a state judge’s edict.

On Focus on the Family's Plugged In website, former reporter Paul Asay wrote this in relation to the movie:

The sexual scandal revealed in part by the Spotlight team at The Boston Globe is, with certainty, a roadblock to religion for many. It was for the reporters who covered it, for many of the victims who lived it, for some who simply read and watched the story from afar. And it will be a roadblock for some moviegoers, too. This is not a film that encourages us to embrace the spiritual richness found in the churches around us. Instead, it encourages deep skepticism about how God's plan for His people can ever be realized in a world so full of sin.

But maybe that skepticism is good. Even wise. The Bible itself shows us many a fallen leader, many a hypocrite. None of those wayward souls diminished the Light that is Christ. And if we are honest, we will realize that what we see in Spotlight is a mess of humanity's making, not God's.

The Plugged In review included the Scripture reference of Luke 8:17.

And, the Vatican's paper lauded the selection of Spotlight.  According to the Variety website:

In a front page editorial published Monday afternoon, the newspaper owned by the Holy See said the drama reconstructing the Boston Globe’s investigation into sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, and efforts to cover it up, faithfully portrays how the Church tried to defend itself despite a “horrible reality.”

“Predators do not necessarily wear ecclesiastical vestments, and paedophilia does not necessarily stem from the vow of chastity” cautioned the editorial’s author, Lucetta Scaraffia. “But it is now clear that, in the Church, too many people concerned themselves more with the image of the institution than the gravity of the act.”

The article continued by saying:

The editorial also addressed the call on Pope Francis made by “Spotlight” co-producer Michael Sugar during the ceremony at the Dolby Theatre. It “must be seen as a positive signal: There is still trust in the institution and in a pope who is pressing ahead with the cleaning up begun by his predecessor,” it opined.

A couple of thoughts in light of the Oscar ceremony and the issues raised.  I believe that healing comes through transparency.  The Oscar race controversy was something that was very visible prior to the awards show and kudos to Chris Rock for not shying away from it.  Where there are differences, healthy attention and dialogue can help move toward resolution.   In the case of Spotlight, the movie showed that the exposure of abuse in a religious community was important in providing steps toward improving the conditions.

In our own personal lives, I believe that the Holy Spirit is very faithful in exposing the areas of our lives that need to change.   The Word of God will act as a light to shine on those dark areas in our consciousness and behavior.  He provides the necessary exposure as we expose ourselves to His truth and guidance.   We have to be sensitive to His direction and exhibit the willingness to allow Him to alter our lives.