The Gospel According to Woody Allen
Image found here.
If you haven’t already seen Woody Allen’s Oscar contender Midnight in Paris, you may want to stop reading until you have. (And I highly recommend you see it, it is amazing on so many levels!)
The film’s leading male, Gil (Owen Wilson), is convinced that he was made for another time. Unsatisfied with his current life, he believes he would be happier living in the golden age of Paris in the 1920s.
At midnight one evening, as Gil is walking the present day streets of Paris, an old car stops and its passengers invite him to go to a party. He soon discovers he is in the 1920s, with all of his favorite writes, musicians and artists. He is living his dream.
He returns to present day Paris during the day, and each night travels back to the golden time of Paris in the 1920s. He soon falls for a 1920s woman, Adriana (Marion Cotillard), who also believes she was destined for another era. However, she romanticizes about living in the 1890s.
Before long, Gil and Adriana are visiting the 1890s. As Adriana pleads with Gil to stay there with her, he finally realizes something. “Adriana,” he says, “if you stay here though, and this becomes your present then pretty soon you’ll start imagining another time was really your…You know, was really the golden time. Yeah, that’s what the present is. It’s a little unsatisfying because life’s a little unsatisfying.”
I don’t normally talk to the characters on the screen, but I couldn’t help but shout, “Yes, Gil, yes! That’s exactly it! None of us were made for this place, this time!”
In this amazing film, Woody Allen is telling The Story. The one that whether we acknowledge it or not, we are all living. He is playing on the dissonance we all feel – we were all built to feel – with our present day lives, with our world as it currently is. We are not home here; this is not the golden era. Woody knows it, I know it, and you know it.
I saw this movie several weeks ago, and I have thought about it almost every day since. It has spurred me to ponder the role I’m supposed to play in the transformation that is happening to our broken world. It has led me to pray for those that feel disillusioned with their life. It has caused me to meditate on the cross, the vehicle that allows for my transport to the golden age that is coming.
But, these very healthy, very appropriate ponderings are always accompanied by another thought. “Is it really possible that God can use Woody Allen to draw me closer to Him? Is it wise to allow this film to affect me so deeply?”
Several decades ago, whether it was directly taught by someone at church, or just interpreted this way by my pubescent mind, I developed an ideology that says, “If you’re not for God, you’re against Him.”
Bible verses like 1 Corinthians 15:33, 2 Corinthians 6:14 and 2 John 1:9-11 were illustrated as evidence that I should build a wall between me and those who don’t profess to be Christians. I soon came to believe that God could never use an unbeliever in my life. I was supposed to influence them, without letting them influence me.
Sometime in college, that philosophy began to break down. I began to realize that influence most often and appropriately happens in the context of love and relationship. I looked to the example of Jesus. He was known for keeping some surprising company. He welcomed some unexpected individuals into His inner circle. So, I started to trust in the power of Love to redeem all of us through relationship.
The walls I had put up between me and “them” deteriorated even further as I pondered the truth that we are all made in His image, reflecting His nature (Genesis 1:27), and yet we are all broken (Romans 3:23). Slowly, I was beginning to see that accepting the gift of Love and Grace means extending it to others – often in the context of relationship.
Then, in my early 20s, I went to stay for a few weeks at a Hindu Ashram for my yoga teacher training. I was terrified. I was sure that I would be alone there. Not only did I fear I wouldn’t find any kindred spirits, my bad ideology had me doubting that the Spirit could follow me there.
It was in that place, surrounded by people who became great friends and completely covered in the loving embrace of the Holy Spirit, that the walls between me and “them” were torn down completely. I learned there that God can use anyone; that He is at work in everyone.
I haven’t thrown out my need to be discerning and prudent. But, today I believe that if my heart is seeking God, if my desire is for my Father, then I will find Him – even in a Woody Allen film.
P.S. This post is part of my lent series. Over these 40 days, I’m reading a fabulous book, fasting from sweets and desserts and working to discern the voice of God from the voices of the questionable ideology I’ve developed over the years.
I’d love to hear your thoughts! Did you love Midnight in Paris? Where have you found God in an unexpected place?
