Jesus at Dunkirk

A few weeks ago, my father, a friend and I went to see the movie Dunkirk in the theater. As the movie ended and the credits started to roll, I could feel tears in my eyes and a lump in my throat. Walking back to the car, I puzzled over why the movie had affected me so much. Many of characters in the movie had displayed bravery and heroism, but that was nothing new. I had seen heroism before in other movies and books. Why had I reacted so strongly this time? Somehow, the movie had hit my heart in an unexpected area, an area that was vulnerable to the sacrifice I had seen in the movie
            I realized that, when you look beneath the surface, most of the best stories have a common message: that goodness and beauty are worth sacrifice. In The Lord of the Rings, Frodo makes great sacrifices to save those things that are good in Middle-Earth. To protect the Shire and the rest of Middle-earth, he takes on the burden of the Ring, risking his life to destroy it. But, what is more, he sacrifices his peace, his wholeness, to end the evil of Sauron. His ordeal leaves him changed, unable to continue living his life as before, unable to find peace. All great stories have this shared sacrificial theme. However, they are but reflections and signposts pointing to the greatest sacrifice of all. When Jesus was nailed to the cross, he took all the sins of the world on his shoulders. He endured this unimaginable burden for the sake of the most beautiful and good thing possible: The formation of a loving community of disciples, united in the unending glory and bliss of God.
            When we see or hear stories of sacrifice and heroism, we are really performing a sacramental activity. We are growing to understand the character of God (something that is intangible) through the use of physical, tangible things. Stories of heroism we hear on the news, the sacrificial activities of fictional characters, these affect us so much because through them we are reminded of a great truth, that the God we worship is one is eternally giving, willing to offer even his life to pursue those he loves.
            Sacrifice is essential to Christianity. We all know that Jesus sacrificed his own life so we might live, but it doesn’t stop there. Christians are called to imitate Christ, our Teacher, in the act of sacrifice. The Christian life is one continual sacrificial act. We give up our old dead flesh in order that we might receive new life.

            We need stories of sacrifice like Dunkirk, because they are an invaluable reminder to us. The Christian path is paved with sacrifice; beginning and ending in that greatest sacrifice of Christ.

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