Jack’s Winning Words 4/20/20
“Problems that upset you?  Everything’s fine, yes, everything’s fine.  Try not to get worried, everything’s alright, yes!”  (From Jesus Christ, Superstar)  “It’s Easter!  What movie shall we watch?  Ben Hur?  The 10 Commandments?  The Easter Parade?  We chose Jesus Christ Superstar…perfect for a time like now.  “Try not to get worried!”  Yes, the film ends with Jesus on the cross, but we were able to say, “Christ has risen!  He is risen, indeed!”  Everything’s fine!  ;-)  Jack

FROM LK MIN OH:  It's good to hear from you daily as always! You DO "keep the faith", and I rejoice! ===JACK:  "Almost" daily is a good description!  My computer some times has a virus...or maybe a mind of its own.  

FROM BG IN POH:  Christ is risen, indeed! Alleluia!  Your Winning Words are inspiring. In the midst of COVID-19 time, this message of hope is what the world needs.===JACK:  Once a pastor, always a pastor.  Some of just can't give up the message.

FROM BB IIN CHGO:  Interesting quote. The musical score was good. We often watch Monty Python’s Life of Brian.  Tim always appreciated the comedy in seeing The disciples as rather clueless fans who are misinterpreting so much of what they hear.===JACK:  It's interesting to discover truly "religious" messages in that which seems to be classified as entertainment.  J C, Superstar is just one example.  "Dreamcoat" is another.  Winning Words is meant to be entertaining with a religious edge.===BB:  You hit the mark. Always timely, thought-provoking and interesting

FROM MAILMAN MIKE:  Excellent movie choice, Jack.  Keep those winning words coming!===JACK:  During the "lockdown" we've been watching lots of films.  Any suggestions from you?===MM:  Good Morning, Jack.  One of my favorite movies of all time was Gandhi, starring Ben Kingsley.  Biography covering his life from the early days of his social activism in South Africa to his assassination after India's independence and the Civil War/partition.  Added bonus:  Ravi Shankar does the sound track. ===JACK:  We watched Gandhi on Good Friday.  For me, it fit perfectly for that day.  I liked his quote: "I am a Muslim, a Hindu, a Christian and a Jew."  Some people may have trouble wrapping their head around that.

FROM HONEST JOHN:  The movie got it right....Jesus ends on the cross.....that is where the world is no matter how rosy or cheery one’s outlook may be.   Faith knows the resurrection gives Hope but hope isn’t needed where everything is fine....Hope is for the guy hanging on the cross with Jesus...or the guy in the line up, waiting to be gassed...or the people living with a lying idiot as their leader...===JACK:  It's amazing how our "basic training" shows up in our conversations with each other.  I'm so glad that my college/seminary education was built on a philosophical foundation.

FROM ST PAUL:  btw,  for many years,  Ben Hur was my favorite all -time movie.  i first saw it on the big screen in 1959 in Chicago and have seen it at least 10 times since.  i also own it of course.  i also loved the 1956 Ten Commandments.  then i just fell in love with historical epics of any kind.   Dr. Zhivago,  Lawrence of Arabia,  El Cid,  Patton,  Titanic,  Gone with the Wind.  ANY film that takes me a different place and time.   Saving Private Ryan, Master and Commander,  and even the PBS Ken Burns series (11 of them i think),  ALL are informative on one level or anther.  Easter blessings on your day,  Jack!  PLH    btw,  did you see On The Basis of Sex?   no its not a porno flick  its the story of Ruth Bader Ginsberg young life as the first or second woman admitted to the Harvard Law School and then her earlier career.  its a very good film! ===JACK:  Thanks for the movie suggestions.  Usually I do not like Hollywood's version of the Bible, so I steer clear of them.  Ken Burns is one of my alltime favorite film producers.  We "bought" OTBOS knowing that it was about RBG....what a hero!===SP:  Franco Zefferelli's  Jesus Of Nazareth was very well done back in the 1970s. but  I agree,  most other productions were not well done.  some  other good movies  The Green Book,  First Man (on the moon, the  Neil Armstrong story),  Black and White, Ghandi (early 1980s), Wonder,  Sweetland, A Man Named Ove,  Hidden Figures,   Amistad, and Imitation Game  (breaking the Nazi Code at Bletchley Park during WW II)   all good movies in my not so humble opinion. PLH   also,   Sully, (Sullenberg and the landing on the Hudson River)  Lion (an amazing true story), and The Greatest Showman, if you like musicals. ===JACK:When did you have time to write sermons?  Oh, that's right!  The movies became your illustrations!===SP:  many of them did!  do you recall the movie Chocolat?  a really good film about a French village that is changed by a powerful wind and a very loving woman.  i built a whole Pentecost sermon around this movie.