Constantine

I saw Constantine this evening. I am not good at placing movies into categories, but I rather think it is a sort of "supernatural thriller," for lack of a better word. I will make a reference or two to the movie, so if you have not seen it and despise hearing about a movie before you see it, read no further.

Really.

At one point in the movie, we have an image of Hell. At first, it is a desolate wasteland, but as we look beneath the surface we see a writhing mass of demons essentially feeding on a mass of tortured humanity. I believe this scene lends visceral weight to the motivations of the main character, but that is beside the point.

Hell. As the movie let out, I could not help but look around at the people surrounding me. This one, made in the image of God Almighty; that one worth the life of Jesus Christ; over there, a person quite possibly heading on the road to eternal damnation. All seemingly unaware.

Take time to sit in a crowded or busy place and watch humanity move about you. Hear pieces of communication - that means by which the ephemeral thoughts and movements of our spirits touch the physical world through things as mundane as the vibration of air molecules and the scratching of graphite on paper.

See the most homely person and realize that they bear the likeness of the Lord of Creation; see the most beautiful and weep for a fallen creature. Hear the wise, and know that the wisdom of God is greater than the wisdom of man; see a fool and know that God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. Eternity touches us here and now - every moment, every thought on display in a perplxing tapestry of the glory of God.

See the people around you... and pray. Pray for the grace to touch those you can, pray for mercy for those who are lost, pray for the men for whom our Lord prayed "Father forgive them."

The great horror of hell is not pain, whether physical or psychological. It is that creatures meant to be vessels of the love of God become vessels of wrath. That the place of condemnation for the rebellious angels becomes also a place of condemnation for those who bear His image.

The horror of hell is not the CGI images writing on the screen, it is the people watching those images with me in the theater. Never forget that the nameless faces surrounding us are self-determining individuals just as you and I. Faces that may one day look out and see eternal death consuming them.

Real people, every one.