"Taken" and the Complexity of Love

"Jesus broke the heart of many 1st century Palestinian mothers and he hasn't stopped." Will Willimon attributed the quote to someone whose point was to urge parents to release their children to their college/university. The call to follow Jesus meant a death to other opportunities of following, including family.

I just saw the movie "Taken" with Heather. It's a story about a former gov't agent, played by Liam Neeson, whose daughter is abducted and forced into sex trafficking in Europe. It's a great action flick with all the necessary moments of justice / revenge. At one point Neeson's character is torturing his daughter's original abductor for information with electricity. In the movie, it felt right.

This past Sunday I preached on the holiness of God. I finished up the sermon with some reflections on this doctrine's practical implications for contemporary issues: sexuality, gossip, pride, and torture. I don't think torture is acceptable in any way. I knew this would rub some of my congregation the wrong way, so I acknowledged that and offered myself for a conversation on the subject. One true brother in Christ and mentor shared some thoughts with me about whether the torture of one prevents the murder of thousands. Indeed.

I wonder whether the justice of this scenario depends on the identity of the one tortured and the thousands saved. Certainly in the movie Neeson's character is driven because it was his daughter who was taken. I got to thinking about Jesus's call to abandon family to follow him. I wonder if this is the only way a society truly becomes loving: Breaking and reordering one's social commitments. Breaking and reordering one's list of those they are called to love. It obviously gets quite complex quite quickly.

I suppose this is part of the reason why the Roman Catholics don't allow their priests to marry and have children. It keeps life simpler. They are free to love all.