INCARNATION!

We saw King Kong yesterday—that’s right, this is another movie report from your favorite cinema aficionado.

So my brother, my nephews, and I made the pilgrimage to the local house of celluloid. The thing was three hours long. And loud (my brother complained that it was so noisy, he couldn’t sleep—his modus operandi in movie theaters!).

The mutant beast was fabulously and realistically portrayed by CGI (computer-generated imagery), with help from Andy Serkis (of Gollum fame). Remarkable the special effects achievable in silico! Very impressive. Like you’re almost in the presence of that fearsome creature.

The gargantuan gorilla was quite strikingly “human”—anthropomorphized, shall we say, portraying facial expressions, gestures, and, seemingly, even thoughts akin to those of the species Homo sapiens. Though not one of us by a long shot, KK appears, nevertheless, to have fallen in love with Ann Darrow (Naomi Watts)! And, if falling in love weren’t enough, the gorilla is privileged to sit on one of the apices of your classic love triangle—the other male in the tournament corner being Jack Driscoll (Adrien Brody). Can’t get much more humanoid than that! Or … can it?

After one kinda gets used to the “persona” of Kong, the animal is, towards the end of the movie, killed atop the Empire State Building. I wasn’t sure if the storyline could correctly be labeled a tragedy, but it had all the ingredients of one. One almost felt sorry for “Mr.” Kong at the end. If only Ann and the rest could have communicated with it (him?) better …. If only those humans could have spoken gorilla-ese …. Or even transformed themselves into gorillas, at least temporarily …. Communication across species lines just doesn’t cut it: Ann dances, KK roars; she juggles, it grunts; the lady does cartwheels, the gorilla thumps its chest. Not much of a gripping tête-à-tête dialogue.

King Kong an appropriate theme for Christmas? You bet!

The amazing thing about our world is that once upon a time, about two millennia ago, God did invade it and become one of us! He burst into His creation, becoming fully human (skin, hair, nails, … —the works), and speaking human-ese, so that our own story wouldn’t crumble into an eternal tragedy. What an incredible scenario—God becoming man, eternity intersecting time—a plot that transcends all comprehension, that outclasses and outsoars by far, any other narrative of any kind, anywhere, any time!

God, Jesus Christ, became human, one of us—fully. And died on the cross and was resurrected, paying the price for our sins—fully. My sins. And yours.

“… you shall call His name Jesus,
for He will save His people from their sins.”
Matthew 1:21

He made Him who knew no sin
to be sin on our behalf,
so that we might become
the righteousness of God in Him.
2 Corinthians 5:21

For God so loved the world,
that He gave His only begotten Son,
that whoever believes in Him
shall not perish,
but have eternal life.
John 3:16

For believers, eternal life with God is assured. A purposeful life now has begun. What movie can beat that plot! The Greatest Story Ever Told! Indeed!

Rejoice! He is come! And … He is coming again!

Have a blessed Christmas!