Rack Focus: Switching to Mad Max and Philippians
A simple (fury!) road map for September at R-Rated Movie Club
Rack Focus: Switching to Mad Max and the Philippians
Good morning, Dear Reader.
It’s time to rack focus again and shift to a different part of the Bible for a few weeks. On Sunday, we’re going to change from a weekly entry of a scripture quote Matthew, the first gospel and first book of the New Testament, to Philippians, the 50th book of the Bible and the 11th book of the New Testament. We’ll also dive into one of my favorite movies, Mad Max: Fury Road, for these four weeks, too!
For more on why we “rack focus” here and how it works, check out the first Rack Focus post in the archives.
About Philippians
Philippians is an epistle (fancy Bible word for “letter”) written by the apostle Paul to a church in the city of Philippi. From its content, we can derive that Paul had a hand in starting this church and is now writing to the people from prison. Paul was a strategic leader in the early Christian movement, and planting a church in Philippi - a northern Greece city on a major trade route - was a smart move to spread the word about Jesus. His letter focuses on Jesus being for all people, that joy in life can be abundant, and to “run the race” of a faith-in-action life is how we “press toward the goal.” It’s a letter of personal passion, emphasizing gratitude for Jesus and faithful community.
For a simple summary of Philippians, including an outline, background on how it was written, and its theological themes, I recommend Enter the Bible. This website is curated by staff and faculty of Luther Seminary, my alma mater. You can read for free, or create an account and read sections as a “course” for free. There are a lot of resources about the Bible on the Internet, and not all sources are created equal! Enter the Bible is scholarly and accessible. It’s about building knowledge and building faith. And it’s created and curated by people I trust. Learn more about their approach online.
Enter the Bible curates a podcast, too. Here’s a few video samples that are just over 1 minute long each, all focused on Philippians:
“The Ignatian Way” is about why Paul planted churches on this major trade route:
“Mind of Christ” is about Philippians chapter 2, known as the “Christ hymn” about the “why” of Jesus:
“How Paul Writes Letters” is about, well, how Paul writes letters. Ahem.
The Revised Common Lectionary (see below) has four entries for Philippians this fall. There are four chapters, four major themes, and four weeks - voila! Every once in a while, a Bible text just pops into the RCL out of nowhere and is forced to stand on its own. This is our chance to do a basic overview all at once. It’s the Cliffs Notes version of the okay, we’ve got to come up with a way to say this that doesn’t rely on a name brand!
About Mad Max: Fury Road
We’ll also try something new for R-Rated Movie Club. All four Quotes with Notes with Philippians will use quotes from Mad Max: Fury Road. Wow, is that a good movie. I’ve held off on writing about it all this time in anticipation of this unique opportunity to put them all together with a book of the Bible. But who knows, I think Mad Max: Fury Road is amazing film that is worthy of being a Feature Presentation someday. And as the Philippians entries follow the letter in chapter order, the movie quotes will come in chronological order. It’s the Cliffs Notes of movie summar I really can’t think of another way to say this?!
Here’s a sample road map to what we’ll cover in Philippians over the next few weeks:
September 10, 2023
Philippians 1:21-30 | Paul writes his introduction to the letter. He greets the community, thanks them for their faith and support, and encourages them to keep it up and thank God along the way.
Mad Max: Fury Road | Max introduces himself. He speaks of his tragic past, his isolated present, and does some simple yet effective world building (hint: the world of Max Max is not pretty).
September 17, 2023
Philippians 2:1-13 | Paul writes what is often called the “Christ Hymn,” a poetic theological statement about how Jesus connects with humankind.
Mad Max: Fury Road | The tyrant Immortan Joe barks out a declaration of his (false) messiahship to the crowds.
September 24, 2023
Philippians 3:4b-14 | Paul uses the analogy of “running a race” as he encourages his readers and himself to “press on toward the goal” in their faithful living.
Mad Max: Fury Road | We’ll have two quotes. The first is from Furiosa to others in one of her bravest moments. The second is from Max to Furiosa in one of her toughest moments.
October 1, 2023
Philippians 4:1-9 | Paul reaches the conclusion of his letter with hope and encouragement for all that is to come.
Mad Max: Fury Road | The movie is over! But when they cut to black, words from an unseen historian in the Mad Max universe come onto the screen that sums up the movie’s overall theme.
How do I choose scripture quotes?
If we go way, way, way back to the beginning with Sunday Matinee #1, you’ll find a succinct explanation of how I pull quotes from the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL). A lectionary is a tool for preachers and worship leaders to select scripture readings to inspire sermons, liturgy, and music for worship services. There are several lectionaries out there, and while the RCL is far from perfect, it is also by far the well-known and widely-used.
In the RCL, each Sunday has an Old Testament reading, a Psalm, a Gospel reading, and New Testament epistle reading. The RCL has three annual cycles, Years A, B, and C, and we’re halfway through Year A, focusing on the Gospel of Matthew (these next four weeks are, according to plan, the last four entries focusing on Matthew for the rest of 2023). This is also a good time to remind readers that the scripture in a Sunday Matinee is posted two weeks prior to its RCL appearance to help R-Rated Movie Club be more helpful for preachers, Bible studies, and people who want to read ahead before their church’s worship service.
For the first year of R-Rated Movie Club, I plan to focus on these RCL texts:
January-April: Matthew (Gospel)
April-May: Acts (New Testament)
May-August: Genesis (Old Testament)
August-September: Matthew (Gospel) - You are here.
September: Philippians (New Testament) - You are here.
October-November: 1 Thessalonians (New Testament)
November-December: Isaiah/2 Samuel (Old Testament) RCL Year B begins
I hope to be writing R-Rated Movie Club for a long time and using a variety of scripture readings keeps this project fresh for me, just like using a variety of movies does.
Thank you for your support!
In case you need a refresher on what “rack focus” means in the movies, once again here is the amazing video from No Film School about the Rack Focus technique. Know it, love it!