Rack Focus: Switching to the Old Testament
Rack Focus: Switching to the Old Testament
A simple road map for summer scripture at R-Rated Movie Club
Good morning, Dear Reader.
One of my favorite things in the world is naming things. If you have a project you’re trying to name, please oh please reach out to me. I’ll even name your baby for free! I’ve decided a fun name for a post like this will be Rack Focus.
What is “rack focus”?
Rack [rak] v. to strain, stretch, or pull.
Focus [foh-kuhs] n. a central point of attention.
Rack Focus [rak foh-kuhs] “A rack focus is the practice of changing the focus of the lens during a shot. The term can refer to small or large changes of focus which play with the depth of field.” - No Film School (Scroll for their video breakdown at the end of this post.)
Today, we’re going to change from a weekly entry of a scripture quote and a movie quote and look at which scripture quotes are appearing at RRMC right now and why.
We are racking focus from one thing to the other.
See? Just think of how well I could name babies for you and your friends!
It’s all just “Bible Times.”
I was once working with some young people on a ministry presentation using the Gospel of Matthew 17:1-13. This story is often called the “transfiguration,” as the disciples saw Jesus on a mountaintop, flanked by a vision of Moses and Elijah, and he is glowing bright, like he is “transfigured” and more than human. The young people had a good handle on this story and their approach.
Then one asked me, “Were Moses and Elijah waiting for Jesus?”
I asked what they meant.
They added, “Well, did Jesus tell them to meet him on the mountain for this moment?”
I said no, they are from Bible stories set hundreds or thousands of years before Jesus, and this is a vision the disciples see. Moses and Elijah weren’t literally alive and waiting for their cue to come out from behind the mountain.
They smiled and nodded. “Got it. It’s all just ‘Bible times,’ to me.”
That moment has stuck with me for a long time. I think this happens for a lot of people whether they read their Bible or not. The timeline can get skewed, the figures can be hard to track, and without some context, the Old Testament and New Testament can come off as temporal next door neighbors. I will never pretend to be the great Bible scholar of the century. I will say I no longer assume people know who or what I’m talking about when I mention a story from the Bible.
And that’s why we’re taking a moment to rack focus. Let’s talk about Genesis.
Genesis: World Summer Tour
Not the band. Sorry.
About a month ago on May 21, I switched from writing about passages from the Gospel of Matthew in the Sunday Matinees to writing about passages from Genesis, the first book of the Old Testament. Well, I switched to the Acts of the Apostles prior to that, the first book of the New Testament after the four gospels, back in April, but we’ll address that, too.
The audiences of R-Rated Movie Club, both real and intended, are quite various. There are people who love movies, people who want to look at scripture in a new way, people who are clergy who might find this helpful for writing sermons, and people who know their Bible and people who don’t, people who stumbled upon RRMC, people who actively sought it out, and there are friends who want to support me who may or may not fit into any or all of those categories (Hi, y’all!). Because so many different people read RRMC, I don’t want to assume everyone knows who the Biblical figures are for this summer’s readings.
After all, for some: it’s all just Bible times.
Well, if you like broad brush summaries of complex stories, you’re in luck!
For now, here’s a simple road map to what we covered and will cover in Genesis this summer. You can get a very simplified view of how the stories of Genesis lead into one another over the span of 50 chapters and refer back to this post as necessary (I’ll add links as entries get posted):
May 21, 2023
Genesis 1:1-2:4a One of the creation stories that opens the Old Testament.
Mother! (2017): A movie with a whole lot of baked-in creation myth allegory.
May 28, 2023
Genesis 12:1-9 God promises Abram a new home and a long line of descendants. Abram and Sarai pack up and make their way to a new home together.
The Story So Far: There are creation stories, the family of Adam and Eve, the rivalry of Cain and Abel, the descendants to Noah and his family, a flood narrative, a new covenant between God and the people, a story of the people scattered across the world when the tower of Babel falls, and the descendents leading to Abram and Sarai. (Genesis 2-11)
Blazing Saddles (1974): A comedy Western from Mel Brooks that will make you question whether you understand satire and test your limits of it, both in the 1970s and today!
June 4, 2023
Genesis 18:1-15 God promises Sarah and Abraham they’ll have a child, Sarah laughs.
The Story So Far: Abram and his nephew part ways, God promises Abram he will have descendants, Sarai tells Abram he should have a child with her servant, Hagar, and he is named Ishmael, God gives Sarai and Abram new names - Sarah and Abraham - as part of the new covenant that also includes the introduction of circumcision. (Genesis 12-17)
Life of Brian (1979): Yet another satire, this one by the British comedy braintrust that is Monty Python’s Flying Circus, about religion, ethics, government, and history.
June 11, 2023
Genesis 21:8-21 God promises Hagar about Ishmael.
The Story So Far: Citizens of the cities of Sodom and Gamorrah are not making God very happy, mobs of men be patriarchin’, Sodom is destroyed, Abraham pretends Sarah is his sister in order to save his own life (like you do), Sarah gives birth to Isaac, then she sends away Hagar and Ishmael. (Genesis 18-21)
Reservoir Dogs (1992): A movie where 6 jewel thieves confront one another over who’s the rat. At least, the thieves who survive the heist confront each other.
June 18, 2023
Genesis 22:1-14 God makes a new promises regarding sacrifice.
The Story So Far: This occurs almost immediately after the above passage. (Genesis 21)
Pulp Fiction (1994): A movie where 2 mob enforcers, a boxer, a dancing trophy wife, a gold watch, and 2 liquor store thieves somehow have a lot to do with each other.
June 25, 2023
Genesis 24:34-38, 42-49, 58-67 Abraham's servant brings Rebekah back to meet Isaac.
The Story So Far: Sarah passes away, Abraham decides he has to help his son find a wife, so he sends his servant out to find the right woman. (Genesis 22-24)
Jackie Brown (1997): A movie with intersecting characters about trying to escape cycles of violence, poverty, and crime before age catches up with you.
July 2, 2023
Genesis 25:19-34 Rebekah and Isaac's sons, Jacob and Esau, run afoul of one another when Jacob tricks Esau out of his birthright.
The Story So Far: Rebekah and Isaac get married, Abraham passes away, and we learn of the descendants of Ishmael, Rebekah gives birth to twins, Esau (born very hairy and red) and Jacob (born clutching at Esau’s heel). Esau was a hunter, Jacob was a tent maker, and Isaac showed preference for Esau and Rebekah showed preference for Jacob. (Genesis 24-25)
Planes, Trains, and Automobiles (1987): A movie about a business class dad and a working class joe trying to make it home for Thanksgiving without killing each other.
July 9, 2023
Genesis 28:10-19a Jacob has a dream and takes a “stairway to heaven” (or ladder!).
The Story So Far: A famine in the land sends Rebekah and Isaac to settle elsewhere, Isaac pretends Rebekah is his sister (like father, like son), Esau marries, Rebekah has Jacob pose as Esau to gain his father's blessing over his older brother, Jacob runs away, Esau marries again this time to a daughter of Ishamel. (Genesis 25-28)
Mother (1996): A movie about an adult son returning to live in his old room and finally figure out his relationship with his mother and who he is.
July 16, 2023
Genesis 29:15-28 Jacob serves Laban in order to marry Rebekah. …Eventually.
The Story So Far: Jacob dreams of a ladder and feels the presence of God, Jacob meets Rachel and tries to marry her, Rachel's father Laban creepily tricks him into marrying his other daughter Leah, and then also Rachel, Leah has two sons, Reuben and Judah. (Genesis 28-29)
The Breakfast Club (1985): A movie about a brain, an athlete, a basket case, a princess, and a criminal learning to be friends while serving detention together.
July 23, 2023
Genesis 32:22-31 Jacob wrestles a mysterious figure all through the night.
The Story So Far: Rachel tells Jacob to have children with her servant Bilhah who has two sons Dan and Naphtali, Leah tells Jacob to have children with her servant Zilpah who has two sons, Gad and Asher, Leah has two more sons and a daughter, Issachar and Zebulum and Dinah, Rachel gives birth to Joseph, Jacob ends up prospering while his father-in-law Laban becomes destitute, he takes his family to flee Laban's sons, after bitter back-and-forth, Laban and Jacob come to an understanding, Jacob sends gifts to Esau to soothe things over for his return home because he's certain his brother will seek revenge, and then one night alone in the wilderness, Jacob wrestles a mysterious man until the morning. (Genesis 29-32)
Deadpool (2016): A movie about a very nice young man who roughs up people for money becoming one of the world’s deadliest assassins out for revenge.
July 30, 2023
Genesis 37:1-3, 12-28 Jacob’s sons sell their brother, Joseph, into slavery.
The Story So Far: Jacob and Esau reconcile, Dinah is raped and her brothers take revenge and their father Jacob (now known as Israel after his wrestling encounter) says this is going to cause us even more trouble (*not* a good reaction, pops), Rachel gives birth to Benjamin, Rachel passes away, Isaac passes away (Esau and Jacob bury him together), we learn of the descendants of Esau, Jacob's twelfth son - all of whom become the heads of the Twelve Tribes of Israel. (Genesis 32-26)
RoboCop (1987): A movie I probably shouldn’t have seen in the theater as a kid.
August 6, 2023
Genesis 45:1-15 Joseph and his brothers cross paths again. Will he forgive them?
The Story So Far: Israel’s son, Joseph, dreams dreams that upset his brothers, they sell him into slavery and he ends up in Egypt where he becomes a trusted leader for Pharoah. A famine comes over the lands where Israel and his sons live and they go to Egypt looking for help, but they don’t recognize Joseph. Even though Joseph could deal harshly with them, he has another plan. (Genesis 37-45)
The Story to Come: Jacob and his sons move their families to Egypt, there is prosperity but then also famine, Jacob says final blessings to his descendants, Joseph forgives his brothers, and passes away. The people of Israel are now in Egypt and growing in prosperity. (Genesis 45-50) But later, a new Pharoah will rise who does not know Joseph and the Israelites fall into slavery. God remembers the covenant and will save the people. (Exodus)
Trading Places (1983): A movie where two SNL vets from two SNL generations team up against two old Hollywood vets who used to play nice guys now playing bad guys.
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. 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’ll focus on these RCL texts:
January-April: Matthew (Gospel)
April-May: Acts (New Testament)
May-August: Genesis (Old Testament)
August-September: Matthew (Gospel)
September: Philippians (New Testament)
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 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!
No Film School
Let’s close our first Rack Focus post with a great video from No Film School about the Rack Focus technique. Now you’ll notice it more as a moviegoer.