Sunday Matinee #69 Out of Sight
Going a long way with a little rizz...
Acts 10:44-48 | Revised Common Lectionary | EnterTheBible.org
Sixth Sunday of Easter | 05.05.2024
Context: Simon Peter continues to preach to new believers across the region. He’s had a strong vision of uniting and inclusion, he’s brought healing to a Centurion’s home, and now he is specifically sharing his teachings with Gentiles. They may know a bit of the story simply by living in proximity to other cultures, but Peter is bringing something almost entirely new now.
46 for they heard them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter said, 47 “Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” 48 So he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they invited him to stay for several days.
Out of Sight | 1998
IMDb | Letterboxd | RRMC
Context: Jack Foley (George Clooney) walks into a bank and robs it with little more than a wink and a smile. All he’s gotta do is convince Loretta (Donna Frenzel) that if she doesn’t do what he wants, he’ll have her boss shot. Thing is, for such a violent threat, he plays the whole robbery with suave, even kind, finesse. He begins…
Foley: All right. Now take one of those big envelopes and put as many hundreds, fifties, and twenties as you can pack into it. Nothing with bank straps or rubber bands. I don't want any dye packs. I don't want any bait money. Start with the second drawer and then the one over there, underneath the money counter.
Loretta takes heavy breathes, frozen.
Foley: Okay. It’s okay. Come on, Loretta, the key's right there next to you.
Loretta shakes it and follows Foley’s instructions, though still clearly nervous.
Foley continues, commenting as she works.
Foley: There you go. No bills off the bottom of the drawer, please. This your first time being robbed?
Loretta give a sharp nod.
Foley: You're doing great. Just smile, Loretta, so you won't look like you're being held up.
Loretta gives a weak smile.
Foley: You’ve got a very pretty smile.
A little later…
Foley: I think that’ll do it, Loretta. Thank you, have a nice day.
Loretta: You, too.
Commentary:
Acts 10 is a good day for Simon Peter. I mean, it likely wasn’t one day, but you know what I mean. He has this tremendous vision of a new future that unites many people in one faith. He meets with a man named Cornelius after they have a mutual vision of meeting one another. He preaches the Good News to new crowds who are hungry for a new way in life. And now the Holy Spirit is in their midst and these people are ready to go to not only embrace new faith but take action with it.
Gold star, Peter. You rock!
Peter has rizz, as the kids say. When the kids say it, they mean not just basic charisma but also a charming quality that makes one incredibly datable (note: my kids say I have no rizz, in case you need to know). Take rizz back to charisma and take that back to charis or χάρις in the New Testament and you’ll find a word that means grace, kindness, gift, blessing, favor. While charis doesn’t appear in this passage from Acts, we can feel not just Peter’s charis in how he addresses the crowd but in how the Holy Spirit blesses them all with charis as they seek baptism.
I recently wrote about Peter’s approach to new people in Acts 3 (Sunday Matinee #66 Pscyho) and Acts 4 (Sunday Matinee #67 Cop Land) and it holds true here. It’s a sign of growth for him to go from such an unsure disciple who vacalated in the gospels between picking up what Jesus put down or dropping it all completely. He exhibits a much stronger maturity in Acts of the Apostles and lives into his nickname, Peter. Yes, it’s a nickname. Simon correctly affirms Jesus’s identity as the Messiah and Jesus declares he is Peter, “and on this rock I will build my church.” That’s Peter or Petros Πέτρος for “rock” or Cephas Κηφᾶς the Greek transliteration of Aramaic Kepha which means “rock” and it all means “rock” (“We’ve got both kinds: country and western!”). Simon is blessed by graceful gift of Jesus’s favor.
Simon Peter rocks ‘cause he has rizz.
Jack Foley is one of the most charming (rizz!) characters I’ve ever had the pleasure to experience both in the film Out of Sight and the original novel of the same name by my favorite novelist, the late great Elmore Leonard (his follow-up Road Dogs is fun, too). It sure doesn’t hurt to have George Clooney, the ultimate 90s rizz man, as Foley. He oozes charisma in every scene he’s in during this movie, even when he’s shooting somebody, even when he’s being shot at, even when he’s shot. Aw. Foley’s shot. He’s so cute when he’s shot!
Jack Foley rocks ‘cause he has rizz.
This scene in which smooth-as-glass Foley robs a bank with a smirk is the first 5 minutes of the movie - around 4% of the 2-hour run time - and establishes Foley’s modus operandi quite well (what, I’ve used Greek and Aramaic, can’t I add in a little Latin, too?). More than setting him up well right from the start of the movie, this scene features prominently in every trailer for Out of Sight, too, in an effort to drum up box office. It’s not just charming George Clooney, it’s charming George Clooney specifically hired to play charming! It almost worked, with modest box office returns but a 94% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, 3.5 stars from Roger Ebert (I love ya, Gene Siskel, but you were way off on this one), and a cult classic following. If you haven’t seen Out of Sight yet, please give it a shot. It’s in my Top 10, easy. I’ll put it this way: at the time of this writing, I have dozens of movie posters rolled up in tubes in the closet. I have two on display in my study: 2001: A Space Odyssey and Out of Sight.
Who are the charismatic people in your life? Do they use their graceful gifts to help others? When we can exercise influence over others, how do we resist temptation and lean into the good God would have us do?