Sunday Matinee #72 Heist
Clever word play to somehow "show" with "tell"
John 3:1-17 | EnterTheBible.org
First Sunday After Pentecost | 05.26.2024
Context: Jesus entered Jerusalem and caused quite a scene. Many have seen him teaching and preaching and healing, and while some are excited for his message, not all are enthusiastic. Pharisees, leaders who see living a life of faith from a certain point of view, are especially critical of him. But here is a Pharisee named Nicodemus who is intrigued and wants to learn more.
1 Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader. 2 He came to Jesus by night and said to him, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God." 3 Jesus answered him, "Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above." 9 Nicodemus said to him, "How can these things be?" 10 Jesus answered him, "Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?
Heist | 2001
IMDb | Letterboxd | RRMC
Context: A three-man crew are working on a job, led by Joe (Gene Hackman) with heavy lifting by Bobby (Delroy Lindo) and details by Pinky (Ricky Jay). They’ve been forced by their fence for this job, Mickey Bergman (Danny DeVito) to bring along his nephew (Sam Rockwell) as muscle. He’s green, and they’d rather not have him, but make the most of it as they stake out the area and determine whether the plan will hold up.
Bobby: So what do we got?
Joe: Eh, gotta redo some of these figures. I gotta start from scratch.
Jimmy Silk: It worked out on the plan, why all of a sudden now you gotta--
Joe: Yeah, well, when things start to go sour, someone's gonna be pissed in their shit. Looking around to shoot somebody in the head. I want an aIternate idea.
Jimmy Silk: Why shouId it go sour?
Joe and Pinky share a glance and chuckle.
Joe (to Pinky): You timing the wrecker?
Pinky: Yeah.
Jimmy smiles and asks in seeming earnest.
Jimmy Silk: No, no, no. Teach me something. Why shouId it go sour? Was that such a stupid question?
Joe: You ever cheat on a woman? Girl, something, stand her up, step out on her?
Jimmy Silk: What?
Joe: Ever do that?
Jimmy Silk: Yeah.
Joe: When you called her, did you have an excuse?
Jimmy Silk: Yeah.
Joe: What if she didn't ask? Was your alibi a waste of time?
Commentary:
In one of my favorite scenes in the Bible, we witness the meeting of two teachers. Nicodemus, who is a teacher, comes to Jesus, who is – and by now I hope this doesn’t shock you – also a teacher - to learn more from him. Like his fellow Pharisees, Nicodemus has likely seen Jesus teach and preach and heal, but unlike the other Pharisees he is not upset but interested. Thus, he goes to see Jesus.
But after hours. He takes a night class.
He can’t let the other teachers see him learn lessons, or he’ll be in trouble with them. He humbles himself to be the student from this great teacher. For his part, Jesus offers him new teaching, using figurative language. Which Nicodemus promptly does not understand. I’m sure he’s a good teacher, but this new way is weird to him. It’s likely similar to when my kids try to show me “the new math.”
By the end of this scene, we don’t get an outright statement that Nicodemus understands it all and has grown. But we do know that he is open to it, because we see him again in John 7 using this new teaching to stand up to his friends (who doesn’t enjoy standing up to their friends when they know they aren’t seeing things clearly?!) and in John 19 when he puts his faith on full view in the light of day (go check that out at the very end of chapter 19, it’s a nice blink-and-you-miss-it cameo).
What I like the most here is a teacher is open to being a student. Nicodemus says, “Teach me something.”
In one of my very favorite movies, Heist, we witness the dance between a longtime crew talk shop around a newbie that’s been forced on them by their fence. Joe, Bobby, and Pinky have worked together long enough that they have a shorthand. They don’t have to say much because the little they say says it all. That’s part of the delight of this David Mamet script – the world building and character development from the way characters speak with one another is wonderful.
Jimmy Silk is on the outside and at this point, we aren’t exactly sure what to think of him. Is he a spy for his uncle or is he an up-and-coming thief who happens to have an uncle that put up the money for the job? When he asks about the plan going sour, it could be for either reason. And even if he is a spy, and though the movie shows him having several motivations I ultimately do think it’s his loyalty to his uncle that pushes him to do what he does, I do think he’s genuinely curious here.
Jimmy says, “Teach me something.” It feels like a lighthearted call out to this seasoned vet. As if to say, hey, I’ll never get some seasoning if you don’t pepper me with some of your wisdom. Let me in on the gag. You think I’m a hack thief? Make be a better one. For his part, Joe offers him new teaching, using figurative language. Which Jimmy Silk promptly does not understand. As I say, I think he is earnestly asking, but Joe’s roundabout way of getting to the point is weird to him. It’s likely similar to when I try to teach my kids “with a story.”
Both of these moments speak to a bigger picture. In the Gospel of John, Jesus teaches Nicodemus about his cosmic nature and the expansiveness of the love of God. It’s bigger and grander than Nicodemus could imagine. That lesson including the famous John 3:16 isn’t just for Nicodemus or for the first readers or even just for Christians today but for everyone. That’s the main thrust of the Gospel of John: the bigness of God’s love. In Heist, Joe teaches Jimmy that not only does he have a plan, he has a backup plan to the plan, and he shouldn’t be surprised if he has a backup plan to the backup plan that was the actual plan all along. That’s the main thrust of Heist: the depth of Joe’s plans.
What is one of your most recent lessons of faith? Who are your favorite teachers? Who have you taught?