Sunday Matinee #82 Heat
Listen to Nate; he has good advice. Part II
2 Samuel 11:26-12:13a | EnterTheBible.org
Eleventh Sunday After Pentecost | 08.04.2024
Context: Despite God making covenant with King David, a covenant delivered to him by the prophet Nathan, God has not been pleased with David’s choices - especially sending Bathsheba’s husband Uriah to the front lines of a war so he would be killed and David could make his move. God once again sends Nathan to David, this time with a message to repent. It’s now Nathan who comes to bring David the prophetic truth and here, it’s truth that he does not want to hear.
1 The thing that David had done displeased the LORD, 1 And the LORD sent Nathan to David. He came to him, and said to him [a story of one man who stole from another man in verses 2-4]. 5 Then David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man. He said to Nathan, “As the LORD lives, the man who has done this deserves to die; 6 he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.” 7 Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel… 10 Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, for you have despised me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.” 13 David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.”
Heat | 1995
IMDb | Letterboxd | RRMC
Context: Neil McCauley (Robert De Niro) and his crew have pulled off a tremendous bank heist. It went sour with an explosion of violence and not everyone made it, but he’s in the clear. He and his new girlfriend, Eady (Amy Brenneman) can leave and start a new life. McCauley takes a call from his fence, Nate (Jon Voight), to learn how their new identities will work. Just before he hangs up, though, Nate has one more piece of information for him: the location of McCauley’s traitor, Waingro (Kevin Sage).
Nate: One other thing. You asked so I gotta tell ya. The guy you wanted checked into the hotel Marquee under Jameson, if you still give a shit. Which I figure you wouldn't.
McCauley: You figured right.
Nate: So, so long, brother. You take it easy. You're home free.
McCauley: Take it easy.
McCauley hangs up and drives. Eady can tell something from the phone call is eating at him, though.
Eady: What is it?
McCauley: Nothing. We're home free.
McCauley drives in silence. Eady smiles, glad for a new life. McCauley can't shake the feeling. He has to do it. He whips the car around.
McCauley: I've gotta take care of something.
Eady: Is there time?
McCauley: There's time.
Commentary:
A prophet’s job is to speak the truth, whether someone want to hear it or not. If a prophet speaks too much truth, they could find themselves out a job or worse, out of a life. But over and again, the Bible presents prophets who push through that risk to relay what they believe God has told them.
Nathan is one such prophet, working for King David. It’s up to him to deliver the bad news. So when David says I’m going to have Uriah killed so I can have his wife, Nathan is the one to whom God says, “Um, actually…”
Nathan is a good prophet. He tells David a story about a man who betrayed God. David gets upset at the man in the story and says, hey, that man is terrible. Nathan says, “You are the man!” You know that phrase, “You’re the man”? It usually means a good thing, yeah? Not this time. You are the man who betrayed God. Not that kings are elected, but David’s not going to be able to use that on his reelection campaign poster!
David truly does feel guilty over what he’s done and he tries to repent and make a turn. Still, his actions will have consequences, and indeed they are tragic. I don’t know if it’s ever possible for any of us to fully grasp all of the consequences that will follow our actions. I don’t even know if it’s ever possible for any of us to fully repent all the way when we need to grow and do better. What I do know is if doing our due diligence to do our best and making intentionally better choices for next time helps us retain (or regain) that much more integrity.
Let’s go to another Nathan, this one named Nate, in the movie Heat. He is a fence, meaning he’s the go-between - the “fence” - for Neil McCauley and whoever would pay for whatever he’s stealing. In a manner of speaking, Nate is a prophet in that he delivers messages to McCauley from the other side, giving him a mixture of information, advice, and warning.
Nate hesitates to tell McCauley how to find the man who betrayed him. Likely, he knows that McCauley will have a hard time letting it go. That will lead to him seeking out Waingro, that may lead to him losing Eady, that may lead to him facing Hannah, and that may lead to him being sent to prison or killed. But Nate has his integrity. So he tells his friend what he wants to hear. He just hopes McCauley will listen and let it go.
Sadly, he can’t. He’s “gotta take care of something.” He turns around to deal with his betrayer. This turn around isn’t repentance. It’s revenge, and it may very well lead to his downfall. The first time I saw Heat, I really didn’t want him to turn that car around. I had a sneaking suspicion where all of this may lead. Yes, I was rooting for a master thief who had killed to get what he wanted. But ultimately, it was hard watching someone make a choice that I knew would cost them dearly. I didn’t like that he didn’t listen to his friend. I didn’t like that he saw the potential for a fresh start, a new life with love, and said nope, revenge is more important.
Maybe I didn’t like it because too many of us fall prey to such unfortunate temptations. I’d rather King David had done better. I’d rather Neal McCauley had done better. Ultimately, I’d rather we all do better. Here’s to doing better, dear reader, including you, me, and everyone we know. May we have our own growth and may we be in others’ corner the way Nathan and Nate were in David and McCauley’s corners, too.
Those Nates, I tell ya. They’re all just doing their best!
Who is a prophet in your life? Do you listen to their advice? Who will speak the truth to you even when it’s hard to hear? What does it take to push through the challenge of listening to hard truth to do the right thing?