Sunday Matinee #84 The Joy Luck Club
Legacy is a burden AND a responsibility.
1 Kings 2:10-12 | EnterTheBible.org
Thirteenth Sunday After Pentecost | 08.18.2024
Context: After humble shepherd beginnings, after a long and bloody reign, after a tumultuous family upheaval, after countless controversies, and after reconciling with God, King David chooses his son, Solomon, to be his successor. After affirming his son’s wisdom, David dies.
10 Then David slept with his ancestors, and was buried in the city of David. 11 The time that David reigned over Israel was forty years; he reigned seven years in Hebron, and thirty-three years in Jerusalem. 12 So Solomon sat on the throne of his father David; and his kingdom was firmly established.
The Joy Luck Club | 1993
IMDb | Letterboxd | RRMC
Context: June (Ming-Na Wen) has recently learned that her mother, Suyuan (Kieu Chinh) was forced to abandon her twin baby daughters decades ago, but they are alive and seeking her. Now that mama has passed away, June is compelled by her mother’s friend, Lindo (Tsai Chin), to travel to China to bring her sisters the news. Only, the twins don’t know the news. June arrives in China and finds herself staring face to face with her two half-sisters (Sheng Yu Ma and Sheng Wei Ma).
June tries on a brave face as she speaks the Mandarin she’s been practicing - and dreading - saying to her two half-sisters.
June: Mama’s gone to heaven.
Her sisters’ faces go from light smiles to sad shock.
Chwun Yu: Gone? Mama’s dead?
June: I’m sorry.
Chwun Hwa: When?
June: Four months ago.
The sisters look to each other and the ground in grief.
June: I’m so sorry.
June: She loved you very much. I’m your sister. June.
The sisters perk up. This is an unexpected blessing.
Chwun Yu: Our little sister.
June: I’ve come to take our mother’s place. I’ve come to bring you her hopes.
Tears fall. There is still family here.
Chwun Hwa: Our sister!
Chwun Yu: Our family!
The sisters rush to embrace June. The three smile and cry and hug, united as family for the first time.
June (voiceover): It was enough. For them. And for me. Because really she was there and I’d finally done something for her. I’d found the best of myself, what she kept for all of us: her long-cherished wish.
The Story So Far:
Sunday Matinee #73 - Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
1 Samuel 3:1-20 - God tells young Samuel to give his mentor, Eli, a message.
Sunday Matinee #74 - Night of the Living Dead
1 Samuel 8:4-11, 16-20 - The Israelites tell Samuel they want a king, he tells God.
Sunday Matinee #75 - The Godfather, Part II
1 Samuel 15:34-16:13 - God is not pleased with King Saul, Samuel meets young David.
Sunday Matinee #76 - Commando
1 Samuel 17:32-49 - The giant warrior Goliath taunts King Saul's army, David kills him.
Sunday Matinee #77 - Goodfellas
2 Samuel 1:1, 17-27 - David grieves the death of Saul and his son, Jonathan, in battle.
Sunday Matinee #78 - Army of Darkness
2 Samuel 5:1-5, 9-10 - David is made king of a united kingdom for the Israelites.
Sunday Matinee #79 - Kill Bill Vol. 1
2 Samuel 6:1-5, 12b-19 - King David celebrates while Saul's daughter, Michal, is upset.
Sunday Matinee #80 - Heat
2 Samuel 7:1-14a - Nathan tells King David that God believes in him.
Sunday Matinee #81 - Donnie Brasco
2 Samuel 11:1-15 - David sends his lover's husband to war, knowing that he'll die.
Sunday Matinee #82 - Heat
2 Samuel 11:26-12:13a - Nathan tells King David that God is upset with him.
Sunday Matinee #83 - Foxy Brown
2 Samuel 18:5-33 - After a family war, David mourns his son and rival, Absalom.
Sunday Matinee #84 - The Joy Luck Club (You are here!)
1 Kings 2:10-12 - King David dies and his son, Solomon, becomes king.
Commentary:
Over the last few weeks at R-Rated Movie Club, we’ve witnessed the rise and fall of King David. He is a complex figure of the Bible. At times, he is a great leader, taking his people to amazing heights and prosperity. Other times, his selfishness and human temptations get the better of him and his leadership leaves much to be desired. His story is depicted in 1 Samuel and 2 Samuel, and now we enter 1 Kings and a new king. David dies and his son, Solomon, takes his place as king.
It’s not terribly clean cut, however. The prophet Nathan and David’s second wife, Bathsheba, conspire to make sure David specifically names Solomon as his successor, swearing an oath before God. This was to stop his other brother, Adonijah, from claiming the throne. Lucky for all involved, Adonijah peacefully relinquished any power he claimed as Solomon ascended to the throne (though he may have tried for it later and Solomon had him put to death. Fool me once, shame on you…).
Likewise, we’ve explored a variety of complex family relationships from the movies at R-Rated Movie Club lately. We saw brothers betray one another, a son betray his father, families argue over how best to survive a zombie apocalypse, and how found family can bring tight bonds. Now we come to The Joy Luck Club, a wonderful story filled with complex families.
June has had a tough relationship with her mother, Suyuan. We see this depicted in flashbacks, as well as June’s conversations with other characters. Finally, June learns her mother abandoned her twin baby daughters during the war and now that Suyuan died, it’s up to her to make contact with them.
It’s not terribly clean cut, however. June is doing this because Suyuan’s friend, Lindo, wrote to the twins posing as Suyuan. Only right before she leaves does Lindo reveal this truth to June. Now, she must not only deliver devastating news, she must do it in the face of a lie.
I know I’ve written the word “complex” quite a bit this summer, but wow, that is as complex as it gets!
Both of these stories speak of legacy. David’s instructions for Solomon to be king is not just about maintaining order but about passing on legacy and a covenant with God. God’s wisdom must be passed on to the next generation. June, too, will pass on the wisdom of their mother to her two half-sisters. This family’s legacy will broaden in this reunion. In both cases, there is an intense burden of responsibility. David compels Solomon to follow God’s commandments, specifically in ruling with wisdom. Maybe that’s why he’s known as the wise king? June is clearly upset to learn Lindo lied when writing as her mother, passing along the responsibility of telling the long-abandoned twins the truth. Legacy comes with a past that informs the present and leads to the future. Sometimes that is a blessing, sometimes it is a burden, and at all times it is a responsibility.
One of the themes I appreciate in both of these stories is identity - what is continued and what is unique. Solomon continues David’s identity as King and as in covenant with God. He is also his own man, and he will rule in his own way. June has always struggled with her mother’s expectations of her, and only in her traveling to China will she fully understand the sacrifices her mother made for a better life for all of her children. She now takes on the symbolic role of mother and caregiver, though she is the younger sister. Her identity is reborn.
What is a part of your family legacy that you are proud to carry with you and pass on to the next generation? What part of your family legacy is harder? How are you like those who came before you and how are you different? What does God’s promise to your family then have to say to your family now?