Faith in Film, Week 5

“I am doomed to remember a boy with a wrecked voice, not because of his voice, or because he was the smallest person I ever knew, or even because he was the instrument of my mother's death, but because he is the reason I believe in God. What faith I have, I owe to Simon Birch, the boy I grew up with in Gravedown, Maine.”

Those iconic words, spoken by Jim Carrey as narrator, begin "Simon Birch," a little film from 1998. They are iconic, as they were for the Novel upon which the film is based, John Irving's "A Prayer for Owen Meany," which was released in 1989.

It's a story full of rich themes, many of which are retained in the film, though the movie captures just a piece of the story from the book. It touches on the idea of faith and has some strong things to say about he church and what it means to be a Christ follower.

It seems ideal that we'd get to this movie right now, having just touched on this topic Sunday as part of our First Things First series. In that message, Pastor Tim talked about what Jesus said of the greatest Commandment. “Jesus replied: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:37-40)

It’s simple, and yet it’s so complex. And I think we see that Simon mirrored an obedience to that. Simon loved God and took is faith seriously. He believed strongly that God had a plan for his life and that it was important for him to live into that plan. And his actions reflected that, both in how he remained faithful to God and in how he related to others. And the way he lived his life carried the Gospel message to others, including Joe. He demonstrated his faith by the way he lived, and it’s fair to say that faith was infectious. 

Our words matter. What we believe matters. But the way we live our lives is what often sticks with the world around us. Consider this quote from Brennan Manning, “The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians: who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, walk out the door, and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.” 

God has a plan for our lives, and more importantly He invites us to be a part of His plan for the world. That is a great and awesome responsibility. May we, like Simon, inspire an unbelieving world by the way we live our lives, and not be a stumbling block by acting as if what we say we believe doesn’t matter in our lives.

Discussion Questions:
1. Did this film work for you, why or why not?

2. We begin with Joe as an adult thinking back on his interactions with Simon, saying “he’s the reason I believe in God.” Though Simon has long since departed, he had a profound impact on the way Joe sees God, and the faith he has as an adult. Have you had anyone in your life who’s made a profound impact on your faith?

3. Simon believes strongly that God has a purpose for his life and a plan, even if he can’t always see what it is. What stands out about that perspective? Can you relate to it?

4. We get an interesting depiction of the church in Mrs. Leavy and the Reverend. How do their actions contrast with Simon? What does it say about the church?