Serenity

"Serenity" was a movie born out of a short-lived TV show called "Firefly."  To get an idea of the setting, think Wild West in space and then, if you can figure out how that could possibly be any good, you will be on the right track.

The power of the show is in the characters that make up the pirate crew of the Firefly class spaceship named "Serenity." They are remnants of a rebellion against "The Alliance" (the confederation of civilized and technologically advanced planets toward the center of the galaxy) and long after the war is lost they continue in their opposition while attempting to survive the harsh life of the outer planets.  Their ship is falling apart, they are poor, and every step of the way they are barely holding on.

As the plot unfolds, we discover that the Alliance is seeking to eliminate rebellion and  trouble in their civilization by destroying "sin" (yes, that is the actual word they use).  In their efforts they invented a compound that suppresses the violent urges of human beings.  They experiment with this compound on a planet of people who quickly become pleasant, docile, and peaceful.  The Alliance has created a Utopian society where all obey the law perfectly, there is no rebellion, and all contribute to the upward spiral of human civilization. 

Man has conquered sin...or so they think.

It turns out that as the compound's effects progress people stop doing anything at all.  Not only do they cease to rebel, but they cease to do anything.  Everyone lies down and stops working, playing, talking, eating, and drinking, until finally, they stop breathing.  That is, everyone but the tiniest percentage of those who have quite a different reaction.  Those few become monsters. They stop feeling anything at all and lose their minds.  These twisted lepers do not lie down to die, but spend the rest of their existence feeding off any life that they encounter, destroying it utterly.  Consuming all in their path.

Mal (the captain) and his crew discover this truth that has been hidden from everyone and set out to shed light where there is darkness.  They succeed, but with terrible losses to their own.

The movie concludes with this conversation as the Serenity is taking off to its next destination. In it, Mal and River put to words the central theme of all that has been portrayed to this point.

Mal: You know what the first rule of flying is?

River: I do. But I like to hear you say it.

Mal:  Love. You can learn all the math in the 'verse, but you take a boat in the air that you don't love and she'll shake you off just as sure as the turn of the worlds.  Love keeps her in the air when she ought to fall down, tells you she's hurting before she keels, makes her a home.

[Rain pattering as they take off]

River: Storm's getting worse.

Mal: We'll pass through it soon enough.

[They exit the atmosphere of the planet and the rain stops]

This crew of rebels love one another and it is this love that makes their story so incredible. Their messy lives are held together by love and it is that love that stands in direct opposition to a "civilization" who seeks to make a perfect world by their own might.  They resist because they know no such reality is possible by force or control or technology, but only by love...and that is the one thing The Alliance lacks.

I believe this is our experience too.  We fight so hard to make our lives better and to control the world around us.  We convince ourselves with technology and enough determination we can eliminate hunger and pain and suffering, but we can't and our attempts to do so only seem to kill people or turn them into monsters.  The only thing with the power to do so is love and the only access we have to that love is the grace of God mediated by Jesus Christ alone. The story of "Serenity" is our story as a civilization...and the storm is getting worse. But I promise we will pass through it soon enough as we are carried ever upward not by ourselves, but by the love of God.