THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU

Did you see THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU movie, starring Matt Damon and Emily Blunt? It caught my attention on Friday. A rising political star, David Norris (Damon), and a gorgeous rising ballet dancer (Emily Blunt) meet accidentally and want to form a relationship. However, the 'Bureau' - half a dozen mysterious dark suited characters with fedoras - has other plans for the two, sending various of their numbers to make adjustments when things get off track.

The 'Bureau' wants to control Norris's choices and keep him on track to be President of the United States, and it plans for Emile to develop into a world class ballet dancer. If a relationship develops between the two, the Bureau's plans will never materialize. Much of the movie sees Norris trying to rendezvous with his new found girl friend despite efforts on the part of the Bureau to keep them apart.

What struck me about the movie, based on the short story of the same name by Philip Dick, was how well it pits fate (the Bureau's 'plan') against human freedom. Fate and freedom seem to be forever at loggerheads with each other. That the Bureau members appear and disappear like (dark) angels suggested to me the struggle we all have between God's divine plan for us and our human freedom of choice. We want freedom and we want our lives to make ultimate sense and not to be a string of dumb and disconnected events, like beads on a string.

Many good people assume, unthinkingly, that God's plan and our individual freedom are supposed to be mutually exclusive, or at least at war with each other. If the message of the Annunciation to Mary (March 25th) says anything to us, it's that there's meant to be harmony between God's plan ('fate' so to speak) and our freedom of choice. Tiger Woods became one of the world's top golfers because he choose to follow the directives of his coaches. Elton John became a world famous musician because he followed the rules of music as given him by his teachers.

Mary accepted God's will for her and gave birth to someone whose human freedom and divine will were in perfect harmony with each other. When John's Gospel says that 'the Word (logos) became flesh' it is saying that the 'divine plan' became flesh in Jesus Christ - God in a human person embodied what it means to be truly human. Because Tiger Woods and Elton John adhered to the canons of their professions, they became all they wanted to be - world class. When we try honestly to discover God's plan for us and live by it, we discover and become the person we are supposed to be.

'Love, and do what you will,' said Augustine. And Dante famously said in his great trilogy, The Divine Comedy, 'In His will is our peace.'

PASTOR EMERITUS