Like the other moviegoers who filed silently out of the theatre last night, I was moved by the film, American Sniper (AS) about U.S. Navy SEAL Chris Kyle. Kyle saved far more American lives than the 160 enemy combatants he is officially credited with killing. Clint Eastwood’s film is a powerful exploration of Kyle’s heroism in the service of our country, and the price he and his family paid for that service.
As too many things in our culture, some of the responses to AS have been politicized. There is far too little historical context in the movie to draw any wider lessons about the decisions that put brave men and women like Kyle in Iraq. Based on his autobiography, the film is Chris Kyle’s story alone. If we Americans will see other veterans’ stories in his and ask what we can do to support them in their mission and the aftermath, then his story will benefit us all.
As a minister in the Church, I have no other expertise to offer on Kyle’s story, except for the thematic heart of the film, to which our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ has directly spoken. Early on, we see Chris as a boy, being taught by his father that there are three kinds of people in the world: sheep, wolves, and sheepdogs. That lesson explains why Kyle is reclining on a roof in Iraq at the very beginning of the film, trying to decide whether to shoot an Iraqi boy who appears to be carrying a grenade (It turns out that he is carrying a grenade as he rushes toward American troops, and that Kyle’s decision to shoot him is justifiable).
It turns out that Jesus himself at one point seemed to divide the world in much the same way that Kyle’s father did, but with some crucial differences. As those who consider themselves disciples of Jesus make their way through this dangerous and angry world, we should hear the Good News (Gospel) that Jesus wants us to absorb so deep in our hearts that we are filled with nothing but peace.
“I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.” (Matthew 10:16, NIV). Note how Jesus uses the same kinds of animals to describe the world that he sends the Twelve Apostles out into to a dangerous world to proclaim that the kingdom of God is at hand, to heal the sick, to make clean those outcasts considered unclean. But also note that Jesus does not refer to his apostles as sheepdogs, but as sheep. Yes, they will encounter wolves. And some of those wolves, Jesus goes on to say, will put them on trial and hand them over to be killed. And yet, our Lord and Savior implores his apostles, then and now, “Don’t be afraid of those who kill the body but can’t kill the soul.” (Matt 10:28, CEB)
So how are the sheep to defend themselves among the wolves? By being “as shrewd as snakes and as innocent of doves.” Most translations say “wise.” But the Greek word translated is not the wisdom of philosophers. It is a sagacious and practical kind of wisdom that Jesus commends to those sheep he sends among the wolves. So I think that the New International Version gets it right by translating the Greek as “shrewd.”
I suspect that most translators are uncomfortable with putting a word like “shrewd” into Jesus’ mouth, but they shouldn't be. He was shrewd enough not to always tell his listeners that he was the Messiah, the anointed King of Israel, especially when the soldiers of King Herod might be close enough to arrest him. So we Christian sheep should be shrewd when dealing with the wolves around us. We should listen to what they say. We should try and hear their stories of how they became wolves. No one is born a wolf. Wolves are made. And being willing to hear their stories might just become the first step in turning them back into sheep.
Of course, if they don't want to talk of such things, then there is no obligation to stick around. “When you go into a house, say, ‘Peace!’ If the house is worthy, give it your blessing of peace. But if the house isn’t worthy, take back your blessing.” (Matt 10:12-13, CEB). We always lead with peace, wherever we are, and whoever we address. Of course, to lead with peace means we must have it in ourselves to give, which also requires that in addition to being as shrewd as a snake, we must also be “innocent as doves.” Doves are white, the absence of all colors. And so must be absent in us fear, anger, resentment, envy, all those negative emotions that cut us off from other human beings.
Of course, in our world are also sheepdogs. All of us, me included, look to them when we are threatened, and appreciate the protection they give us. At the same time, we who call ourselves Christian follow a Lord who keeps pointing us toward a kingdom where there are no longer wolves or sheepdogs, but only sheep who know and trust their Shepherd’s voice. In the meantime, we are called to be defenseless sheep, shrewd snakes and innocent doves, not fearing those wolves who can only kill the body.
There is much fear about the future of the Church in a world that increasingly sees us as irrelevant to peoples’ real life struggles. Perhaps when we begin to go out more as sheep among wolves, being shrewd as snakes and innocent as doves, fearlessly offering peace, we might become something much more than relevant. Perhaps we might become as necessary to life as sheepdogs.
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