Alfred Pennyworth: Endure, Master Wayne. Take it. They'll hate you for it, but that's the point of Batman, he can be the outcast. He can make the choice that no one else can make, the right choice.—from The Dark Knight.
If a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.
Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.—from Mark 3
In Mark 3, Jesus’ family comes to check on him. Because word was getting out about his ministry of healing, he was getting quite popular, and many thought he was out of his mind, that he must be crazy. The scribes even called his ministry ‘devil’s work.’
Jesus responds to all this by saying “if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.” A force, whether it be human or supernatural, or perhaps both, is threatening his message by trying to turn everyone against one another.
In The Dark Night triology, you have the forces of evil trying to take down Batman, a force for good, by turning the population against itself. In the first Dark Knight film, Harvey Dent becomes a hero the people think they can turn to, but he succumbs to tragically becoming a pawn in the Joker’s evil games to “get” Batman.
This Mark text is troubling because it highlights so clearly for us what happens to people of faith. People of all religions, not just Christianity, often face darkness and evil forces by turning against one another. The message of “do unto others as you would have them do unto you” gets lost and all people end up doing is fighting not the evil that assails them, but fighting one another instead.
Sometimes, it takes a lot of courage to do unto others. It takes a different kind of person to be willing to stand on the margins with people. Like Jesus, people will call you ‘crazy.’ It isn’t easy to love others, that’s why we fight and turn on each other.
How can we be like Jesus, putting ourselves at risk in order to save the world? What little and big steps could bring about ‘world peace’ in our little piece of the world? Email me or click the word “comments” below.
I think you could explore the reasons Bruce takes on his ward Dick Grayson, as well. Bruce witnessed firsthand violence in his parents' deaths, and so does Dick. It takes courage to face that. Perhaps he liked having someone else who understood that kind of darkness alongside him.
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