While I enjoy movies, I usually neither see as many as I have recently, nor watch the same one twice in a week. After my first viewing of “Invictus,” I knew the characters and themes would show up in a column, and with paper and pen in hand for taking notes, I accompanied a friend to see it again.
The subject matter alone is weighty enough to warrant two viewings. Morgan Freeman brings his considerable presence and gravitas to the role of Nelson Mandela and Matt Damon’s portrayal of François Pienaar, captain of South Africa’s rugby team is outstanding, but the real-life Mandela, revealed through Freeman, is the star.
After returning home from viewing number one, I searched the Internet to learn more about the man I remembered from newscasts in the 90’s. Influenced by Gandhi, Mandela began his anti-apartheid efforts committed to non-violence, but after the Sharpeville Massacre in 1960, when South African police fired on a large group of peaceful black protesters, he helped found the armed wing of the African National Conference, a move he considered the last resort. Eventually arrested, Mandela served twenty-seven years in prison. The movie begins with his release on February 11, 1990 and continues through the 1995 Rugby World Cup.
At on point in the film, the rugby team captain stares out a hotel window and ponders a question that must have occurred to the audience as well: How does someone spend so many years in a tiny cell and get out ready to forgive those who put you in there?
The answer is found in Mandela’s heart: Forgiveness and reconciliation. Mandela knew that forgiveness “liberates the soul and removes fear. That is why it is a powerful weapon.” He insisted that forgiveness begin with him and those who served in his administration. That message was not easily embraced by those around him, just as it is not easily embraced by any one faced with Jesus’ command to “love your enemy,” yet that is what we are called to do.
Our “enemy” need not be an oppressive government, though it may be. Perceived “enemies” can be found outside our families or within them; they can be neighbors or people we don’t know across the world. They are people who threaten us or our way of life; they are people who hurt, abuse, or ignore. Anger rises within us, and we see the other as “enemy,” even though we may not use that word to describe them. Our actions are driven by fear and distrust and lead to more of the same.
Mandela knew that and he led by example: He forgave.
He also reverenced the other, treating all with respect, quick to thank, to inquire about loved ones, and to remark on something good he saw within them. At least in the movie, Mandela had a contagious smile and self-deprecating manner that engendered loyalty and love. He was often called “Tata’” an endearing term for “father,” since many considered him father of South Africa.
Christians are called to reverence one another and recognize the presence of the Divine that dwells within each of us. Forgiveness and absence of fear makes possible this focus on Goodness. Jesus loved his friends and followers. He forgave their shortcomings, their lack of understanding. He forgave those whose actions put him to death. Jesus shows us what God sees: our Divine likeness.
Jesus’ incarnation calls us to become more than we can imagine ourselves to be. He calls us to be one with God.
Mandela asks François how one can inspire others to greatness “when nothing else will do.” François answers, “by example.”
As I reflect on this Christmas season and look toward the New Year, I think of Jesus’ love and willingness to become one with us, to live a life that is an example of what human beings are called to be. I consider his challenge to forgive and to love, and I give thanks for people like Nelson Mandela whose lives remind me that, in a time when nothing else will do, such a life is possible.
Copyright 2009 by Mary van Balen-Holt.
Visit her blog at: http://maryvanbalen.com