Ga'Hoole and Covenant Renewal

This past weekend I saw the new movie "Legend of the Guardians," which is based on the kids' fantasy books, "Guardians of Ga'Hoole."  The movie centers around the story of some owls who end up being caught in a battle between a group of evil, Nazi Germany-like owls, and "the Guardians" who live in a land called Ga'Hoole. Although the movie was targeted at kids, there were several themes that I found particularly fascinating.

One of those themes dealt with the power of stories. In the opening scene, some young owls are playing in their tree and imagining themselves as heroes from their father's stories. While one brother firmly believes in the stories (which turn out to be true), the other brother looks on them with scorn and prefers to live in "reality." However, as their father tells them when he returns to the tree, "Stories are tell us who we are--they give us identity."

Being a Communication major and a Biblical Studies major in undergrad, I couldn't help but think of the Biblical story. The stories of the Bible are powerful not just because they can teach a lesson, but really because they give us identity by telling us our history and revealing our nature. A powerful example of this comes whenever Israel goes through the process of covenant renewal. In Joshua 24, Israel goes through such a ceremony. However, before the people can recommit themselves, they must remember their stories. Hence, the beginning of the ceremony in Joshua 24 rehearses the history of Israel up to that point. One's stories and history provide identity so that one is empowered to live in keeping with that identity.

In the movie, the consequences of not holding onto those treasured stories is clearly illustrated. In the end, the brother who believes in the stories goes on to become a hero while the brother who scorned the stories falls to evil and does not find redemption. Likewise, the consequences in Israel's history were equally severe. Just as Joshua predicted in chapter 24, Israel would forget her history and would fall under God's judgment. Thus, both this film and the Biblical story serve as poignant reminders of the importance of remembering and being committed to our stories and history.