7 "Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered;
8blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin." Romans 4
Travis Bickle is not a King David archetype- he isn't a "man after God's own heart." The words of David that the Apostle Paul quoted, above, in his epistle to the Romans, are also found in Psalm 32:
1Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered.
2Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity,
and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
3For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away
through my groaning all day long.
4For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;
my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah
But again, this sounds like Travis- the movie opens up with a restless Travis, day and night a weight is on him; he cannot sleep and his strength is dried up as if the summer heat has stolen it away. He can't sleep so he starts driving a taxi, immersing himself into the stench and filth in the city that he already hates. He lets himself become embittered when his his sins keep him from what he desires, and he spirals into loathing, self-pity, hatred, vengeance, violence. There is one spark in him- his pity for the child hooker who calls herself Easy. This is also seen in his defensive attack on behalf of the convenience store owner.
As Travis arms himself and practices menacing looks and quick draws, I am thinking to myself how far one can go in sin, bringing death to himself and those around him. As Travis shoots the robber, as Travis plans a murder-suicide rage towards the Presidential candidate and the volunteer campaigners who rebuffed him, my spirit was crying out towards the overwhelming increasing iniquity. My bones are wasting away with Travis'.
But in the end, Travis feels a glimmer of hope in his renewed focus to become savior of the child hooker who literally jumped into his life- his cab- and gave him something to think about other than himself. He becomes an archetype of Christ- Iris isn't looking to be saved, she isn't interested in being saved, she even tells him that her one attempt to reach out was not real but influenced by drugs and a moment of despair- yet, Travis decides then and there that even in her sin, he's willing to die to free her from that slavery to sin. In a twist of plot, rather than rampaging through a crowded rally and killing innocents, Travis goes after the bad guys, is hailed as hero, is revered by the hooker's parents, who report that she is starting life anew.
But is Travis? Is anyone, really? Psalm 32 goes on,
5I acknowledged my sin to you,
and I did not cover my iniquity;
I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,"
and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah
Romans goes on in chapter 5,
6For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.
The fail in this movie, the hollow feeling one feels when the end credits roll (try reading the reviews on Netflix), is that Travis is not justified, is not sanctified by his act. As reviewers at Netflix state- it's an interesting twist, going after the bad guys, but we don't really buy it. Travis, and we, are guilty if we do not acknowledge our sin to Creator God. We cover our sins and think they are hidden, but God knows all. He sees all. Yet He forgives all. For while we were weak, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us- the sacrificial blood that justifies our actions and frees us from the slavery of our iniquities. It is not as Paul points out in Romans 4, that we get paid for a job well done. It is a gift of grace based upon faith.
And that, my friends, leaves us with a glowing sense of hope and peace.
whose sin is covered.
2Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity,
and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
3For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away
through my groaning all day long.
4For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;
my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah
But again, this sounds like Travis- the movie opens up with a restless Travis, day and night a weight is on him; he cannot sleep and his strength is dried up as if the summer heat has stolen it away. He can't sleep so he starts driving a taxi, immersing himself into the stench and filth in the city that he already hates. He lets himself become embittered when his his sins keep him from what he desires, and he spirals into loathing, self-pity, hatred, vengeance, violence. There is one spark in him- his pity for the child hooker who calls herself Easy. This is also seen in his defensive attack on behalf of the convenience store owner.
As Travis arms himself and practices menacing looks and quick draws, I am thinking to myself how far one can go in sin, bringing death to himself and those around him. As Travis shoots the robber, as Travis plans a murder-suicide rage towards the Presidential candidate and the volunteer campaigners who rebuffed him, my spirit was crying out towards the overwhelming increasing iniquity. My bones are wasting away with Travis'.
But in the end, Travis feels a glimmer of hope in his renewed focus to become savior of the child hooker who literally jumped into his life- his cab- and gave him something to think about other than himself. He becomes an archetype of Christ- Iris isn't looking to be saved, she isn't interested in being saved, she even tells him that her one attempt to reach out was not real but influenced by drugs and a moment of despair- yet, Travis decides then and there that even in her sin, he's willing to die to free her from that slavery to sin. In a twist of plot, rather than rampaging through a crowded rally and killing innocents, Travis goes after the bad guys, is hailed as hero, is revered by the hooker's parents, who report that she is starting life anew.
But is Travis? Is anyone, really? Psalm 32 goes on,
5I acknowledged my sin to you,
and I did not cover my iniquity;
I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,"
and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah
Romans goes on in chapter 5,
6For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.
The fail in this movie, the hollow feeling one feels when the end credits roll (try reading the reviews on Netflix), is that Travis is not justified, is not sanctified by his act. As reviewers at Netflix state- it's an interesting twist, going after the bad guys, but we don't really buy it. Travis, and we, are guilty if we do not acknowledge our sin to Creator God. We cover our sins and think they are hidden, but God knows all. He sees all. Yet He forgives all. For while we were weak, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us- the sacrificial blood that justifies our actions and frees us from the slavery of our iniquities. It is not as Paul points out in Romans 4, that we get paid for a job well done. It is a gift of grace based upon faith.
And that, my friends, leaves us with a glowing sense of hope and peace.
