10 December 2015
Thursday of the Second Week of Advent
The main character in the science fiction thriller Looper (2012), Joe, encounters his older self who is sent back in time to be killed. The young Joe kills his older self as he arrives with a bag on his head. He moves to Shanghai, where his drug addiction and partying persist. After running low on money, he becomes a hitman. The older Joe meets a woman during a bar fight; they fall in love and marry. Thirty years after he killed his older self, Joe is taken to close the loop, but his wife is killed in the process. Overpowering his captors, Joe sends himself back to meet his younger self. The old Joe then meets with Young Joe at their favorite diner.
The story is a science fiction, but it contains some truth that there is a person in our future. This is the person who we want to become. In the Gospel reading, Jesus looks at John the Baptist as his role model. In some ways or another, Jesus would like to be John the Baptist who preached the good news and gave his life for the truth. Jesus also looks at Elijah as a great prophet who performed many miracles, which included raising the dead.
What kind of a person would I like to become? Am I afraid to see the future of myself? How might I be called to become a better person in the future?