The Quick and the Dead

Who can help but think of the Wild West when we hear “He will come to judge the Quick and the Dead?” The Western genre seems to be the official American version of the Book of Judges - the obvious title, sure, but also “High Noon,” “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly,” and “No Country for Old Men;” the list goes on and on, a litany of lawmen rising up in an attempt to restore balance to a world run amok.My favorite of these, “Tombstone,” tells the story of Wyatt Earp, legendary lawman of the OK Corral, grasping for retirement as the lawlessness of Cowboys ruling the streets taunts the sense of uprightness in his bones. In the end, Earp is driven to pin the Marshall’s badge to his vest once again and serve justice for the town of Tombstone. As I re-watched “Tombstone” recently, I was struck by three lines that sound an awful lot like a Biblical theology of the Second Coming:“He tried to bring something fine into your ugly world and you shot him for it… not that you care.” Josephine’s indictment on the murder of her friend Mr. Fabian reveals the core of the coming judgment: good and evil cannot coexist forever, and evil is too callous to ever back down. Replace “shot” for “crucified” and this is a pretty obvious echo of Jesus’ story, whose goodness was infinitely finer and more winsome than the martyred actor’s. Since evil will not be swayed by goodness, it must be ended definitively.“You tell ‘em I’m coming and Hell’s coming with me.” This might be Earp’s most famous line in the movie. Like the Lord Himself, Wyatt sends a messenger to the evildoers to say, “My presence will not tolerate your wickedness, and I am not backing down.” The Law Man is coming for a fight. It will be decisive, and evil won’t like it.“Make no mistake, it’s not revenge he’s after, it’s a reckoning.” Doc Holliday’s cool, dispassionate demeanor lends him to some of the most profound observations of the film. He wants to clarify the intent of this coming Lawman: “You will be getting exactly what you deserve here.” He’s not vindictive; he is vindicated.So where does that leave you and me? If Jesus is coming with fury, isn't there a tension in our wanting him to return? Well, that will be the heart of our sermon this Sunday as we continue in our summer series on the Apostles’ Creed and explore how judgment is actually the most merciful move of all.- Josh