Father Stu: Authenticity and Faithfulness to WHO YOU are...


  Life is messy - not a little messy - it’s very messy.  Families aren’t all they are supposed to be.  Parents let down their children; children fail their parents.  Hopeful and bright futures can become clouded and darkened by poor choices and ever-changing circumstances.  What we expect is not necessarily what we get in the end.  And then to compound matters the unreasonable expectations and beatific images that those around us expect cause us to be crushed under the weight of unrealistic expectations.  

Maybe this is why the movie Father Stu resonated so much with me.  His life is messy - divorced parents, a mother who is co-dependent with her son, a father who is an absentee hardened alcoholic; a family trying to cope with the loss of a child in every inappropriate way possible.  Everyone seemingly is on their own left to their own devices to cope and manage their way through life.  Stuart Long (played by Mark Wahlberg) is at best a dreamer, but probably society would consider him delusional.   A failed boxer, he makes his way to Hollywood to find fame and fortune.  And what does he find?  A hardened alcoholic father who has little or no time for him and those in Hollywood who would sexually exploit him.  Life IS messy.

Along his messy life journey Stu encounters a beautiful Latina named Carmen (played by Teresa Ruiz).  He is smitten and follows her - a big gasp - to a Bible Study in a Roman Catholic Church.  Stu is not anyone you would ever describe as “spiritual.”  In fact, he’s probably the opposite of a spiritual person in every way possible.  But physical attraction is a powerful draw and into the world of Scripture and Christian community he plunges head first.  And something funny happens along the way:  Stu finds that life is more than the mountain of his mess.  That God loves Stu for who he is - broken, dreamy, directionless, and alone.  That in the midst of his personal misery and mess God’s Word calls to him and lets him know that he is loved and valuable.  This Christian community struggles to accept Stu…but due to his persistence and that nagging Call of the Gospel to “Love your neighbor as yourself” Stu finds something he didn’t even know he was looking for:  purpose.

And how does Stu respond to all of this?  By forsaking his love and attraction for Carmen and committing his life to the church.  And this is where, I believe, the movie speaks so clearly:  There is no cookie cutter mold for those who serve the church.  Stu is rough around the edges…well, he’s really rough everywhere.  His language is course; he’s not polished and “holy.”  He’s still Stu - a son of an alcoholic and a broken down boxer who is not academically gifted or socially adept.  He is authentic.  As I watched Stu I found myself seeing a kindred spirit; a follower of Jesus; a person who the Lord loves simply because of who he is - a broken and redeemed child of God.  I saw a man trying to serve his Lord the best he could with what he had.  Even as his body was failing him Stu continued to march forward - preaching to those in prison, caring for those who were poor, blessing those around him who struggled with their calling to the ministry.  Even Carmen, who clearly felt spurned when Stu chose the church over her, comes around to see the simple beauty in this man.

I believe this movie is significant and should be a mandatory watch for anyone who dares to think they should serve the church.  God is not looking for the holy and pious, the liturgically correct and the doctrinally pure.  God is looking for the littlest, the lost, the weak and the dying to bring the message of hope to “sinners and tax collectors.”  He’s looking for the likes of Matthew the tax collector who leaves his booth and nefarious life to follow the likes of Jesus.  He’s looking for people like Stu who willingly walk away from a difficult and challenging life into the warm embrace of the Savior’s arms.  Call it what you will - it’s authentic following with reckless abandon.  There is no promise of a life that is neat and tidy.  But there is a promise of life that is well loved and wonderfully served under a Savior who has done likewise for us.

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