Genesis 21:8-21
Matthew 10:24-39
“The God Who Sees You”
I wonder if any of you have watched the 2009 film, “Avatar.” You may remember it from the blue-coloured people – the Na’vi – who are Indigenous to the moon called Pandora. And in the movie, Earth people have arrived on the moon to mine it of a natural resource called “Unobtanium.” As part of their strategy for accessing this valuable resource, the Earth people use advanced technology to give themselves avatars so that they can look like the Na’vi people and interact with them in that way.
Nick and I recently re-watched “Avatar” before watching the 2022 sequel, “Avatar: The Way of Water,” and both are interesting movies that raise questions about land, resources, intercultural relations, and colonization. But the reason I’m mentioning it today is because there is a Na’vi greeting highlighted in the movies which immediately came to mind when I began reflecting on today’s biblical texts.
When Na’vi encounter or greet one another, they gesture with their hand from their forehead, extending one hand down toward the other. They marry this gesture with the phrase “oel ngati kameie” (I see you). And we learn that this is a deep sign of respect … Read more »