2,700 years ago the ancient Greek poet Homer wrote the epic, “The Odyssey.” In 2026, Christopher Nolan turned it into a major motion picture starring Matt Damon. Nearly three millennia later, this story is still gathering an audience!
To be clear, I do not love the story of “The Odyssey.” I actually find it kind of meandering and depressing … but the story is filled with fanciful, mythical and memorable moments starring Odysseus and his (not so merry) men and his faithful wife Penelope.
In case you haven’t seen or read the story, I will recap (there are no spoilers for 2,700 year old stories … you had your chance!) Odysseus emerges as a hero from the Trojan war, and begins his journey home, but gets lost along the way. He ends up fighting a cyclops, a witch, giants, an army of the dead, sirens, and the ocean itself in his journey to return home and be reunited with his wife and family again.
This story is wild and made up … even the trojan horse was a literary invention not a historical fact … but has captured the imagination of many nonetheless. Why? Well, Odysseus lives the life of a super-human navigating a cruel world and his own inner demons while trying to return to his true love. It is a like a Batman origin story told by men wearing Spartan helmets! There is some believable and relatable emotion in this yarn, but even so it is just a fairy tale. It might as well begin “once upon a time” or “a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.” We can be entertained by this drama, but it certainly is not life-changing.
Now, I want us to remember a different ancient story. This one is 2,000 years old and is set on the other side of the Mediterranean Sea. In this story, the God/Man is saving His beloved from the giants of sin and death, while making a way for those who are with Him to overcome the sirens call so that they can return Home to fellowship with their Father. Along the way, the God/Man overcomes the sea, miraculously feeds a hungry crowd, and even defeats thousands of demons! This story, of course, refers to the account of Jesus’ earthly ministry in Luke 8-9. What sets this story apart, of course, is that it is not a myth … it really happened! His tale is as old as time and the victory He wins delivers eternal life to you and to me.
More than just entertaining audiences, Jesus is changing lives! Jesus really embarked on His odyssey to save us, and unlike Odysseus (who lost his crew along the way), the Scripture tells us that Jesus “lost not one” of those committed to His care! He is better in every way. This is a case where Truth really is better than fiction.
I say all this because this Sunday we will be in part 5 of our series, “Feeding the Flock” as we will look at Luke 8:26-39 in our 8:30, 9:45, and 11:00 services at Wildwood Community Church. This week we will see Jesus take on a battle against thousands of demons, and we will also see Him change a man, and send him … home. In this account we find victory, hope, strength, and purpose for our real lives. Hope you make the journey to Wildwood Sunday to worship with us … and bring friends (don’t leave any from your crew behind!) We will sing, share the Lord’s supper, study the Scripture, and exalt the God/Man who came to bring us Home.