By Father John P. Cush

SISTER HELENA Burns, f.s.p., one of the best voices in Catholic media and dialogue with culture, recently commented that the best recent films based on the Bible are being made by atheists. I tend to agree.

This is not just concerning recent films; go back to Pasolini’s “The Gospel According to Saint Matthew” (1964). It is a classic (even The Vatican was impressed by the film and it was named to its 45 Best Films List). However, looking at two recent films, “Exodus: Gods and Kings” (2014), directed by Ridley Scott (an agnostic) and “Noah,” directed by Darren Aronofsky (an atheist), Sister Helena’s comments ring true. She writes:

Atheists Delve Deep
“I don’t know that atheists necessarily make the best contemporary movies about faith or people of faith, but they certainly do the oldies well. Perhaps this is in part because they mine an amazing text/source that believers might take at face value and/or are afraid to delve to deeply into. Also, atheists are hungrier than us spoiled, slothful believers who take everything for granted. Simply having faith doesn’t mean we have mastered the human depths of a Bible figure’s journey. … To do a Bible story well, an atheist filmmaker must suspend their OWN disbelief and ask ‘what if’?” (hell-burns.blogspot.com, accessed Dec. 23, 2014).

“Noah” was proudly declared by Aronofsky to be the least biblical film ever made about the Bible! And yes, I might agree with his statement. As I’ve mentioned in this column before, “Noah” offered some odd artistic choices. The nephilim (mentioned in Genesis 6:4 as the offspring of the “sons of God,” i.e. angels and the daughters of men”) become stone creatures, and Noah is a rather manic environmentalist.

However, I tend to agree with Father Robert Barron, another powerful voice for the New Evangelization, when in his review of “Noah,” he praised the film for including “God, creation, providence, sin, obedience, salvation: not bad for a major Hollywood movie!” (www.wordonfire.org, accessed Dec. 23, 2014).

To be honest, “Noah” is a movie that I had to watch twice, and I appreciated it much more the second time. Once I got over some of Aronofsky’s additions to the story line and aspects of his interpretation, I did enjoy it. It made me reflect on those concepts mentioned by Father Barron and most especially the concept of covenant, which is the main idea of today’s first reading.

Noah and his sons are present when God establishes a new covenant with His creation to never again flood the world. The Lord also gives a sign to Noah as a perpetual reminder of this covenant – the rainbow. On this first Sunday of Lent, perhaps (with all due respect to Kermit the Frog) we should pursue this “rainbow connection” and reflect on the nature of covenant.

Some questions then for our reflection: First, what is a covenant? Second, how do we as Catholic Christians participate in covenant with the Lord? Finally, if we have failed in our part of the covenant, how can we renew it?

A covenant is an agreement between two parties, one superior, one inferior. It comes from the Hebrew word, berith. The superior party, obviously, is God and the inferior one, humanity. God makes a promise of being our loving, sustaining Creator. We have the responsibility to remain faithful to the statutes God has laid out for us. Noah’s covenant is one of many in the Old Testament.

One thing is consistent throughout the Old Testament –  God is always faithful to His end of the covenant and humanity is perpetually unfaithful. Humanity, infected with the stain of original sin, falls and fails time and again.

Second, how do we as Catholic Christians participate in the covenant? Jesus Himself is the New Covenant made with humankind. He is the fulfillment of salvation history. The Church is the fulfillment of the restoration of Israel.

Finally, we need to acknowledge that we, each in our own way, have failed to live up to the covenant of love established in the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord, Jesus. Each and every one us sin; we turn away from Love who is Jesus. Lent affords us the opportunity for deep reflection on our relationship with God.

Sin is threefold alienation from God, others and ourselves. In the Holy Cross of Christ, we find threefold reconciliation. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is the surest way for us sinners to make peace with God, others and our souls. The surest sign of the covenant is the Eucharist. There is no better time to get back to the practice of confession than during Lent; if we have been away from the Mass, come back to the greatest act of covenantal love in the Eucharist.

This Lent, inspired by the example of Noah and his sons, comforted by the berith made by the Lord with humanity, may we live in the hope symbolized by the rainbow covenant.

Readings for the First Sunday of Lent:
Genesis 9: 8-15
Psalm 25: 4-5, 6-7, 8-9 1 Peter 3: 18-22
Mark 1: 12-15

Father John P. Cush is a doctoral candidate in fundamental theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, Italy. He also serves as censor librorum for the Brooklyn Diocese.