The Gospel in 'The Green Knight'

Dear reader, 

Last night I was ready to give up. 

The weight of the world was on my shoulders, it hurt to think, my emotions were everywhere, and I wanted to do absolutely nothing. 

I was fasting that day, I was trying to grow in intimacy with Christ, I was beaten up from the day, so many trials back to back, things out of my control that kept slamming into my gut.

It just hurts to exist some days. 

I made some rice and sausage and lay on the couch. I wanted to find a story that I could escape into, something that could take my mind off the world for at least two hours.

I turned on the “Green Knight” and let my mind rest. (SPOILER ALERT)

The story was a bizarre take on the Hero’s Journey, narratively it was all over the place, but the protagonist’s (hero) character arc was horrific. 

Just like mine. 

Throughout the journey, he is tricked, beaten, stolen from, and cared for. He sleeps with another man’s wife, and at the very end, it seems like he is unwilling to do the very task he was sent out to do. 

The film shows Gaiwan (the hero) running away from the final encounter with the villain, and his whole life after that is a massive hot mess. 

He is awarded a kingship that he didn’t earn. 

He takes his child from a woman, not his wife. 

He is thrown into a war that seems avoidable. 

His passivity ensues. He allows things to happen and does nothing to object. 

The story seems to end that way. 

When in reality Gaiwan sees the future as it will be if he doesn’t finish his quest, and he chooses to finish strong, which means to die a hero’s death and allow the legacy and story to be told from there on out. 

I didn’t feel so good after the film was done. There are some times when God speaks to me through a line or a character’s actions, and this happens right at the beginning of the film. 

The old King is encouraging Gaiwan to head on this quest even though the pain would be great in the travel. Gaiwan denies it and wants to continue living life as he was, but the king persists. 

“Is it wrong to want greatness for you?”

I wish I would have stopped and turned the TV off and just cried in God’s presence. 

The story that God calls us to live is not an easy one. It will hurt and torment us at times. Conflict and our Enemy are active at every turn, and that is by God’s design to form us into who He wants us to be. 

I’m in a chapter of my story that is quite overwhelming, and the days are not always as welcoming as they could be. Yet I know that I could back out of this role and do something more comfortable and passive. 

Yet God wants greatness for me. I know that’s the same for you, no matter where you are and the role you play in His Kingdom, the role you’re meant to play is a great one. 

Don’t lose your head. 

Sincerely, 

Your fellow Green Knight

-Mitchell