This week, we begin our "Summer Blockbuster Sermon Series." First up is Baz Luhrmann's lush adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic novel, The Great Gatsby, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, and Carey Mulligan. Set among the very wealthy during the Roaring 20s, the movie explores the darker side of lives filled with fancy cars, expensive clothing, lavish parties, and free-flowing alcohol (at the height of Prohibition).
This is reminiscent of the example of the Pharisees, who frequently clashed with Jesus over his actions and his teaching. Jesus accuses them of being all show and no substance, people who worry more about their social status than how they actually live theirs lives -- which is to say, they don't actually seem to be following the religious life that they so strenuously insist others live. The most extensive list of problems with the Pharisees is recorded in Matthew 23.
If you haven't seen the new big-budget version of The Great Gatsby, you can watch the trailer here:
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