(I should pause here and give you a spoiler alert. Later in the post I'm going to reveal an aspect of the Dragon Age world that isn't revealed in-game until just before the climax. Don't worry, I'll put up another spoiler alert when the time comes...)
I'll get back to Dragon Age: Origins in a moment. But first a moment back in the "real world." The Gospel lesson for Sunday is all about abstract, difficult to understand concepts like grace and being "born again." And in the lesson, poor Nicodemus hears Jesus literally, "How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother's womb and be born?" So Jesus is forced to explain that it's a metaphor—he's talking about a spiritual rebirth, here. Sometimes I hear Christians talk about being born again as if it were something you can accomplish yourself—as if it were something you could just set out to do. Personally, I'm with Scott Black Johnston on this point:
"It is ironic that many Christians treat the question, 'Are you born again?' as if it involves making a decision for God. Yet babies do not decide to be born… Instead, God is the primary player in this passage."This being born again thing, this spiritual transformation that Jesus is trying to describe to Nicodemus, is difficult to wrap your mind around. But with Jesus the point is always how we relate to God, neighbor, and self—and the answer is always "love." The transformation happens when you realize that you've won the spiritual lottery—that despite the fact that none of us really deserves it, God loves us anyway. And when we let that fact transform us, we end up being good to each other. Or as Jesus puts it, you can "...see the kingdom of God..."
Like I said, that's all really esoteric and difficult to wrap your mind around. Which is why it's so refreshing to immerse yourself in a world like that of Dragon Age: Origins. Darkspawn are the physical manifestation of the evil, or corruption, that occurred when a group of mages tried to get into heaven. There is no gray area—Darkspawn are evil. Period. End of sentence.
And when you're talking about being born again, or transformed, you're talking about a literal transformation. There is an order of knights dedicated to fighting the Darkspawn known as The Gray Wardens. The Wardens are known for ignoring a person's gender, social status, race and even criminal background when they're recruiting (kind of sounds like grace, doesn't it?) because the only requirement is a willingness to attempt a transformative ritual known as The Joining. The result is a literal, physical transformation that gives the Warden powers necessary for defeating the Darkspawn and their Archdemon leader at the price of becoming somewhat corrupted themselves.
In the end, it turns out that defeating the Archdemon requires a Warden because of that taint: when an Archdemon is slain, its spirit jumps into the nearest available Darkspawn. Because Darkspawn are soulless, the Archdemon can avoid being destroyed in this way. A Warden, however, has a soul. So if a Warden is nearest to the Archdemon when it dies, it is drawn to the corruption and both its spirit and the Warden are destroyed.
Every time I get to that point in the game, I can't help thinking, "No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends."
But as much fun as it is to slaughter Darkspawn, I have to return to the real world. Luckily I know in my heart that God loves me, despite all my failings. I try to let this transform me every day—even though I know that I have about as much choice in the matter as I did in being born.
God loves you,
Be good to each other,
Rev. Josh
031114
The scripture lessons for March 16th—The Second Sunday of Lent Year A—are:
Genesis 12:1-4a—Psalm 121—Romans 4:1-5, 13-17—John 3:1-17
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