Inara attends a formal society dance, only to find Malcolm there as well, attempting to set up a smuggling job. Mal comes to blows with Inara's conceited date and finds himself facing a duel with a renowned swordsman, and only one night to learn how to fence. (wikipedia.com)
Mercy is the mark of a great man.
This Episode seems to deal with what makes on great. Jayne wears a t-shirt that is seen in "The Train Job", "Ariel", and "War Stories" that contains the Chinese word yong which means "soldier" or more commonly "brave".
We see all examples of what is thought to bring greatness: money, fancy clothes, ownership, fighting. Yet, in the end it is Mal in his down-home humor who sums it up best - Mercy.
In Christian Theology we talk about Grace. The difference between Mercy and Grace is:
- Mercy--not getting what you do deserve / withheld punishment
- Grace--getting what you don't deserve / unmerited favor
1 comment:
Hey there. I just wanted to say I really enjoyed reading through your takes on Faith and Firefly. I'm currently leading a Bible study on the same topic. We're watching an episode a week and discussing connection points. I'm currently working on finishing a manuscript for publication that would essentially be a faith guide to the show with examples from each episode. In this particular post of yours, I really like how you explain Mercy and Grace. It is almost verbatum what I have as the definition.
Anyway, just wanted to say nicely done. It is always nice to connect with others who are passionate about issues in Faith and culture.
Andy Jones
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