Twilight: New Moon

"A man had two sons..." Mt. 21:28

Above and beyond the teen craze and the unfolding vampire saga, at its core, the new movie Twilight: New Moon is simply a story of the struggle between two forces - and a young woman's journey navigating between them.

Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) is the girl in the middle of all this drama (or one could also say she is the cause of all the drama). Bella is a high school student dating a vampire, one Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) - who then becomes a high school student dumped by a vampire. In her misery, she falls into a deeper relationship with an old friend Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner).

Without Edward around, Bella and Jacob grow closer - that is, until Jacob becomes a werewolf. This is defnitely not your typical teenage romance to be sure.

At this point, Bella is caught between her never-extinquished feelings for Edward and her growing affection for Jacob. Sadly for Jacob, when news arrives that Edward is about to kill himself because of misinformation about Bella's fate, the young girl races off to Italy to save her vampire lover... leaving her werewolf friend in the dust.

Aside from the unique details, this movie boils down to a competition between two forces: Edward and Jacob, the vampire and the werewolf. These two guys are comparable to the two sons that Jesus references in his parables throughout the New Testament. In one of those stories (cf. Mt. 21:28), a father asks his two sons to work in the vineyard - one says "yes" but abandons the work; the other says "no" but decides to do it anyway.

In my opinion, Jacob is the son that initially stays away, but decides to step up to the plate in the end. Edward is the one that abandons the work when times get tough (no matter what Edward's excuse is for leaving later in the film). Sadly, Bella's heart goes to the one who probably doesn't deserve it, while the good son, Jacob, gets left behind.

Which of the two sons in Jesus' parable are you? or which of the two guys in New Moon are you most like: Edward or Jacob? When we are asked to take a stand, do we give an empty show of support or do we reluctantly step in when it's the right thing to do?

There is much talk about this movie amongst fans - half are "Team Edward," rooting for Bella to stay with the vampire; half are "Team Jacob," hoping that Bella goes back to the werewolf. I suppose I would be "Team Jacob," but not for the reasons most of the young girls have for supporting this charater. My reason is that Jacob is the better of the two sons - a trusted friend and someone who will protect and defend the ones he loves.

I guess I will have to wait until the third movie to see where things go from here.