Far From Death – Ambassadors in the Matrix

The Choice

Red or blue, which would you choose? Most of us, given the opportunity to take some pill from a man we met five minutes ago would tell him to have a nice day and walk out the door without experiencing side effects from a red or blue pill. Yet we should remember that it was Neo who had already come this far. He was not forced. He chose to follow the white rabbit. His journey had led him here. How could he go back when he had come this far? The words that Morpheus had spoken to him made sense in an uncanny way. They spoke to something hidden that had puzzled him his entire life, an illusive something for which he had no language, like a feeling that is always somewhere in the background and never goes away. Morpheus had spoken to this feeling and given it more definition. The matrix, what little Neo had already discovered of it, Morpheus had offered to show him more.

As Morpheus put it, “Unfortunately, no one can be told what the matrix is; you must see it for yourself”. If Morpheus would have told Neo that he is the captain of a hovercraft, piloting a mission in roughly the year 2199, and that the world is now controlled by artificially intelligent machines whose primary objective is to enslave the human race in a virtual reality computer simulation, how would Neo have responded? That is a lot to expect someone in Neo’s shoes to just accept. Neo has no grid for where Morpheus is coming from. Morpheus tells all of this to Neo, but not until after he has come out of the matrix. Neo cannot see the matrix while he is still a part of it. One must come out of the matrix to see it for what it really is.

Reconciliation

The matrix is a system. Like every other system it functions on a logic that has set parameters and rules. Systems are everywhere. We deal with them every day. My computer functions on the logic of a system. Company policies and procedures are systematic. Civil law is a system. Ideas and beliefs can be organized systematically. There are many other examples. Systems can create a context for relationship and aside from judging whether any particular system is good or bad, the reality is that systems exist and that we are interacting with them on a regular basis. The crew members of the Nebuchadnezzar are no longer asleep and unaware of their presence within the larger context of the system. They are oriented to reality and know the truth. This gives them a purpose when they go back into the matrix. The truth is that they are in a dark world. A world controlled by machines. For the time being they are cruising along in a clunky ship in the abandoned sewer lines of an uninhabitable wasteland; yet they are truly free. They have rags on their backs and protein compounds for breakfast; yet they are heading for the dream of freedom for all humanity. They know that humanity is in slavery, and they now work for humanity’s salvation. They have been reconciled to reality and have become messengers of that reality to others still in the matrix. They still interact within the matrix, but now it is completely different. They are now intentional about what they are doing there. They have a mission. They are ambassadors to the reconciliation that they themselves know and are now living.

Morpheus the Evangelist

I think many times people do not understand or relate to Christianity because they are introduced to it in a way that is far too systematic. They have difficulty connecting the information to their own experience. The information may be true, but it does not seem relevant to them because it does not speak to the mystery that puzzles them. They are not given the opportunity to take the red pill. Their questions must be answered. The mystery within them must be met within their own context, within their own grid. They must choose for themselves as they are driven to know more. Timing is everything. Morpheus knows that he is meeting Neo in the middle of his journey. Neo has already begun to seek out the mystery himself. He knows Neo has a deep question, something he cannot explain. Morpheus has no intention of being the one that has all of Neo’s answers. He can simply show him the way to find the answers for himself. Morpheus disciples Neo by pointing the way. He is not trying to debate with Neo with a persuasive argument that Neo cannot refute. Apologetics has its place, but should it be the tool used for evangelism? Systematic theology can prove very useful to believers who desire to grow in their faith, but should that be the ground on which one tries to communicate the gospel to someone like Neo? I would submit that Morpheus has a more effective strategy. Morpheus relates to Neo in the context of the matrix, as this is what Neo understands as reality. He does not reveal the complete state of things; it would be too difficult for Neo to accept. Further how could he reveal the truth without Neo first choosing to come out of the matrix to experience the truth for himself? His strategy is not information but experience. The information is given in relation to Neo’s own experience, not the other way around.

A Step of Faith

By taking the red pill Neo chooses to believe. He takes a step of faith, and his entire existence and destination is forever changed. His salvation from the matrix was more like a car accident than it was a philosophical lecture on reality. It was more like waking up from a coma than an adherence to theological ideas. Christ has come into the world, and through His own death and resurrection, He has made the way for man to be reconciled to God. This is true, but how does one come to know this truth? Before someone can accept this they must choose to experience it for themselves. Choosing the red pill means choosing reality. It means taking a step in the direction of the unknown. There is more than meets the eye as Neo soon finds out. We must believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. His blood is our red pill out of the matrix so that we can find out who we really are and where we are going. In time we learn to negotiate through the matrix, seeking others who would choose to really live and be free. In this we partner with God, the one who has sent His Son, who is our reconciliation to God.

All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. (2 Corinthians 5:18-20)

The story continues. Neo is now lying face up on an operating table. In and out of consciousness, he must now go through a very delicate and lengthy healing process. Constantly attended by members of the ship, he is encouraged with simple and kind words as the remnants of the machine are removed from his body and his muscle fibers are rebuilt. Neo, barely audible, “Am I dead?”

Morpheus assures him “Far from it.”