One of the criminals hanging alongside cursed Jesus: “Some Messiah you are! Save yourself! Save us!” But the other one made him shut up: “Have you no fear of God? You’re getting the same as this man. We deserve this, but not him – he did nothing to deserve this”. Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you enter your kingdom”. Jesus said, “Don’t worry, I will. Today you will be with me in paradise”. (Luke 23: 39 – 43)
In what has now become a cult classic, A Knight’s Tale, a 2001 movie starring Heath Ledger, tells the story of a young 14th century English thatcher’s son who is encouraged by his father to “change his stars” by accepting an apprenticeship to a knight. When the knight suddenly dies, William decides to continue the knight’s course as a champion jouster by forging a new identity, with the help of a struggling writer named Geoffrey Chaucer, and the rest is entertaining faux history.
Much like the real Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer, the screen tale describes a world that is turned upside down (or “up so doun,” as Chaucer would say): Good and determined peasants are honoured for their noble virtues and selfish and cruel nobles are measured, weighed, and found wanting. A prince shows his humanity and compassion and a churchman shows his arrogance and indifference.
Everything you thought you understood is called into question, and your eyes are opened to a new reality where nobility is not inherited but earned; where goodness is not assumed but demonstrated. That is the upside-down world of Christianity: Everyone is deemed worthy to sit at the table of the king, and the king, in turn, is a servant to us all.