I was pretty sure early on that Lost was not going to be for me. First, there was a lot of blood. I don't really care for television that seems to think blood is an essential ingredient. I think blood, like many bodily fluids, is best kept out of the line of vision. Then there was all of the shooting. A lot of shooting. For an island that seemed to be limited in populations to those who were on the airplane that crashed, they kept shooting one another, yet there were always more people to shoot later.
Then there was some weird science fiction theme that confused me to no end. Why were those people on the island anyway, and if they could come and go in a submarine, why was it that Jacob said they couldn't leave the island?! Numbers, buttons, people filling out notebooks no one read, it was all...well, slightly frustrating. I found myself wondering if the writers were giggling as they wrote saying, telling each other "they will be trying to figure that all all summer"! It could be that I am a bit of a cynic.
Yet, somehow I was hooked. I began to think Lost thoughts. I wondered about what it might mean if we lost some of the structure and boundaries that we perceive help us feel safe, like laws and law enforcers. I started wondering how civilized we really were under the surface. I started thinking about the stories of redemption: the crack head kicking his habit and dealing with his issues, the cripple walking and dealing with his father issues, the woman who goes to unbelievable lengths to protect her mother, to have all of that literally blow up in her face. What if we were given the opportunity work through our accumulation of junk, stored in our mental attics, because we had to? How would that impact who we were?
Lost somehow got into my interior space and started rabbits all over the place. It got a little old in the middle, as though Lost was LOST, and then found itself again in the end. In the end was death of course. It is not a subject we explore often, no one seems to be excited about talking about death. Its the constant we can all depend on but even our hero Jack had a hard time coming to grip with his death. Death is somehow the ultimate failure in our culture. But Lost does this remarkable thing. In the middle of a Catholic Church, Lost makes death a journey into light. I liked the end. I liked the light, the love, and the reunion. I liked to see the redemption complete. I liked that in death there is no 'now', that's a nice thought. I liked the tenderness, the radical hospitality that accepts people as they are and lets them find their own way. It was really satisfying.
But all of that is beside the point. This is not a nice show for Christians to debate the meaning of life/death and resurrections. For the most part, this was a show for those who don't even consciously know they are discussing such topics. It was wild fantasy, science fiction, violent, thought provoking, romantic, crazy interpersonal relationships, with a polar bear or two thrown in for fun. It was good versus evil, but it was hard to figure out who was good, and it was dealing with our issues and letting go, and it was belonging. No one was trying to talk about God, but God was everywhere! Isn't that amazing?
Everytime I start thinking how important I am, or the Church is, I discover yet again that God is showing up in the wildest places, without any help from me. I don't mean at all that God doesn't ask all of us to participate in this amazing grace, but it isn't our shoulders that need to bear the enormous weight. God has this covered! David Breen said, in a workshop about discipling communities, we are not supposed to be worrying about inovation as much as incarnation. How do we find where God is at work and join?
I missed the boat on Lost. I can't help but wonder if I had been following this years ago what conversations might have started. I feel sure someone was listening better, and used the show as a spring board to talk about what redemption is, what light is, how God helps all of us reconcile our issues by providing us an advocate and a way home. I wish it had been me, but its not too late. I might need to be watching where God is working today. Jump on that boat and see where the Spirit lead.
Lost sums it up well, Grace does too! Tomorrow is a new day, and a new opportunity to watch, go, and connect with God. I intend to be ready.
