"All of this matters"

On the morning I learned that Dr. Murray and Sloane had died, I was on my way to church to preach a sermon about Mark 5: 21-43. You can read the full text here, http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=141719749, but the gist is that Jesus heals a woman who has been suffering a disease for 12 years and also revives a young girl who has just died. In my sermon, I talked about how these miracle stories can be frustrating and painful to read because they make us long for our own miracles, ie: instant, wonderful solutions for our deepest struggles and pain. However, if we look more closely at the story, we realize that these healings were not instant, wonderful solutions. On the contrary, the people involved had to work and suffer a long time and the solutions they received were quite different than what they originally hoped for. Ultimately, I said:

I think that the good news of today’s text is that miracles
aren’t always simple or immediate, but they do happen. The people in today’s stories have to make long and difficult journeys in order to receive healing, and it might not happen exactly as they want or expect it to... When that moment
of healing comes, though, none of that matters. When these people finally feel the healing touch of Jesus, they forget all the struggle and pain, and simply feel awe and gratitude for the miracle they’ve received.

One of my homiletics (preaching) professors in seminary told us that we should always preach the message we most need to hear. The morning that I gave this sermon was the truest expression of that lesson I can imagine. I needed more than anything to believe that healing from the kind of pain so many were experiencing that day could be possible, no matter how long or what form it took.

Apparently, the writers of my all-time favorite show, "Lost," need to believe that too. All season, we've been watching the final showdown between good and evil on the island, mixed with the mysterious "flashes sideways" where the characters inhabit a (seemingly more peaceful) world in which the island has been destroyed and their plane has never crashed. The mystery of the season has been how these two worlds would come together.

Last night, we got the answer: the flashes sideways are a purgatory-esque world where each of the characters goes after his/her death. In the sideways world, the characters have what they always longed for in the "real" world, but each also has a sense that something profound is missing. In the finale, the characters "wake up" one by one, recognizing one another and remembering everything they experienced on the island. In the end, they realize that the relationships they had and the time they spent together were worth all of the pain, confusion, and loss they experienced.

About 3/4 of the way through the episode, Jack and Desmond have a revealing conversation on the island. Desmond is about to do something which he believes will obliterate the island and transport him and everyone else to the sideways world. Jack believes that Desmond's action will actually save the island. Desmond tells Jack that nothing happening on the island matters because he is going to make it all go away and bring them to the other, peaceful world. Jack insists that Desmond is wrong and "all of this matters."

In the end, I think they are both right. The characters need all of the suffering they endure in the real world to bring them to the peace they experience at the end. At the same time, the beauty and happiness they experience at the end wipes away everything that it took to get them there.

While I still have some unanswered questions, I found this ending deeply satisfying and meaningful. I would have loved "Lost" at anytime in my life. I love deep, engaging storytelling which takes on the "big questions" of life- that's why I went into ministry and counseling. At the same time, I know that I love "Lost" as much as I do because I experienced it during six of the best and worst years of my life. I need to know that one day I will look back on everything I've experienced during this time and know that it took me exactly where I needed it to go. I'm thankful to "Lost" for preaching the word I most need to hear.