Lost in the Larger Story
May 17, 2009
For nearly five months now I have attempted to keep a retaining wall around my rising engagement with the television show Lost when it comes to sermon illustrations or articles. Since Wednesday evening’s episode was the last of the year, I thought I could indulge one article for musing on the parallels between the fictitious mythology of Lost and, to use C.S. Lewis’ term, the true myth that is the gospel.
Due to the sheer breadth and intricacy of the Lost mythology, it is not worth giving anything more than a broad description of what happened on the season finale to make my point (I know I appreciate it when Star Trek fans keep their mythology to themselves). In short, a revelation was made at the end of this fifth season that changes the way one understands all the other seasons. One could-and no doubt, many will-begin from the first episode of the first season and re-watch the previous 101 episodes with entirely new eyes, understanding events and individuals in a much fuller light.
This is, of course, the dynamic that was strikingly prominent in the early church, only it was real. For 2,000 years the Jewish people lived with the story of Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac. They lived in a sacrificial system where the blood of another covered their sins before a holy, righteous God. They had God’s presence with them in a central tabernacle or temple. They experienced kings with varying degrees of faithfulness to Yahweh and thus varying degrees of national peace. And at the core of this was a sense of national destiny, captured in the original promise to Abraham that “in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:3).
Jesus fulfilled these pieces of Israel’s story in his life, death, and resurrection. As he helped his disciples understand this following his resurrection, he showed them how this fulfillment affected not only their future, but their understanding of the past. “He said to them, ‘These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.’ Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures” (Luke 24:44-45).
Andrew and Thomas and James and the others must have had their minds swirling as Jesus walked them through the entirety of Israel’s story beginning with “Season 1.” He put the pieces together, unveiling new meaning in their history in light of what he had and was continuing to accomplish. For a sampling of the disciples’ understanding of this new meaning, read Peter’s early sermons in Acts.
As I reflect on this, I am deeply thankful that God has written us into that story. I am thankful that the experience of being part of something bigger than ourselves is not relegated to a clever but fake story produced by an American television network. Because of Jesus we are part of a story authored by God himself, the story so brilliant that all others, from War and Peace to Lost are but echos of God’s master weaving.
Living in the story with you,
Pastor Chris