So, on the weekend I was at my dad’s and when we’re there, the kids and I usually go to church with him and his wife. We did the little thing where you bring the kids to the front of the church and the minister tells a little story (this one was about Jesus being a shepherd) and then the kids went downstairs, and as I resumed my seat in the pew further back, I was now alone with my thoughts and began thinking, “Shepherd. Shephard. It’s not a coincidence that his name is a misspelling of ‘shepherd’... he wasn’t able to actually herd them anywhere.” Then the minister said, “And now let’s do a familiar reading for most of us: Psalm 23.” “Hm,” I thought. “‘The 23rd Psalm’ was the Eko flashback. I wonder if we’ll see Eko again? I wish we could see Eko again. Oh, ahem... ‘he maketh me to lie down in green pastures...’ I remember when he said this one aloud with Charlie. I miss Charlie.”And then the minister began her sermon, “My sermon today is called ‘Unlocking the Mysteries.’” Weird, I thought... there’s a book called Unlocking the Mysteries of Lost. Have I hit my head or something? Why is this entire service making me think of Lost?! She began talking about the origin of Hanukkah, which seemed like... strange timing... and Jesus and that he was fighting a political battle as much as anything else... and somewhere in there I zoned out and began thinking about who will replace Jacob. Will it be Jack? Or do the writers worry that’s too obvious and it’ll be someone else? Is John Locke really dead? “...it was a fight of good versus evil, and he shone like a light in the darkness...” Whoa... it’s like the woman is talking about the island. Has Desmond been possessed by Jacob as some are suggesting? I don’t think so... wouldn’t that mean he’s dead? “... and he knew the only way to conquer evil was to unlock it in the first place.”
Un-locke it. The island has been un-Locked, because Locke’s dead. And in un-Locke-ing it, has it unleashed the darkness that was foretold to Richard?
OK, STOP IT, Nikki. You are in CHURCH. Cripes, if the final hymn is called “Something Nice Back Home” I think I’m going to have to excuse myself. I seriously need a new hobby.
The service ended, and my dad, who’d been sitting up in the choir, came down and said, “Maybe I’ve been talking to you too much in the past couple of days, but MAN that service seemed like it was all about Lost!”
HAHAHAHA!!!
20 comments:
Remember that West Wing episode when the lawyer called Toby's rabbi and convinced him to do a sermon all about the death penalty?
Yeah, I called your dad's minister. Just, y'know, for fun.
isn't weird how some days are all about LOST ? too soon we will all be missing it too. funny Nikki !
I love it! :)
LOL! I'm a pastor, and I found that hysterical.
And DESMOND is the replacement for Jacob. Bank on it.
Word Verification - "hurfonii" (pronounced in my brain as "her funny") what I thought after reading Nikki's story.
Priceless! I hope you replied, "Oh, come on, Dad. Not EVERYTHING is about LOST!"
Bwahahahahahaha! *wipes eyes* Good one.
Verification word: "storeh" - what Cleah used to tell Squirrel Babeh at bedtime
For me that is the hallmark of a good story, it draws you in and you can connect it to so many other things. Lost, like the Bible, touches on many classical themes that it just lends itself to comparisons and discussions.
My dad actually said to me, "I half expected to look out and see you furiously taking notes!" And I said, "Didn't you see me shove the service program into my purse?"
Way back at the end of season 2, I gave an hour-long talk to a group of people on the significance of religion on Lost, and I didn't have HALF the ammo that I do now. A United Church minister was in the audience, turns out, and he didn't actually watch Lost, but had been compelled to show up because my talk was going to be about religion, and he said he was definitely going to start watching the show. I've often wondered if he did...
Oh Nikki, this post is all kinds of awesome!
A while ago someone (you?) posted a link to an actual sermon done at a UUA church which revolved all around Lost and the themes on Lost. It even included readings which were Lost quotes. I went out and read it, it was awesome. Unfortunately, I can't find the link anymore.
I love this! Lately my wife and I have been finding 'Lost' relevence in almost every conversation, whether it's about our careers, life decisions, friends and family going through difficult times... at least once in every conversation, one of goes "OMG this is what LOST is about!!" Hahaha... Just goes to show how universal and central to the human experience the themes in this show are.
Thanks, Nikki. This makes complete and total sense.
So fit in what we have seen about the sideways reality to the series as a whole. What is the function of that reality? If it had no function I doubt we wouldn't be seeing so much of it. Now to add in an Angel quote:
"What we once were informs all that we have become." (s1 The Prodigal)
hahaha
I can't wait to get get to a church and see if I can pick up any LOST tidbits. Maybe Eloise Hawking will be in ther elighting candles! :)
I hope the next sermon I go to goes like this:
"...and then Jesus took the cup, gave You thanks and praise, gave the cup to his disciples, and said: 'No matter what I try and do...you're gonna die, Chah-lee.'"
My pastor-husband and I are huge Lost fans, Nikki, and we are always noticing biblical and religious coincidences like you mentioned. Loved your post!
I am an Episcopal priest and love LOST. Favorite show ever. There are many religious tie-ins for LOST, obviously not all of them Christian but the relationships are incredible. Have had parishioners ask me to do a series on the religious implications of LOST. (BTW, this past Sunday is always "Good Shepherd" Sunday in the lectionary. Until this week I too thought Desmond was the new Jacob but Jack is looking better.)
Great story!! HAHAHA!
@Nikki: If I ever sit next to you in church I'll remember a pen and pad of paper...just in case!
I remember Widmore mentioned that Desmond would have to make a sacrifice which could lead to him maybe being the replacement for Jacob. My feeling so far is that his role is the reconciliation of the parallel realities. He is making the characters remember where they came from as human beings in the Lost reality that we're most familiar with. So far I think that how the character acts in the sideways reality gives us an indication of how they may act in the regular reality. We have Claire and Sayid (why get your lost love back if she could never live with what you've done to bring her back to life) that may seem lost to any reason but looking at either character we can see that they may be influenced by the sideways reality. The character I'm most interested in is Locke as he is dead in the regular reality and I have to ask what does it matter what the sideways reality Locke says or does? Then again, could that sideways Locke have a role in the regular reality?
hehe... my dad is a pastor and he actually used Lost as a sermon illustration a couple months back. I have to admit that I occasionally zone out and think Lost stuff while he is preaching... *confession*
For Sooze . . .
The link is http://www.lylamiklos.com/inprint/lost.html
I don't want Jack to be the one that replaces Jacob. I know it makes sense, I know he is the centre character. But it just wouldn't feel right to me. I would like to think that what he learns from his island experiences does heal him and make him a better person and lets him have his life in sideways world with his son.
I know that Desmond has to make a sacrifice but I also hope it isn't him.
I would like to see the final scene as Locke and Ben on the beach having the Jacob/MIB conversation.
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