It's the end of the world...

Yesterday I had the opportunity to spend some quality time carpooling an 11-year-old boy to camp. He was a talker. I learned a great deal about the latest video games and various tips on tactics. Occasionally I would hear him hum or sing the REM song "It's the end of the world as we know it."

After about an hour and half of driving he asked, "So what do you think will become of the world?" Honestly, I didn't know what to say so I asked him the question back. "I don't know. What do you think?"

He said he thought it was going to come to an end soon. I shared that I thought there was a little more hope for life to which he responded, "Yes I supposed single-cell organisms might have a chance."

I tried not to laugh, but I giggled inside.

Outside storm clouds formed all around us. It looked ugly. Yet no matter where we drove the rain and storm never came. The boy shared how it reminded him of a time he was hiking and all the hills were covered in rain and storms except one - a little hill with a single silver maple tree. He said he thought it must be a sign, but he wasn't sure what it meant. He said, "Maybe it meant that even when life is looking dreary and stormy there is still a chance for hope."

Amen, brother.

I truly believe God has a very creative, somewhat silly sense of humor. Out of a crazy set of circumstances I ended up enjoying a little food for the soul from the backseat of my car on a crazy afternoon drive. I don't know what will become of our world and all the chaos we've evoked. But I agree with my 11-year-old guru, there is still a chance for hope.

It's the end of the world as we know it...and I feel fine. :)

Summer Vacation

Lately I've been super busy with work and happy to catch up on movies or TV reruns when I have gotten home. I haven't wanted to get "too serious" while the sun was shining and the days had finally warmed up.

Yet life won't take a vacation. I have family and friends dealing with health concerns, money runs short each month, and questions loom overhead about the future.

I once heard a comparison between life and a guitar. The strings of a guitar need a balanced tension to play in tune. Strung too tight they'll break, strung too loose they won't play. Kept tense, yet in-tune, the musician can play a beautiful song. I strive to stay in tune so the Great Musician can play a beautiful song with my life, or at least have fun rocking out. I've decided to be thankful for the tensions in my life, yet I'm not taking it too seriously.

Rock on my friends.

Jesus Take the Wheel

Check out this song, fellow worriers.

Worry Not

Lately I've been hit with a case of worries. In the Bible, Matthew 6:24-34, Jesus says, "Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span?"
I know that 97% of the things we worry about never happen. I know that one can only do what they can and the rest is out of our control. But I want to be in control and stop the stuff that worries me from messing up my life. Awe what a fool I am.
Life is messy. Things happen, plans change, the unexpected decimates all our expectations and we are lost. We disappoint ourselves and make mistakes we don't understand. We can be so wrong when we think we are so right. We have ideals that are disregarded and abandoned by those we trusted. People, things, institutions we always thought would hold strong and carry us through crumble, die, or change into something we don't recognize. It's true we've got plenty to worry about and the command "Don't worry" sounds perplexing. Yet the command isn't about guilting us for worrying or being concerned about the future. It is a reminder to consider where and what we place our focus upon and set as priorities.

If you are finding the connection with God, trusting God, is a bit leary right now, try keeping things simple. Maybe a prayer like this:
Jesus, I'm hurting, Nothing is working the way I expected. I don't know who or what to trust anymore. I'm not even sure about you. But I hear you're sure about me. I open my heart to the change you promise. I'm taking my hands off the wheel now. Amen

Mal's Song

Here it is - my favorite version of the Firefly song: Click here for Michelle Dockery's lyrics

Episode 14 - Objects in Space

This is the last episode produced. It features River. A bounty hunter finds her and boards Serenity to take her back. The episode begins with River being able to hear the thoughts of the crew and learning how unwanted she is. She finds a gun she thinks is a branch and everyone fears her insanity may make her a great danger. She feels she doesn't belong and surrenders to the bounty hunter, but not without playing some mind-games. In the end the crew invites her into the family.


River wants to belong. Don't we all? Don't we long to have that place, that serenity? It's not easy and it's messy, but families, relationships, communities are part of being human and the journey we call life. When you do find the folks who love you as you are - value them.

Episode 13 - Heart of Gold

This is a real wild west show with a bad guy who runs the town and a "hoar house" that's fighting to keep it's freedom. An old friend of Inara's asks for her help. Inara ask Mal and the crew go to fight for independence. At the end of this episode, Inara announces she is leaving.

Inara makes the decision to leave because she realizes she loves Mal and she loves the crew of Serenity. She has formed an attachment and that by getting so close she will not have her freedom to come and go and keep things "clean." Love, relationships, people are messy. You can hurt and fear losing the things you love and that feeling can tear you apart. Running away doesn't make it better. We were not created to be without the mess. Sorry to say, that attraction to belonging and being a part of a "family" of relationships is purely human. Inara leaves, but in the movie Serenity she finds that distance and separation cannot break the tie of feelings and love she feels. Lesson learned.

Episode 12 - The Message

This is my favorite episode and it was the last to be televised. A body of a war buddy is sent to Mal and Zoe with a message for them to bury him on his home planet. Turns out their friend isn't dead, but an organ mule who backed out on a deal with some very angry men. Their friend places everyone in a great deal of danger and turns out to be far more selfish than they had remembered. The episode closes with their buddy's funeral after all and it is the last show to be aired. The crew knew in this episode that this was the end of Firefly and you can see it in their faces that everyone is grieving.

Lately I've felt grief over what has been and what will never be. I've said goodbye to old dreams and begun embracing new ones. I find strength from my faith and the Wisdom writings of Ecclesiastes 3 in the Bible. It says there is an appointed time for everything and a time for every affair under the heavens. A time to be born and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to uproot the plant. A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to tear down, and time to build. A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance. A time to scatter stones, and time to gather them; a time to embrace, and time to be far from embraces. A time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep and a time to cast away. A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to be silent, and a time to speak. A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.
There is not a right time for anything, but time for everything. When you can run anymore, you crawl, and when you can't crawl, you find someone to carry. Who or what is carrying you through?

Episode 11 - Trash

Saffron is back. She has a scheme to steal a rare antique weapon from a wealthy landowner. Unfortunately for Mal, she neglects to mention just how she came across the information needed to break into the landowner's home. This episode invites more action from Inara.



This episode begins with the end. The cameras zoom in on a desert scene where Mal is sitting on a rock naked and defeated. Sometimes that's the best place to start. Go ahead and clean out the trash in your life and start naked in the desert. Of course, he's not there long. The crew comes and picks him up. When they do he talks and walks around like there is nothing unusual about being naked in front of his crew as they try to carry on without laughing.

Here's what I'm thinking when I see that scene: In life we accumulate baggage, trash, the stuff from our past that goes with us. Then something happens and we feel stripped of all our security blankets and identity - we're vulnerable. We can be ashamed of that, try to get our trash back or carry on with our vulnerability in the community that welcomes us just as we are. I'm thankful for a few friends who've been there when I'm naked in the desert, realizing I made a mistake and trusted the wrong person, put hope in the wrong relationship and they've kept the "I told you so's" to themselves. I sure am thankful.

Episode 10 - War Stories

Wash is jealous of Zoe's relationship with Mal. He insists on going with Mal to make a deal and they are kidnapped by Niska's men. Niska tortures them. Zoe goes into save them and must choose one. She chooses her husband, Wash. The crew does all they can to save Mal.

Love is not Jealous. Jealousy in relationships pops up when one partner is insecure about the love of the other. There is doubt and uncertainty which wheedles its way into one's psyche and the troubling effects of jealousy spin out of control. Decisions are made, words are said not in love but in fear. There is a fear of losing and of being left can cause a desperate man or woman to manipulate, control, threaten, and even abuse the one they "love" to keep them. I hate jealousy and all the pain it causes. In the Bible there is a passage, 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 that is heard at many weddings. It says:
Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, love is not pompous, does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.

Love is not fear. Love is greater than our fear and worries. If that is not your experience, then it is not love.

Amazing Grace - Shepherd Book

Lord, I'm walking your way. Let me in, for my feet are sore, my clothes are ragged.
Look in my eyes, Lord, and my sins will play out on them as on a screen. Read them all.
Forgive what you can and send me on my path. I will walk on until you bid me rest.
~Haven Prayer

Episode 9 - Ariel

Hard up for cash, Serenity takes on a job from Simon: break into an Alliance hospital on central world Ariel so that he can get a thorough diagnostic of River and the crew can loot the valuable stores of medicine. But River's pursuers are hot on their trail, and they receive some unexpected inside help. (Wikipedia)

Jayne betrays the crew for money and has to live with the guilt of that decision. Mal tells Jayne that when he betrayed River and Simon he betrayed Mal. Mal is ready to leave him for dead, when Jayne asks that he not tell the rest of the crew what he's done. Mal shows mercy. There is a theme of sin and repentance in this episode, as well as the presence of temptation and evil. In the midst of this is the community, the crew. If you hurt one of the crew you hurt all. Made me think of how in communion we repent and receive forgiveness as a community - we commune. Jayne isn't forgiven, but he at least has the beginnings of a repentant heart.

Episode 8 - Out of Gas

In this episode, Serenity is dying. An explosion damages part of the engine that maintains life support. The crew has hours to live if they stay aboard. Mal sends everyone away as he waits for a response to the distress signal and goes down with the ship. Flashbacks tell us the story of how Serenity came to be and how the crew started.
At one point Kaylee tells Mal that "sometimes something broke can't be fixed." I've been thinking a lot about brokenness. It's a term we throw around freely - broken relationships, broken world, broken heart, etc. I asked some youth what we do when things are broke. Some said fix it and some said throw it away. I guess both are right. I won't throw a broken heart away, yet I've thrown some broken relationships away. Serenity is broke, but Mal won't throw her away. He has faith to the end that an answer will come...and it does.

More Jaynestown

This is one of my favorite episodes. Jayne is named a hero by mudworkers after he drops a load of cash he stole over their township during a mishandled robbery years before. At the end of the episode a mudworker gives his life for Jayne's life. Jayne is left wondering why someone would do that. He was no hero or god. Mal explains that it was not Jayne but the ideal he stood for that people die for. What would I die for? Do we have any heroes? I know I've made sacrifices for my beliefs and know they were the right choices to make, even though one might say the sacrifices weren't worth it. I guess in the end it's the faith that saves us, not the object, person, or organization that we put it in.

Episode 7 - Jaynestown

River's opinion of the Bible


The Bible is about believing in something. It's about Faith. You don't fix faith, it fixes you.
That's what Shepherd Book tells River as she tries to "fix the Bible." I guess that says it all.

Episode 6 - Our Mrs. Reynolds

Summary from Wikipedia:
As an unexpected reward for an unpaid job, Mal finds himself married to a naïve, subservient young woman named Saffron. Saffron is all too willing to play the role of housewife, which leads to argument between Wash and Zoe and lectures from Shepherd Book. But the young woman is not what she appears to be.

A Quote from the end of the episode when Mal finds Saffron who took the shuttle after setting Firefly up to be caught in an electromagnetic net:

Saffron: How'd you find me?

Mal: Only a couple places that shuttle would make it to from where you left… happy to find it intact.

Saffron: You're quite a man, Malcolm Reynolds. [Seductively] I've been waiting a long time for someone good enough to take me down.

Mal: Saffron, you even think about playing me again I will riddle you with holes.

Saffron: Everybody plays each other. That's all anybody ever does. We play parts.

Authenticity in a relationship is what all the books and surveys I read say our post-modern generation is looking for. My church throws around words like "be Real" be Relative" like juggling geese. Yet what does it mean to institutionalize authenticity? In the end is the church just "playing its part" like everybody does (according to Saffron)? You know I don't talk to many folks who become part of a faith community because of the "relative and real preaching" or "contemporary music". Yes those things may be attractions, but they don't keep people coming or build a relationship. It's the people who are authentic about being there and being with each other. The person who lights candles to welcome the presence of God in this space and shares a story about how this weeks been tough and their just thankful to be here. It's letting our guard down enough to stop playing "holy" and admit that a saint is just a sinner who falls down and gets back up. No parts to play, no recipe of worship to follow, just livin' and lovin'. There will always be a Saffron who doesn't get that or believe that. But there's always a Mal who knows a different tale. Who do you believe?

Episode 5: Safe

This episode opens with a flashback to 10 years earlier in the Tam household when River and Simon were kids. The crew arrives to a backwater colony to unload cattle they had been transporting. A gunfight begins and Shepherd is mortally wounded. Mal makes the decision to leave with Shepherd and leave Simon and River, who had been kidnapped, behind. The Tams are taken to a backwoods settlement to be their doctor, but River's odd ways get her in trouble. In this episode we learn that Shepherd has a secrets deeper than we think, for a check on his ID card got immediate attention and he was treated with top medical care by the Alliance. When Mal asks about his connection with the Alliance, Shepherd dodges his question.When on the ship again he says, "It's good to be back home."
The crew swoop in to save Simon and River from being burned as a witch just in time. When Simon asks Mal why he came back for them, Mal said "because you're part of my crew." The episode ends with a meal together. All the characters are now home.

Going home, being part of a family, belonging, communion (?) are themes in this episode. What does it mean to feel safe? Funny how we call the worship center of a church the "sanctuary." It's meant to be a safe place, a place to commune with your brothers and sisters in Christ. May we care for those who are broken and never leave behind those who are lost.

Episode 4 - Shindig

View episode here.

Inara attends a formal society dance, only to find Malcolm there as well, attempting to set up a smuggling job. Mal comes to blows with Inara's conceited date and finds himself facing a duel with a renowned swordsman, and only one night to learn how to fence. (wikipedia.com)


Mercy is the mark of a great man.
This Episode seems to deal with what makes on great. Jayne wears a t-shirt that is seen in "The Train Job", "Ariel", and "War Stories" that contains the Chinese word yong which means "soldier" or more commonly "brave".

We see all examples of what is thought to bring greatness: money, fancy clothes, ownership, fighting. Yet, in the end it is Mal in his down-home humor who sums it up best - Mercy.

In Christian Theology we talk about Grace. The difference between Mercy and Grace is:

1. Mercy--not getting what you do deserve / withheld punishment

2. Grace--getting what you don't deserve / unmerited favor

The sign of a great person is an ability to give mercy. But there is a God who gives grace. Sometimes I can't even get my mind around that. I don't deserve it and I didn't do anything to earn it and I didn't ask for it, yet I got it. I am given grace - no questions asked. Guess that's the difference between God and (hu)man, huh?

Episode 3: Bushwhacked

Click to watch episode

Recap from Wikipedia

Bushwhacked

A dead guy on the windshield interrupts a little game of calvinball. The crew boards a derelict ship from whence the dead guy came, looking for salvage first and survivors second, only to discover that the crew of the derelict was killed by Reavers. Just when they think a ship full of crazed cannibals intent on chewing their innards out is the worst thing that could happen, up pulls an Alliance Cruiser.

No problem, right? There's just that small matter of a couple of Alliance fugitives on-board, not to mention the cargo they just lifted off the derelict without a salvage license, and the sole survivor of the attack they've got sedated in the Med Bay...

SCENE: Discussion after recovering the "survivor" of a reaver attack
Jayne: Reavers ain't men.
Book: Of course they are. Too long removed from civilization, of course, but men. And, I believe there is a power greater than men, a power that heals.
Mal: Reavers might take issue with that philosophy. If they had a philosophy. If they weren't too busy gnawing on your insides. Jayne's right, Reavers ain't men. Or they forgot how to be. Now they're just nothing. They got out to the edge of the galaxy, to the edge of the galaxy, to that place of nothing, and that's what they became.

A Reaver, according to the Urban Dictionary, is

1. One who reaves. Archaic term for one who despoils, plunders, bereaves, takes with violence. 2. Terrifying, cannibalistic, self-mutalating savages living in the outskirts of the settled universe in Joss Whedon's Firefly and Serenity.

Do monsters have souls? Think of individuals who have done horrid acts of crime, genocide, and violence. It is difficult to find the goodness and mercy in such stories. Like Mal and Jayne, I think we are more likely to say they are simply "not human." Yet Shepherd believes in a power greater than these horrors, greater than the blackness of such lost beings. He believes in a power that heals; a light that fills the darkness. I've referred to that sharing of light in other Sci-fi references as well. Consider I Am Legend and the "Bob Marley scene" in which he tells the story of Marley's belief one could end racism and bring peace by injecting music and love - "Light up the Darkness". In this case it is heal the mutilated spirit. God is such a mystery. How shall he empower you and me to be such healers in this world? All we can do is, like Shepherd, have faith and be open to receive the direction we are given. There is more to come in the story of Reavers...by the way, they are human. But that's to be learned in time.

Episode 2: The Train Job

RECAP:
This episode begins with Mal, Zoe and Jayne relaxing over a few drinks at a bar. A man stands and makes a toast to the Alliance to celebrate Unification Day. This causes a bar brawl that apparently, Mal does this every year on Unification Day.

River is having nightmares about medical experiments and she won't tell Simon about them so that he can figure out how to treat her or what to do.

The crew get a job from a man named Niska, who is a ruthless, Russian mafia type. They steal unnamed Alliance cargo from a train. Mal and Zoe are trapped and so they are trying to keep from being discovered with all the passengers who are being detained for investigation. They find out the cargo was needed medical supplies. The crew finds a way to rescue Mal and Zoe, who back out of their deal with Niska and return the supplies because it's the right thing to do.

After Serenity is back on the move, Simon patches up Mal's injuries in the infirmary. Mal inquires as to how River is doing. Simon confirms that she's the same and he still doesn't know what was done to her.

Somewhere on an Alliance ship, a pair of ominous men in suits and blue gloves have arrived, inquiring about a theft. They have a picture of River.

In the beginning of this episode, Mal and Shepherd engage in conversation.

Mal: Well, what about you, Shepherd? How come you're flyin' with us brigands? I mean, shouldn't you be off bringing religiosity to the fuzzy-wuzzies or some such?

Book: Oh, I got heathens aplenty right here.

Mal: If I'm your mission, Shepherd, best give it up. You're welcome on my boat - God ain't.

Later Shepherd and Inara talk about prayer and praying for Mal. Shepherd says he doesn't think Mal would appreciate that. Inara says "Don't tell him. I never do."

Do you pray for people who won't appreciate it? I have plenty of friends who say "I like you and respect you're "churchy" and all, but don't go bringing God to me. It's fine that you need religion. It's what helps you. Some people need things like that. I just don't."

I wonder. Whenever someone says that I feel like I just got stabbed or put down -i.e. weak people need God and I'm not weak like you. Is that it? Is God just a crutch for the weak?

Well truth is: We're all weak. We may have the greatest intelligence, money, power, fame, beauty, humor, etc. yet everyone has a weakness, an insecurity, a dark side.

1 Corinthians 1:26-29
Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things-- and the things that are not-- to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him.

Mal may not want his friends praying for him, he lost his faith on the fields of Serenity Valley. But his friends know there is a power greater than his weakness and faith is bigger than his disbelief. But they're not going to tell him.

Serenity Episode 1

www.fanpop.com has Firefly episodes available if you want to follow along.

Serenity

Se*ren"i*ty\, n. [L. serenuas: cf. F. s['e]r['e]nit['e].]
1. The quality or state of being serene; clearness and calmness; quietness; stillness; peace. A general peace and serenity newly succeeded a general trouble. --Sir W. Temple.

2. Calmness of mind; eveness of temper; undisturbed state; coolness; composure. I can not see how any men should ever transgress those moral rules with confidence and serenity. --Locke.

Note: Serenity is given as a title to the members of certain princely families in Europe; as, Your Serenity. Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.

serenity - the pilot episode of Firefly is anything but.

The opening is set in the Battle of Serenity Valley, where a bloody battle against the Alliance is fought in the Unification War, and after losing most of his soilders and witnessing the destruction of the Valley, Mal and Zoe are forced to surrender. Then we jumped to six years later where they are eking out an existence on the edges of space in a Firefly-class spaceship, taking odd jobs that often involve petty crime. The crew is scavenging an Alliance cargo from a destroyed satellite base and have been spotted by an Alliance ship. They take one passengers in Persephone to supplement their income and seek a buyer for their hot goods. The passenger, Simon, has a secret that will make their lives very complicated.

A deleted scene explains the Serenity story:
A scene where Simon is taking care of the wounded Kaylee. Book asks why Simon chose to come aboard Serenity and he replies that it seemed disreputable. Book suggests that Simon lacks a knowledge of history. Simon researches the Battle of Serenity Valley on his encyclopedia and Zoe tells him about how many soldiers died during the battle and its aftermath. She tells Simon that Mal won't kill him unless he's got no other option. When Simon asks why Mal named the ship after such a horrible battle, Zoe replies that "once you've been in Serenity, you never leave".

For Joss Whedon, every episode is about creating family. Serenity, the spaceship, is their home. It is the safeplace. He uses meals around the supper table to incorporate the family feeling. Serenity is home, it is family, it is a place to be after or in the midst of chaos. Serenity is the holy space.

Recently I attended worship during Holy Week. During a moment of liturgy and prayer I felt a holiness of that moment. A moment that was sanctuary. A moment that God was not ordinary but holy, life was sacred, and being was of an essence. I wish I could say I had moments like that every time I went to church, but I don't. When I do, I am blessed. Serenity - that place to belong, be still, and be one in God? Yes I think so...in God.

Killer Angels in Space

When Joss Whedon developed Firefly he was influenced by the book, The Killer Angels, a novel by Michael Sharra about the Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War.


Whedon wanted to follow the people who fought on the losing side and their experience afterward as pioneers and immigrants on the outskirts of civilization like the post-Civil War era of Reconstruction and the American Old West. He uses music from the campfire days of fiddle playing and slide guitar and often mixes images of the old west with space battles.

The Alliance is a culture formed of the mixing of the two greatest world power - United States and China - in the year 2517. This has caused a fusion of culture that is visually apparent. Humans have arrived at a new star system and it is a time of pioneer culture with fringe living in distant star systems. The crew of Serenity are pirates, making a living the best they can. According to Whedon's vision "nothing will change in the future: technology will advance, but we will still have the same political, moral, and ethical problems of today.

So here we are still fighting, still prejudice, still facing spiritual and ethical dilemmas in the face of opposition and challenge. Each character has their way of dealing with things. Shepherd often quotes the Bible and looks to prayer, yet he struggles to define his place as a Shepherd with such a motley crew. I could relate to that character in my own life. Often I'm the only "churchy" one among my friends and social groups. Sometimes people turn to me with questions of spirituality. Sometimes I am surprised to find the depth of thought those I'd least expect had given spiritual matters. Sometimes I am shunned and shut up before I even enter a room because it is assumed that I will be judgmental and discouraging. Each character has a secret, dark side and each has unexpected brilliance to share. It is a human story.

Firefly TV series

[opening narration for episodes: Safe, Ariel, War Stories, Heart of Gold]

Mal: Here's how it is: The Earth got used up, so we moved out and terraformed a whole new galaxy of Earths. Some rich and flush with the new technologies, some not so much. The Central Planets, thems formed the Alliance, waged war to bring everyone under their rule; a few idiots tried to fight it, among them myself. I'm Malcolm Reynolds, captain of Serenity. She's a transport ship; Firefly class. Got a good crew: fighters, pilot, mechanic. We even picked up a preacher for some reason, and a bona fide companion. There's a doctor, too, took his genius sister outta some Alliance camp, so they're keepin' a low profile. You understand. You got a job, we can do it, don't much care what it is.

---

opening song: Take my love, take my land / Take me where I cannot stand / I don't care, I'm still free / You can't take the sky from me / Take me out to the black / Tell 'em I ain't comin' back / Burn the land and boil the sea / You can't take the sky from me / There's no place I can be / Since I found serenity / But you can't take the sky from me



This is the beginning of an American science fiction TV series created by writer/director Joss Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel). It's modeled as a traditional Western set in a science fiction backdrop.
The series was debuted on FOX in 2002. It was canceled after only eleven of the fourteen episodes were aired. Although it had a short life, it had a "cult" following that won it an Emmy in 2003 for "Outstanding Special Visual Effects for a Series" and the production of a film title Serenity, which brought some closure for fans. I'm one of those fans and I just bought the DVD collection of the 14 episodes. This will be my series for theological reflection, you may recall I haven't been so great at reflecting on twice a week. So you're in for a whole lotta Firefly folks!

Basically this is the story, as Joss Whedon put it, "of nine people looking into the blackness of space and seeing nine different things." The cast of characters include:

Malcom "Mal" Reynolds - Captain the firefly style ship called Serenity and veteran of the civil war against the Alliance.

Zoe Alleyne Washburne - Second-in-command, loyal wartime friend of the captain, and wife of Wash - a "warrior woman".

Hoban "Wash" Washburne - Pilot and Zoe's husband. He is jealous of her loyalty to Mal and tends to be the comic relief for many episodes.

Inara Serra - is a Companion, which in the 26th century is the equivalent of a courtesan. She rents a shuttle from the ship, is nicknamed "the Ambassador" and gives the ship some legitimacy and social acceptance.

Jayne Cobb - is hired muscle. He acts dumber than he is and asks the questions no one else will and is often more than what you see on the surface.

Kaywinnit Lee "Kaylee" Frye - is the ship's mechanic. She is the soul of the ship, a sweet, genuine loving character who has no formal training in mechanics but intuitively keeps the ship going.

Dr. Simon Tam - is a medical researcher and trauma surgeon, the best of the best who is wanted by the Alliance for breaking out his sister from a government research facility.

River Tam - is a child prodigy who was experimented upon, leaving her in a sort of schizophrenic phase in which she sees and hears things others don't.

Derrial Book - is a Shepherd (equivalent to a priest, minister, or pastor). He has knowledge of things you won't expect a Shepherd who has been living in the monastery for some time to know, like hand-to-hand combat, weapons, criminal activites, and electromagnetic field. He is torn as to whether he is called to be with this worldly crew or if their influence is destroying him.

Emotional Abuse

I found this article on emotional abuse to be very powerful. Check it out.

Faith in Tragedy

Last night I happened to catch the 12:30am edition of Oprah. Her guests were the families behind the mistaken identity case in Indiana. A van of college students and faculty were hit by a semi that had loss control. Five people were killed. One survivor was mistaken for another girl who had died and the two families lived accordingly with this mistake for five weeks. The families have written a book about their experience called Mistaken Identity.

When Oprah asked how these two families could be so forgiving in light of the fact that they had each thought their child had lived or died only to find the opposite was true, the fathers spoke for their families. They said it was their faith that got them through. They believed in Jesus Christ and that death was not the end of the story, that a resurrected Christ gave them hope and strength to endure the trials that come their way. These families have an odd and special connection and a common faith helped them to work through this together.


I am thankful through all the trials I've known that I've had a practice and discipline of prayer and faith to keep me going and hold me up. I knew what these families were talking about. Sadly not everyone does and it all probably sounded unbelievable. But faith is real and prayer is powerful.

Easter Legend

On Easter Sunday I watched the movie I Am Legend with some of my family. The story has a messianic theme in which one man dedicates his life to finding the cure to a virus that has devastated the entire human population - creating creatures called the "dark seekers." Themes of butterflies and Bob Marley culminate in a message from God in the end with the epitaph of "light up the darkness." The world is quieter now, all you need to do is listen. You can hear God.

This past year I've watched a few movies with the similar virus causing cannibalistic hunger
theme including 28 Days Later and the three Resident Evil. The novel "I am Legend" was made into two previous movies: The Last Man on Earth in 1964 and The Omega Man in 1971. This post-apocalyptic fiction proposes a vampire/zombie existence caused by a virus. The protagonist, Robert Neville, comes to the conclusion at the end of the book that he is the extinct form of humanity and must surrender his life so that the new society of vampire existence may become what it must. The 2007 movie has a more optimistic ending with a possible cure in sight. Apocalyptic novels have existed since the days of Shelley in the 19th century but grew in popularity around World War II. I've always been a fan of these doomsday novels and films. The possiblity of what could happen...unless, has a prophetic nature to it. Whether it is atomic or viral warfare, ecological destruction, or political fascism, these movies and novels remind us of our sinful nature. There is a depth to evil that is not going away no matter how pretty we try to keep things.
I'm writing a sermon for this weekend and speaking of God being in our midst. Often in these apocalyptic stories God is just as vacant as the dead world. There is this sense that the survivors have been abandoned by God. Yet somehow, there is hope in the midst of all this tragedy and loss. Many of these stories deal with the question of what "makes us human?" It is the qualities of God that we are the image of that are our distinction, though this may not be named as the "image of God." God is still in our midst...that was a final message of "I am Legend" and Easter turned out to be the perfect day to watch this movie.

Jane Austen and me

For the past month or so I have been watching movies based on Jane Austen's 6 books or watching movies about Jane Austen or the fans of Jane Austen. It started with a curious independent film called "The Jane Austen Book Club" then I saw "Becoming Jane"a movie about young Jane Austen's life. A friend loaned me "Pride and Prejudice" the 1995 mini-series version with Colin Firth is my favorite but there is plenty of debate about its best production. This past weekend I treated myself to "Mansfield Park" the 1999 independent film version.

Jane Austen is a romantic, to say the least. I am studying religious history of the 17th century to present day and am struck by the fact that Austen's stories take place during some tumultuous times in world history and religion, yet her stories generally focus on 3 to 5 families. Austen was the daughter of a clergyman with two brothers who became clergymen. Half of her novels has a hero who is a clergyman. She is Anglican and so are her heroes. I agree with the article in A Journal of Religion about Jane Austen, Public Theologian.

Mansfield Park displays her most theological contribution. She explores the idea of "individualism" - a new concept in the late 1700s. A distinction is made between "vocation"- being who you are called to be and "acting". The characters of Mansfield Park follow a "vocation" or act a vocation. The heroine, Fanny Price, guides us through these characters with wit and amazing discernment.

At the end of the story Edmond finally confesses his love for Fanny "as a man would love a woman" and through the soap opera peek into this little 1806 country nook you feel the resolute happiness of everything being the way it is supposed to be.

Does Jane Austen provide much theological reflection and insight? maybe a little. Mostly it is a treat to escape into another time, another story, and experience as Jane Austen intended "every story has a happy ending." For in the real world of love and romance, family and culture it is rarely so simple and well-mannered.

New Sins

Did you hear the list of sins the Pope announced on Monday? I just gave a sermon Sunday on our ecological sins. Presently Spirit Garage is planning a Watershed Clean up on April 19 at Loring Park. We've spent the Lenten Journey looking at eco-stewardship and taking steps to be "less timid" as a Christian community in relationship to the environment. We talk about caring for the poor - Nature is the New Poor.

The Vatican seems to think so as well. Following a week-long training seminar for priests in Rome, the head of the Apostolic Penitentiary Archbishop Gianfranco Girotti has announced that the seven new mortal sins are to be ...

· Environmental pollution;
· Genetic manipulation;
· Accumulating excessive wealth;
· Inflicting poverty;
· Drug trafficking and consumption;
· Morally debatable experiments;
· Violation of fundamental rights of human nature.

"We are losing the notion of sin," said Pope Benedict, in support of the move. "If people do not confess regularly, they risk slowing their spiritual rhythm."

Check out Ethical Living blog "Have you sinned lately?"

Homework Woes

One of my homework assignments is to watch TV or a series of movies. You would think this would be so easy. Trouble is we're not talking about vegging in front of the tube. Rather it's looking for theological insight within a television series or movie genre. I haven't been home before 9pm in weeks and I'm to cheap to buy dvr right now. So I've been looking into this thing called webisodes. It started by accident. I checked out the new series quarterlife during its short lived premeire. The show has been cancelled by NBC. It seems that its 20-something specific scenario is not connecting with the 30-50 age group and therefore not sustainable. I have to admit I felt too old watching it myself.
Jenny McCarthy has a webisode hit heading into year two called In the Motherhood
Today show interviewed her on March 5. Check out some of these webisodes. Internet Television Series.

A note about quarterlife - from an article on The Star

Another problem: quarterlife's fictional story is not nearly as intriguing as its real-life backstory. There's no question television is running from its past. But, sadly, nobody knows where to find the future.

What is the wave of the future? Technology is a very fast-paced world of fads and changes. It is about trial and error. I work for a church eager to utilize technology in evangelism. What does that look like? Forget TV Evangelists. Is the next wave that of 8 minute Webvangelism? HighSpeed Jesus Connections? Just a thought....

Broken Halleluiah

I'm having a Leonard Cohen night. I'm listening to Jeff Buckley's interpretation of Halleluiah
This is one of those songs I heard in the car and had to pull over to listen fully. This has been a stressful week of constant action - school-work-meetings-homework-little rest. I preach at Spirit Garage this Sunday on the Lord's Prayer and putting what we've learned about eco-stewardship into action - no small task.

The last two verses always get me in this song:

Well there was a time when you let me know
what's really going on below
but now you never show that to me do you
but remember when I moved in you
and the holy dove was moving too
and every breath we drew was hallelujah

Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah

Well maybe there's a god above
but all I've ever learned from love
was how to shoot somebody who outdrew you
And it's not a cry that you hear at night
it's not somebody who's seen the light
it's a cold and it's a broken hallelujah

We live in a broken world. We are capable of toxic relationships with each other and the earth. To juxtapose brokenness with hallelujah is what pierces my heart. I still sing hallelujah. I cannot not sing hallelujah. Yet there is mourning in this joy, death in living, brokenness in loving.

This song became a hit in the movie Shrek when Rufus Wainright sang it. I still love the Jeff Buckley version but k.d. lang gives it a female voice. Thank you Leonard.

What I've Done

Linkin Park in their lead single, What I've Done, from the album Minutes to Midnight tells of the ironies of human existence. In their video they highlight the sins against each other and our environment that are committed every day. This is more than a good soundtrack tune from transformers. This song soared in the charts when it came out. They've tapped a pulse somewhere. Check it out:

quarterlife conspiracy

On the quarterlife official website there is a forum discussing the "conspiracy" of another good show canceled before it starts. Bravo will have a quarterlife marathon on March 9 at 8am. Like one blogger wrote "what 25 year old is up watching tv at 8am?" Whatever happens with this show, it is fascinating to see the community it has developed discussing everything from art to health and activism. Is there something to be said about the future of media as the web becomes as much as source of information and entertainment as tv? hmmm

Cycle of Abuse

I found this website on the Cycle of Abuse that is easy to understand has some good connections to other informative websites. Thought I'd pass it on.

"X"tra forgiveness

In A Course in Miracles there is a saying "Love brings up everything unlike itself." Meaning when we make a decision for more love, expansion, empowerment, and healing all the crap we don't want to face comes up to be healed. Last night I gave a sermon on forgiveness based on the Lord's Prayer "forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us" (or sins or debts - depending on your tradition). I spoke of exercising daily this prayer and building up your "forgiveness muscle".
Today I get an email from my ex. Haha guess the preacher has to practice what she preaches. I cannot respond to this email due to there being some very good reasons for breaking up - It's Called a Break Up because It's Broken.
Nonetheless I can practice forgiveness and letting go in my heart. Forgiveness is rehab of the heart. It's tough work. It's also a path to peace.

quarterlife - new show on NBC

Last night I happen across a new show called quarterlife on NBC.
Marshall Herskovitz and Edward Zwick, the creative team behind "My So-Called Life," "thirtysomething," "Legends of the Fall," and "Blood Diamond," first produced this show on Internet. Its an insightful show of relationships during life's key passages, this one being the years between 20 and 30 and important life decisions are made. "quarterlife" is the story of six creative people in their twenties. It reminded my of St Elmo's Fire from the 80s or Reality Bites and Singles from the 90s. (I'm guessing this show will produce just as awesome soundtracks).

It starts with Dylan, a young woman whose overly truthful video blog (on quarterlife.com of course) spills the closest secrets of her friends, the show's characters – filmmakers Danny and Jed, actress-bartender Lisa, geek-extraordinaire Andy, and still-tied-to-her-parents Debra – chart the sometimes excruciating, sometimes comic, often emotional experiences that comprise coming of age in the 21st century.

"quarterlife" initially launched on MyspaceTV.com and on quarterlife.com in November 2007. The Internet series includes 36 eight-minute webisodes, with two new episodes airing each week. The show is also available on other sites such as YouTube, Facebook, and Imeem, as well as NBC.com.

In last night's episode Lisa's acting coach confronts her "lack of sexuality" or "power." Lisa dresses sexy, has a lot of sex, but does not emit a center of power - her sexuality. Where is your power? Rob Bell in his book Sex God: Exploring the endless connections between sexuality and spirituality
proposes that Sex and God are connected. You can't speak of one without the other. Where is your power?

quarterlife.com already has an established social network. The members of the quarterlife community – by their willingness to share their feelings, creative passions, and deepest concerns – are redefining what a social network can be.

Mythic Parables

In my class tonight we discussed living between myth and parable. Myths allow us to dream and to believe in a future better than the present. Parables won't allow us to live in a dream world. They call us to confront the present and deter us from trusting in any hope that does not face the hard reality of the present. Ironically we need both stories in our lives. We were to reflect on the mythic and parable in our own stories and rituals.
I have a ritual. On Friday nights I like to prepare and buy a favorite meal (usually Thai), pour a glass of red wine, rent a few DVDs, and take a long hot shower after some yoga or pilates or running a few errands after work. I work with people 7 days a week. My job is in service and I serve my employers, my church, my family, my friends the best I can. I'm an extrovert and am very social - a real joiner. My Friday nights have become sacred. A special time set aside for me, to indulge in alone time, to simply be. The mythic ideals of this is that choosing a life alone is better than the challenge of being-for-others all the time. We all need "me" time. The parable is I'm alone. At the end of a long week of socializing and supporting I'm still in solitude at the end of the day and it is my choice. The parable is that in the alone time I must face who I am, the choices and mistakes I've made and nurture my soul not fill it with distraction.

Baby oh Baby

Have you noticed a trend in films this past year with an "unwanted pregnancy" theme. I'm thinking of Juno, Waitress, August Rush, Knocked Up. Maybe you can think of a few others. There is a famous story that came out last year...Nativity. That tells the story of Mary and Joseph and the birth of Jesus Christ. Yes that is another story of another "surprise" teen pregnancy. I recently watched Turner Classic Movies channel and Love with the Proper Stranger, starring Natalie Wood and Steve McQueen was on. The plot is of Angie Rossini, an Italian Catholic Macy's salesgirl, who discovers she's pregnant from a fling with Rocky, a musician. Angie finds Rocky (who doesn't remember her at first) to tell him she's pregnant and needs a doctor for an abortion. He finds her a doctor and they work together to raise the money. Rocky doesn't let her go through with the abortion and tries to do the "right thing" and marry her. Angie refuses and gets an apartment on her own and lives a "liberated" life. The movie never goes far into the pregnancy and you are left to discern that Rocky and Angie are really in love and live happily ever after. In 1996 a movie called Citizen Ruth took a satirical look at the pro-life/pro-choice politics by utilizing dark comedy in the debate.
The common theme I continue to find in these movies is that of personal transformation, change, birth of a new self, and discovery of true love. These stories are not just about women experiencing a transformation both physically and emotionally but the men in their lives. Some grow apart, some grow closer.
Pregnancy is a symbol of new growth and creativity among the metaphysical literature. Unwanted or surprise pregnancy reflects the resistance we have to change. We live in a time that is pregnant with change, not unlike the 1960s. Something is a-coming. Just look at our presidential race and the monumental change of having such diverse candidates in serious running. Life is getting loud and the suspense is boiling over. What do you think? Where is God in all this pregnant change? We fight over family values, pro-life/pro-choice, but what is beneath the fight? Is it our values and sacred regard for life? And what of this life? I learned long ago to "let go and let God." It's a wild rollercoaster ride, that sometimes has not track, when you do. Are we ready to give birth to a new age, a new society, a new experience? Change is coming. I have an assignment for school to examine popular movies for deeper themes. As I review the films in this years Academy Awards line up I see old stories retold in a new way. The changes we are feeling and growing into are simply a part of the human experience. I plan to look at more of these human transformation themes in popular culture - films, TV, music, etc. If you have any suggestions for me to explore - please let me know.

More stuff on stuff

I found a comedy routine by George Carlin on you tube talking about stuff. Keep in mind he can be a bit offensive, but try to laugh at yourself. I know I am. "I'm ok, I got my stuff, right?"

story of stuff

Have you seen "Story of Stuff"?
The Story of Stuff http://www.storyofstuff.com will take you on a provocative tour of our consumer-driven culture — from resource extraction to iPod incineration — exposing the real costs of our use-it and lose-it approach to stuff.
Check out this teaser
At Spirit Garage we are taking a lenten journey through the theology of earthkeeping (see Earthkeepers Guide to the Universe). I've been thinking a lot about what it means to be an earth creature - a creation of God. In the Bible it says in Genesis 1:26-28 that we are created in the likeness and image of God with dominion over the creation. "Dominion in the likeness of God's dominion is being-for-others love." I read that in a textbook years ago and it is on my mind. How can we be-for-others in our practices of consumption, our economy, our lives, and our world. I look forward to hearing what you think about the story of stuff. Be earth keepers who care for and protect the only home we share with all life.