What do you do on a Saturday when you slept wrong and can't turn your head? You watch three episodes of Once Upon a Time cause you are a nerd and you miss your nerd sisters. And then you read the book of Jonah, and somehow, weirdly, the two go together.
Once Upon a Time is the most Jesusy show I've seen on TV. Sometimes they full on quote scripture, (this happened mostly in season one, and I don't remember the scripture, I just remember they quoted it.) It's all about redemption, second chances, shame, saviors, lies, etc. Even the evil people have depth as to why they are evil, and the "good" people aren't infallable. The script and acting are both a bummer. But the plot is fun.
I watched the Peter Pan episode cause Peter Pan is my favorite, and I was so sad afterwards because they made Peter be a super creepy kidnapper spirit ghostie guy and Captain Hook was kind of less evil than I like him to be. Ugh. Also, Wendy? Maybe if a black spirit/ghost/shadow with glowing silver slits for eyes offers you his hand, probably don't take it...because...why? That would be dumb.
But that's ok, because, like everyone else in the show you're human, and you get a second chance too. Only now, the guy I was hoping would be Peter, gets sucked away by creepy ghostie and becomes your sacrifice.
The show in general started to go more karma focused and less redemption focused. Like one bad deed gets negated by a good one, with the overall message that you redeem yourself. Rubbish. But then again I totally live my life that way and so do you. So does everyone, because we are taught that good actions are rewarded and bad actions require punishment. But then Jesus says he is love and there is no fear in love because fear involves punishment. So He doesn't punish us.
This trips my brain out. Because according to Jesus, we are set free from this mindset. Good deeds are a good thing, and have good things come from them, but bad deeds go from punishment to natural consequences. I always try to earn God's love and I always think in the back of my head that I'm going to hell if I don't do all the right things. But I know that actually I've been redeemed, there is a thing called grace that I do not understand, and that His yoke is easy and His burden is light, and all I have to do is abide.
But then I just used the "do" word again. Which is an action. So actions are necessary for salvation? Because abiding is doing. Choosing Jesus is an action. And yet I'm saved by grace not by works. But what is a work?
And then there's Jonah! Who gets sacrificed by some sailors to a giant fish so that he's the only one who has to drown. How rude. I really like how patient God is with Jonah. He asks him all kinds of questions. And Jonah clearly knows God. Quite well, because he tells God that he knows that he is loving and slow to anger. Clearly kinda taking advantage of the grace. And he's not disappointed, God indeed does show grace to him, and to an entire nation.
I don't get it. But I suppose I don't have to. Maybe grace is too large a concept for my mind to grasp. But freedom lies in the graspin of it. So I'll just keep trying. Which is still an action. And then I start all over again!
And then when my brain has run in enough hampster circles, it's time to watch another episode.
Happy Weekend!
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