March 25, 2014 (Tuesday )
I’ve never been a fan of soap operas of the daytime variety, but I have to confess I’ve fallen for some in prime time. I was right there with everyone else when “Dallas” was flying high following the antics of J. R. Ewing arch villain loved by every aspiring fortune hunter. It was not called a “soap opera” but it had all the ingredients that qualified it for such a description. I’ve been following another night time soap opera for five seasons: “The Good Wife.” The show on Sunday night shocked me with the unexpected shooting death of one of the main characters. There had been no hints in any of the program’s publicity to even remotely suggest such a possibility. If shock was their intention, it worked on me.
Television is a diversion with many facets. We know it’s not real, even when it’s a “reality” show. It offers us time away from reality. Real life is much more interesting, but its tragedies are much more painful than the fictitious ones on the video screen.
I’ll get over my shock from the T.V. guy’s death. He will interviewed on talk shows (last night it was on David Letterman’s “dog and pony show” as he calls it). The reality of the situation is that the character who was killed on the program is an actor who wanted to pursue other avenues in his career, so he agreed to be killed off. However, they will somehow bring him back during the remainder of the season. How, I don’t know. Or really care.
I remember a macho teen aged boy who was accused of shedding tears at a movie, and his reply: “I don’t cry at movies. I tell myself, ‘It’s just a movie’.”
Real life offers no replays or reruns, as well as no chance to rehearse our next scene to make sure we do it right and say it correctly. It usually surprises us–sometimes with joy and sometimes not. In and through all of this reality, let us remember Jesus’ promise to “be with us always.”