Marathon of Surprises

The holiday weekend is officially starting! One way that you can tell a holiday is in full swing is when one of the cable networks airs a "Twillight Zone" marathon. How is anyone supposed to get anything done?? There were some classics that I couldn't wait to share with our boys. You sit in silence, not wanting to give anything away, but even knowing the ending, I'm surprised again. One of my all-time favorites is "Eye of the Beholder."

• "Eye of the Beholder" A woman asks for plastic surgery so that she won't look so hideous. When the bandages are removed, the surgeon drops the scissors in dismay; the surgery was a failure. The truth? By our standards, the girl was beautiful! The medical staff who represented beauty for the episode had pig-like snouts and deeply wrinkled and deep-set eyes. She was trying to live by their standards.
• "One for the Angels" A sidewalk salesman, Lew, convinces Death to allow him to live until he can give the "Perfect Pitch." Instead of taking Lew's life, Death decides to claim the life of a little girl who lives in the same apartment at midnight. The truth? Lew begins his "Perfect Pitch" keeping Death distracted until he misses his deadline. Lew willingly leaves with Death knowing Maggie is safe.
• "The Silence" A member of an exclusive club, bets another member, a young talkative man half a million dollars that he can’t stay quiet for an entire year. The truth? At the end it is revealed that the talker could not hold his tongue so he surgically made it impossible to talk in order to win the bet, only to learn that the better had no money.

What made some episodes so memorable was the twisting of conceived reality with the unlikely truth.

My prayer for the congregation?

Dear God, You are the great equalizer. Sometimes we think we are a little bit smarter than the next person and at times we even delude ourselves to believe that we can outmatch you. You reshape our image of reality into truth and humble our egos into submission. Let us be willing to acquiesce to your greater vision. Let us become models of followers of Christ, and not to match the world's standard of following our own desires. When our outer layers have been stripped away, at the core is the person that you have created, and that you have called, and that you pursue through the heart of a loving parent. Let us seek the daily intersections between our lives and your boundless Grace. The truth is that we know God is love; even when we know the answer, we are surprised. Amen