March 23, 2008

Sunday Musings



First off, Christ the Lord is risen today! He is risen indeed!

Sunday Musing #1: Lazarus & Buffy
Today, we had a wonderful sermon on the resurrection of Lazarus. My pastor, David Shelley, is a delightful, intellectual speaker. and you can find his sermons on iTunes by searching Thirst No More. I believe the actual podcast is Bucket (Thirst no More). Anyway, he questioned us at the end to consider who had it better: Lazarus, who was in paradise and returned to earth, or the thief Jesus promised to see in paradise that day.

Anyway, this got me thinking about Buffy the Vampire Slayer. In Season 5 (I think--I don't have these on DVD), Buffy dies sacrificing herself for her sister. Her friends think that she is in hell, so they work really hard to bring her back from the dead. She returns back, but her friends were mistaken. She was in heaven, which was quite a bit better than earth (especially when your job is slaying vampires). Buffy waits quite a while to tell her friends, and it takes her a while to gel with life. It made me wonder about Lazarus--did he ever tell his sisters about paradise?

Sunday Musing #2: Bracketology
So, my bracket is already in serious trouble. I had a good feeling about K-State and Michael Beasley, so I took them to the Final Four. I know, I know. Then Duke lost, Marquette, the Wyoming women, and I was in despair. I have since resolved that I will not fill out a bracket next year. Sure for some people (see Mr. Cool), filling out a bracket engages you in the tournament. For overly competitive people like me, however, a failing bracket causes pain, anguish, and a diminished interest in March madness. Maybe, if I do not fill out a bracket, I can just enjoy the spectacle.

Sunday Musing #3: Laziness + Tetris
I've had three days off. I had grand plans. Have I accomplished them? No. I have knit, watched basketball, college wrestling, made meals, done some laundry, and read pattern magazines. Oh--I also loaded Tetris onto my Ipod nano this week. This was not a good idea. I didn't grow up playing video games (thanks mom and dad!), but I have always had a fondness for Tetris. I believe it is the perfectly designed game for us obsessive-compulsive types. However, once we get started, we must continue until we get perfectly straight lines. Suffice it to say, I haven't planned my honors Oedipus unit, read more of Kristin Lavransdattar, or figured out how to hijack HBO (I wish I was watching John Adams, Hannah.) Nope. Maybe during my Spring Break . . .

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Excellent musings, as a follower of Jesus waiting for "further up and further in" I sometimes wonder about the vigorous battles those of us in the parental unit generation are waging to hang on down here. Now of course we want to hang on--we have so much wisdom yet to pass on down--but what if the doctor sat down and said, "I have BAD news, your blood tests indicate you are totally cancer free" Didn't Paul say something along that line. Better to be with Jesus, but if I must I'll hang around here a while longer.

Amanda said...

What an interesting thought, dad. Definitely relates to the Lazarus thoughts. Perhaps, I hope, Jesus sat him down and explained about the glory thing.

Also, in Buffy, the only thing that finally saved her from deep depression was rejoining the fight and helping others.