The following clip from the TV show "ER" has been going viral recently (caution: mildly salty language):
A couple of weeks ago, one of the older parishoners of my church---someone whom I got to know a little bit---died. I went to her memorial service, and I think that this was one of the best services I could have gone to during Lent.
It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for this is the end of all mankind, and the living will lay it to heart. (Ecclesiastes 7:2, ESV)
It seems to me that being forced to look at death (in whatever form it comes) does more to sober us up than all the "self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body" (Colossians 2:23, ESV) can ever do. Alternatively, when we are as sober as the dying guy in the ER clip, we realize that amusement, good wishes and pious thoughts can all be a "vanity," "a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes" (Ecclesiastes; James 4:2, ESV); what matters is a true message of real forgiveness and life from the dead.
But, for whatever reason, people follow the religions that they do. Maybe they want to fit in with certain crowds; maybe they want to avoid others. Maybe they want the approval of some; maybe they want the disapproval of others. Maybe they want a challenge that they can master; maybe they want to chase the unattainable. Maybe they want a structure of rules to keep themselves safe; maybe they want to be free from all restrictions. Maybe they like feeling happy; maybe they like feeling sad. Maybe they want to make sense of the world around themselves; maybe they want a sense of purpose for themselves. Whatever the reasons, we all by nature tend to choose our own religions in order to try and make our own way through this life.
On the other hand, when Jesus said "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel," (Mark 1:15, ESV) He was not offering one path among many to self-fulfillment. He also was not offering up a new "deal"; we can't choose to believe our way into God's kingdom any more than we can choose to be born or choose to escape our own death. Rather, Jesus was saying "A kingdom is coming and is standing right in front of you, a kingdom of grace and peace and forgiveness and adoption into God's family, a kingdom that comes through my incarnation, life, death and resurrection. A kingdom that is as real as the thorns on the ground, the sin in your flesh and the cares of this age---more real, in fact, because those things will pass away yet my words will never pass away. This kingdom is for you. Believe it!" And, just as God said "Let there be light," and there was light (Genesis 1:3, ESV), so He brings His kingdom and preaches His Word and has mercy upon us (Romans 9:14-16) and will raise us to life (1 Corinthians 15:22).
What makes the scene from "ER" work so well, I think, is that we can identify with both the man who is dying as well as the woman who is trying to counsel him. What do we say to people, especially when they are angry, confused and scared? What do we believe when we are angry, confused and scared? Is 1 Corinthians 15 one of our "go to" chapters when it comes to being comforted and comforting others? I think that it should be.
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