David's List

Alright, so now that LOST is over, any time spent not analyzing, re-analyzing, and reminiscing the goodness of that show will be spent doing my new, rediscovered hobby: reading. That's right. LOST is over, and therefore it is time to leave the television behind and to start reading. So here it is folks: my list of books to read. There are some gems in there - specifically the one by L. Neil Smith (if you can find it).

Estimated time of completion: Don't even want to think about it.

I wish I could find a way to make these images larger if you click on them. However, I'm not computer savvy, so best of luck in trying to figure it out in the meantime.

108; Fin; The End

In the earliest moments of reflection on the episode, I was hesitantly okay - perhaps all right - with the outcome. It was not what I had expected, and yet was exactly what I had expected. In my desire to get out of the finale, and essentially the show itself, what I wanted out of it, I found it difficult to let go. Now, with more space to reflect upon what happened over the past six years, I think I am coming to a place of actually letting go. Of appropriate acquiesce. And fittingly, I am finding the finale to be more and more poignant and brilliant. This was not just some show. For those with eyes and ears that could perceive beyond first sense, it was something far more significant. When you can sit at a kitchen table the morning afterwards, having a meaningful conversation about what worked, what did not work, what this story meant to us, the nature of a parable, the sacred experienced on the screen of the profane - then you know that this was something beyond just a serialized television show.

fourty-two

This should be a self-explanatory reference to the greatest character on the greatest television series, and what drives him. I will let other's unpack the theological significance of the notion of a constant, as I am running out of time to do so. The final recap starts in 56 minutes.

vingt-trois

Sometimes, you can just hop in the back of someone's cab and tell them what they're supposed to do. Other times, you have to let him look out at the ocean for a while.

XVI

Evil Hearts of Unbelief: What comes out of a man is what defiles a man. For from within, out of the heart of man, comes evil thoughts...

XV

A simple act of choosing to believe has massive ramifications, unbeknown in the present, but often serendipitous.

ocho

Why does this generation seek every single answer? Truly I say to you, answers will remain for this generation.

4

One day I am going to write a serial that falls somewhere between Dostoevsky and Darlton.

Vito's Ordination Song

I live in parables. Or, at least I try to. Last year when I first co-taught Mark I at city/script, I decided to play a song before each study that had something, anything, to do with what we were about to study. Only one student came up to me throughout the week asking me why I had chosen the songs for each day. To her had been given the secret of the playlist. This year, when I saw this same student again, she came up to me and asked if any of the new students had asked questions about songs (I had a new playlist this year). This year one or two students asked.

There was one song this year that I hadn't planned on playing at all, but for some reason or another it was played midweek. And then again on the final day during reflection time. For me, this song encapsulated my thoughts and emotions while leading. So here is said song.

Vito's Ordination Song - Sufjan Stevens

I always knew you

In your mothers arms

I have called your name

I've an idea

Placed in your mind

To be a better man

I've made a crown for you

Put it in your room

And when the bridegroom comes

There will be noise

There will be glad

And a perfect bed

And when you write a poem

I know the words

I know the sounds

Before you write it down

When you wear your clothes

I wear them too

I wear your shoes

And your jacket too

I always knew you

In your mothers arms

I have called you son

I've made amends

Between father and son

Or, if you haven't one

Rest in my arms

Sleep in my bed

There is a design

To what I did and said

Listen below, and feel free to ignore the fan made video

Exit Strategy

I have had a hard time putting into words what the experience of last week, teaching the first half of the Gospel of Mark by myself, was like. I can be honest in saying that it was yet again another transformative experience with good news Mark had to share, and that things came to life that had never come to life before. I believe* to have perceived some new revelations and understandings of what the text calls people into. One day, when I write that oft-thought of book on Mark, the things running through my mind this past week will most definitely be included. My mind's eye holds the cover artwork, and inner artwork (that whole legion thing will be true to its scene - images and actions of pure chaos). These are a few of the minor things I have left thinking about; the more major being about what it means to follow Jesus, and to see unclean things made whole in this life.

At the end of the study I taught, I encouraged the students to develop an exit strategy involving how they were going to spend their time

post-city/script. It's easy to look for rest after pouring yourself out for days of intense study, but so often the idleness and vacancy that fills the void of structured days and intense relationship can lead to destructive tendencies and, in all honesty, unbelief in what just occurred. The

playing out of my exit strategy has not gone as well as I would have hoped, but I have tried. Here are the things I've been throwing myself into to find rest, relaxation, and aid reintegration into the busyness of life:

-Lost: This was the first thing I did when I got home.

-Cinema: I had a hankering for French cinema, so I watched "Entre les murs" aka. The Class (see above), which was fantastic. Tonight I watched "The Box". Weird, but it was good way to also hang out with a good friend from back home. Would love to get in "Wings of Desire" before things get too busy again.

-Home: I'm in Brantford, for better or for worse. It's hard getting around this town without a vehicle.

-Hockey: These playoffs are bittersweet. See earlier post.

-Books: I'm slowly easing my way into "I Once Was Lost", and "True Story".

-Coffee: I have made sure to be intentional about getting out of the house, especially to read. There's a fair trade coffee shop in town that I make sure to frequent.

-Wine: The parables about new wine and wineskins really gave me a hankering for some red wine. I enjoyed some Chilean and Spanish wines with the family on Mother's Day. Ah, perfect for a Sunday afternoon.

-Music: writing songs about Sasquatch in Saskatchewan, bridegrooms, and love's labourers.

Tomorrow I will more than likely head back into the realm of work, but I am ever so grateful to indulge the things that I delight in, knowing they are a part of who I have been created to be, a part of the whole truth I extrovert to Jesus, and woven into things being made new in my life. This has been life giving - all of these past few weeks.

Playoff Beard: The Bitter End

The Last Shave: April 12, 2010
Modifications: Removed neck beard and aforementioned upper-cheek hairs, as per Playoff Beard rules.
Moral Support: Gino Reda
Reason to Mope: I don't like sharks, and I need a hair cut.