The Gospel in LOST

Before the days of DVR technology, I would have to rush home from church to watch episodes of "LOST" every Wednesday night. Thanks to the power of SuddenLink's DVR capabilities, I can watch ABC's hit drama whenever I feel like watching it. Now in its 5th season, "LOST" has millions of people still baffled and asking, "What was that?!?" At each commercial break I have about 15 seconds to wonder what is going to happen next (before the days of DVR I had about 6 minutes), and I am still blown away that after watching this show for four years, I am still surprised every episode.

The episode that was extremely surprising was aired yesterday, Feb. 18, when the Gospel of Jesus was spoken through the character Ben. The setting is a sanctuary, and the scene opens with Ben, a shady character who seems to make everything topsy-turvy, sitting in a pew with his hands folded in front of his face. John Locke, a wise old man who was paralyzed from the waist down after surviving a fall out of a high-rise apartment but was then healed when his plane crashed on a mysterious island, walks in and sees Ben praying. They begin talking about doubting their current circumstances, and Ben walks over to a painting of Thomas reaching out to touch Jesus' wounds following the resurrection.

Ben refers to the story in John 11 when the disciples debate with Jesus about returning to Judea, a place where Jews where especially unruly toward the idea of Jesus being the Messiah. The disciples tell Jesus that he should not go because it is unsafe, and Ben quotes Thomas who said, "Let us go also, that we may die with him." Ben adds that, unfortunately, Thomas is not remembered for this statement of faith, but that he is remembered for his doubt. It was Thomas who did not believe in the resurrection of Jesus and stated that he would have to see and touch the wounds to believe.

Typically, all of the off-the-wall comments and occurrences that happen in "LOST" all fly together at this point - a secret government program to keep the island's experiment a secret, polar bears, human extermination, romance, a crazy French lady, a Scottish sailor, time travel - but this three minute scene stood out to me because it was the Gospel. It mentioned Jesus, his disciples, his death, and his resurrection.

This was not an in-depth look at the Gospel by any means, but I cannot doubt that someone watching "LOST" last night realized that he/she was Thomas, doubting the existence and divinity of God. That person could have been looking for something to fall into his/her lap as a sign of the Truth. Today is it more likely to hear Jesus' name in a derogatory fashion, and it is far more likely to hear $%@$# than the Gospel. It could be that the writers of "LOST" intended for this scene to fit into the list of crazy things that don't make any sense. Even still, the story of Jesus and his resurrection was revealed, and millions heard it.