In Sunday's message I referenced the Susan Boyle video (now viewed nearly 40 million times on YouTube). Some of you said that you still have not seen it. You can watch it by clicking here. I can't embed it. You can also click here to read an interesting commentary by a Catholic priest named James Martin on the world's fascination with her. There's also this take on it from our local paper.
The two views aren't mutually exclusive. It's probably a little bit of both. It got me to wondering why I enjoyed seeing Mrs. Boyle do so well. Part of it is the relief I feel at seeing disaster averted. My son occasionally hides his eyes when he sees a character on TV about to get in trouble or be embarrassed. That's how we feel when someone like Susan Boyle comes on stage. It's like there's a voice that says, "Stop her before she makes a fool of herself!"
Imagine our surprise, our relief, our elation, when she's not pathetic but glorious. It's the surprise that gets our attention.
I agree with Fr. Martin. Perhaps we are drawn to this performance because it is a reminder of God's power to do the same. To see the glorious in the mundane. It's the great reversal that Jesus delights in pointing out, where the least of society (lepers, "sinners," tax collectors, Samaritans) end up being the heroes.
Do we not have the same hope for ourselves? What do you think?
The two views aren't mutually exclusive. It's probably a little bit of both. It got me to wondering why I enjoyed seeing Mrs. Boyle do so well. Part of it is the relief I feel at seeing disaster averted. My son occasionally hides his eyes when he sees a character on TV about to get in trouble or be embarrassed. That's how we feel when someone like Susan Boyle comes on stage. It's like there's a voice that says, "Stop her before she makes a fool of herself!"
Imagine our surprise, our relief, our elation, when she's not pathetic but glorious. It's the surprise that gets our attention.
I agree with Fr. Martin. Perhaps we are drawn to this performance because it is a reminder of God's power to do the same. To see the glorious in the mundane. It's the great reversal that Jesus delights in pointing out, where the least of society (lepers, "sinners," tax collectors, Samaritans) end up being the heroes.
Do we not have the same hope for ourselves? What do you think?