Often, when someone speaks or writes a quote, the very words are noteworthy; they remain illuminated in the mind long after the moment when they were heard or read. But there's nothing special about the words in the title quote, above. Standing alone like that, there is no particular import, no life-changing impact, no world-enhancing philosophy in them. Milkshakes, for the most part, are not momentous. Most of the things people say in this life, even the quotable stuff, must be understood in a context. And that is the case with the milkshake quote.
Fans of the TV show, Mad Men, likely recognized it, immediately. In the scene, a young woman is sitting in a restaurant with a man and his three children. While roughhousing, one of the kids knocks over a milkshake which begins to rapidly spread across the table. Everyone at the table appears horrified and frightened ... except the young woman. She gathers some napkins and kindly says, "It's OK. It's only a milkshake." *
As the last syllable of "milkshake" is still wafting through the air, the faces of the man and his children undergo a startling transformation; horror and fright become stunned wonder and a kind of hope-filled awe.
All of this comes at a watershed moment in the series, one of those pivot points where, to understand the full impact of the words, the viewer must have seen all the story that has gone before. Even describing the scene cannot convey its full meaning. Without the preceding four seasons, the viewer cannot fully understand and appreciate the true value of the words the young woman speaks, nor why they make such a powerful impact on the man and his children.
That brings us to this week's Lectionary reading from the Gospel of John. When pressed by the leaders of the Jews to "...tell us plainly" whether he is the Messiah, Jesus responds, "I have told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name testify to me...." Jesus is telling them that he has been revealing himself for the entire three years of His ministry. No mere words, at this point, are going to convey the full and correct answer to their question. They have ignored all that has gone before, not understanding that He has been communicating with them through his actions and through his words; that, taken together, the two form the answer to their question.
Jesus could give them a direct answer. But like the milkshake quote, His words could not be understood without all that has gone before. What they would carry away from the conversation would be, at best, a superficial understanding. They wanted to segment Jesus, separate his words from his deeds, remove him from the context of His story, and then judge Him based on what they perceived as blasphemous statements.
Sometimes, a milkshake is just a milkshake. But sometimes, when it comes at the end of a long line of words and actions, it transforms into hope and wonder right before our eyes.
____________________________
READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK
Fourth Sunday of Easter (April 17, 2016)
http://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/
First reading
Acts 9:36-43
Psalm
Psalm 23
Second reading
Revelation 7:9-17
Gospel
John 10:22-30
__________________________
We're gathering Friday mornings at the Waco "Egg and I" restaurant for Lectionary Breakfast, which is just a fancy way of saying we're going to talk about the Bible while we eat breakfast. We start at 8:00, and we enjoy an hour of discussion about one or more of the week's Lectionary passages. And we laugh. A lot.
But if you want a milkshake, you'll have to bring your own.
Enjoy the week!
Steve
__________________________
* "It's OK. It's only a milkshake."
Character: Megan Calvet
Madmen
Season 4, Episode 13: "Tomorrowland"
First aired October 17, 2010
No comments:
Post a Comment