Why I am Kate
Posted on August 17, 2007
Filed Under Mark Steele |
Has it really been seven weeks since I said I would answer my own question?
In my June 22 (Holy Craptastic!) post, I waxed eloquent regarding the spiritual significance of ABC TV’s “Lost” and wrapped it up with the question/comment “Which castaway are you? I am Kate.” Of course, now that I think of it, giving a seven week hiatus between a “Lost” question and a “Lost” answer really isn’t that long at all.
Why am I Kate? Because Kate is convinced that the only way she will be “Found” is by doing and earning. She came onto this island having left the real world marked like Cain with a “Most Wanted” poster in every post office in the nation. However, considering no one ever goes to the post office anymore, she probably wasn’t in any real danger. Suddenly, she found herself marooned with 41 others who knew nothing of her sinful past (well, 40 others. But Jack smothered the one who knew pretty quickly. So, you know: bonus). You would think that this would elate Kate, convince her that she could really become someone new in this land where the worst version of herself was unknown. But, this wasn’t enough for Kate. She felt that she needed to have more than a clean slate. She felt she needed to earn a good one. To this end, most of her attempts have been centered around what I would call a “form of penance.” No one wears guilt like Kate (if that is her real name - BA DUM DUM!).
This is easy to observe, but much more difficult to internalize. I KNOW that there is nothing I can do to earn God’s grace in my life. I know that I am unable to brownie-point my way to “foundness,” but darn-it-all if most of my days don’t center around that exact pursuit. I see a lot of myself in Kate. I see that sense of “Sure. You like me because I can climb trees with nothing more than my ankle muscles and a toothpick — but if you REALLY knew who I am, I would be an outcast.”
But, we love her anyway. Why?
Because we, as the audience, know the one thing the castaways do not know.
They are ALL outcasts.
And so are we.
Not one of us, not one has it all together. Not one has the coveted clean slate. Not one is above reproach. But, the enemy of our souls spends most of his time attempting to convince each of us that we are the least, the worst, the only. Sometimes, I see a “Lost” character’s backstory and it makes me want to scream at the screen. “WHY DON’T YOU JUST TELL THESE PEOPLE WHAT YOU JUST SHOWED ME!” It’s simple to see how much understanding, love, acceptance, and unlostness would come from such shared information.
Hmm.
I wonder if it would be the same with all of us.
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8 Responses to “Why I am Kate”
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Mark,
Great to stumble upon your writings here… (This is Alece {as in Alece & Niel} down in South Africa…) It’s been a long time! How are you?!
I enjoyed your post. Resonates a lot. Just this past week, in fact, I shared some “secrets” of mine with a friend. Freeing indeed because it was met with more love, understanding, and acceptance than I anticipated. It’s a step, but still… Kate I am.
Would love to hear from you sometime!
How do I know what you say you actually live?
In past times, I have been involved with many people at church and they can say maybe the right things but the fruit of their life is quite contrary.
Reading what you say seems ok, but is it true?>
To the above poster… I agree, many of us can write the “right” things, but not live them out. Quite personally, whether or not Mark lives out what he writes should have no bearing on anyone if what he writes is truth. I can think of many times I have given advice that does ring true, but I fail to follow through myself. It stems from the challenge of it all, and the fear that I might fail, and many other things (not to make excuses). I surrender my fear and insecurity to Jesus on a regular basis that I can become the person I actually am. Great words Mark,
Persist in Christ, and may He exist in all you do.
WOW! Imagine finding Alece AND Mark in the same place. Freaky! Remember me… Teen Mania days? ORU days? BC? Nordaggios? etc.
Good post, Mark. I find that my fears are the thing that usually keeps me from truly living - both in the natural ways and in the supernatural.
And Alece, I hope you’re doing well. My pastor here in LA is South African, so small world indeed. I hung out with Micheal & Beth McComber recently and they were speaking of you as well.
Good times… God Bless you both!
Oh, and to Timothy… embracing Christianity isn’t about whether the people who talk about it execute it flawlessly. Most of us don’t. In fact the great lie is that the validity of Christ’s claims is contingent on how well others imitate him. That’s a scary place to find faith, because it is always shifting sand. However, if you find faith in Christ based on the truth of his identity, no amount of failures on the part of other followers or pseudo-followers (whichever the case may be) will be able to undermine his legitimacy. I encourage you to consider the validity of comments like Mark’s, before you consider how well he may or may not live them out. To wrestle with the claims of Christ must be to wrestle with their truth, more than with his followers’ integrity. Not to make excuses for failures on the part of Christians, but those failures don’t affect the identity of Jesus. May you find the truth you seek in Christ alone, and not just in the church community.
Good words, Mark. Who knew Lost could yield such spiritually significant lessons? I suppose all good stories do, since they often involve truth and the human condition.
I used to catch myself striving to be something I was not–constantly comparing myself to others and looking down on myself when I made mistakes. I didn’t have much of a self-image. And most of all, I didn’t know who I truly was, so I spent all my time trying to be someone else.
You’re right, Mark. We get so easily deceived that “doing” and creating an image will get us somewhere, but when it comes to eternity, it’s worthless if we’re not allowing ourselves to conform to God’s image.
See you Sunday.
I liked your post. I have often felt a strange identity with Kate, but i didn’t know why. I think something about Kate that I relate to is that she runs from her past. I think that the hiding of what she did is part of what attracts her to Sawyer. Another thing about Kate is that I see her as someone who is deeply wounded and longs for a Father. She needs the love of Father God to wash away her sins and show her pure love and acceptance. I think one of the key elements with several of the characters on LOST is their issues with their father or lack of father. This show is by far my favorite of all time. My church 20 somethings group gets together once a month and watches lost. Anyone else have any cool comments on Lost I would love to hear them.
Crystal.
You know, the ironic thing about modern Christianity (to me at least), is that its current stereotypical demographic is a far stretch from where it began. Think about it for a second. Right now, the A-typical evangelical Christian (in the eyes of America) is essentially the white color, suburbian, picket fence, nice family, 2.5 kids, church every Sunday, shuns profanity, NEVER does ANYTHING wrong, never doubts, never forgets to smile…. and yet, not only how far is that image from the actual real everyday Christian, but how incredibly far is that from the target audience of Jesus, Paul, Peter, John and James. Not that they were just going after the “worst of the worst”, but the Christian religion was essentialy founded by the weirdos, the pantheistic, temple prostitute indulging, winos who would probably be shunned immediately by anyone trying to compare them to the “Christian ideal”
Take a look at the heros of the Bible… they were always the most scrappy looking people around. However, what they had that gave them a place in history was a passion and love for God. They knew they weren’t prefect, and they never tried to be. They strove for it, but they knew it was only by the power of God for them to actually be made clean.
These days, we spend so much time trying to encourage each other to press forward with perseverance, that some people get the impression that we are claiming to have arrived there. Hopefully, that is not the case. Though we seek God and want Him in our every breath, the first step is always to admit that none of us our capable of anything without him. From there, we can begin the process of actually getting somewhere in this world without a facade.
@ Zac,
Interestingly, the description you give of the typical Christian with the appearance of piety parallels with that of the Pharisees in Jesus’ time. And we all know what He thought of them…
I agree that the mark of true piety is the heart that hungers after God. Even some of the Pharisees had that (e.g. Nicodemus).
@ Mark,
Great to see you blogging for Relevant. I can’t think of a better venue for your unique blend of pop-culture informed humor and faith. I wish I could get an RSS feed of just your ReleBlog!
… now I’m going to have to find the DVDs of Lost so I can participate in the conversation.
Zik