Lost in Religion

No matter how big of a fan you are, or how many times you’ve watched every episode, or how many of the producers’ podcasts you’ve listened to we are all to some degree lost. No one on the outside truly knows what is going on with ABC’s hit series. We may have some greater knowledge as each episode ends but we have not yet reached complete understanding. It has, however, been interesting for me to watch as various religious themes keep popping up throughout the series, and last night’s season finale was no exception (WARNING: Spoiler Alert!).

Last night’s season finale of Lost ended with a gripping cliffhanger, as all season finales do. But what interested me more was the character of Jacob. The interest was not only because we get our first glimpse of him here, but also because of the triangle of tension going on between him, Locke, and Ben. It was the final confrontation scene that developed the most intrigue in me and led to me to consider if Lost does not have some underlying religious, particularly Christian, themes to it.

Here in this scene Benjamin Linus confronts Jacob for having never responded to him. Ben is furious. He has served faithfully for all these years, done everything asked of him, and never once disobeyed a direct order. And for all his service his daughter is killed, he gets diagnosed with cancer, and is finally banished from the island. And when, after all his years of service and faithfulness, he had asked to see Jacob he was told “no, be patient.” But John Locke, the new leader of the Others, asks once and is immediately escorted to Jacob, “like he was Moses” (Ben’s own words). So all this leads Ben to ask his master, “Why did you ignore me? What about me?”

It is a provocative question. Benjamin has the chance to ask the invisible controller of his destiny, the ruler of the island, the one from whom he received all his commands,  “why have you been so far from me?” It’s a question that rings in my ears like a critique of God. It’s a question that the Psalmist asked. “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest” (Psalm 22:1-2).  It is the complaint of Jeremiah when he continually cried up, “How long, O Lord?” And it was, most famously, the question of Job (see particularly chapter 23). As Job had been a “righteous man” so Benjamin had lived up to his responsibilities and honored Jacob’s requests. Why, then, were they not answered?

It’s an age old question, and one every person who has suffered has at some point thought to themselves. I know I myself just recently pondered the reasons God allows evil. It is not a question I intend to attempt an answer to now, but I can’t help but wonder if Lost is proposing some direction for its viewers on the relationship between the mysterious/the divine and their daily lives and sufferings. Everything in the show seems revolve around those two themes: the tension between faith and sight, and the relationship of individuals to their sufferings. This season’s finale seems to be asking the question that is at the heart of the whole matter: what’s the relationship between the divine mysterious and my suffering.

Unfortunately the finale ends without an answer, and Ben kills his god. And as Jacob lies stabbed through the heart and going up in flames I can only pray that those of us facing suffering will look to God’s Word for more sure comfort. The solution is not to “kill God,” but to look to the Bible for answers that encourage our confidence in an almighty God of love and providential care. I trust you will find them there just as I have, and while that may not resolve some of the lostness we feel in understanding this relationship, it will at least give us the patience and hope to persevere.