Jane Austen and Easter

While I knew that last night was my wife and daughter’s first whole night back from their trip to Arkansas, I had a faint glimmer of hope to watch the Bruins try to secure a playoff birth at New Jersey. (I love the DVR!) After watching Boston dominate the first ten minutes, even though they gave up the first goal, I asked Allison if there was anything she wanted to watch. I did this out of love and charity, and I commend it to any husband who has a wife loving enough to take their daughter to Arkansas for the week after the busiest time of year. It’s the least you can do to repay them for their kindness.

Well, Allison asked if we had any Masterpiece Theatre recorded. (I hate the DVR!) Sure enough, we had a multitude of Jane Austen pieces that PBS is showing from now through 2015. We settled on one that was only 90 minutes long, Sense and Sensibility. If you need to know, most Jane Austen plots revolve around a practical, intelligent older daughter who has either a very silly sister, or a very attractive sister and they wind up in all sorts of romantic mischief with various suitors of debatable merits and fortunes. There you have it.

Let me warn you now that if you watch too much Jane Austen, you will begin talking like one of the characters. You’ll begin saying things like “Make haste!” and “I shall attend to the matter at once.” You’ll bow for no good reason.

And because no good Jane Austen story can be told in under 3 hours (2005’s Pride and Prejudice starring the Oscar-nominated Keira Knightley is roundedly snubbed by Austeniphiles in favor for the 1995 version starring Colin Firth–they didn’t play the same role) this was a two-parter, leaving us with a question as to which of the three wealthy suitors would wind up with the hot sister or the frumpy sister.

Lucky for me, playoff hockey is much easier to decipher. The Bruins could have used two points in each of their last two games, but came away losers in extra time (last night, in the skills competition). They still need a win in their last two games to make the second season, and it’s no gimme at Ottawa or at home against Buffalo. They are certainly playing well enough to make the playoffs, but so is Washington (!), Carolina, New York and Philadelphia. I could go on and on.

Instead let me comment on Easter before I make haste to Phantom Farms for my weekly visit. Holy Week is a great time to reconnect with why we’re Christians. It reminds us that our faith is one of suffering, but not suffering for no good cause. We suffer because God is with the suffering; we suffer because we are called to give ourselves up to it. God doesn’t desire it, but it’s a natural course when the present kingdom is not God’s. I understand now more than ever what Jesus talks about in the Gospel of John, that the present age is one of darkness. He might be more black-and-white about it, but what I hear is this: we live in a day where self-satisfaction is paramount, and self-denial doesn’t exist for the most part. We live in a day where we believe that power comes from might and strength, not in humility and service. Jane Austen always throws in a very hateful character (usually a female relative of one of the suitors) who goes against all the decorum and honor of the day: they want the best for themselves and don’t care about others; they justify their selfish behavior by their social rank. It’s very black and white. Holy Week reminds me that I have lots of that behavior in me.

So Easter, a day of resurrection, is a day when we celebrate and embrace that radical change that God seeks: putting others over ourselves so that the whole creation can become new. While I was away from work last week, I thought of writing a playlist of songs that are Easter songs for me. One of them, of course, is “Life Wasted” by the mighty Pearl Jam (coming to the Tweeter Center June 28 and 30; tickets make an excellent present for any rector): “I have faced it/a life wasted/I am never going back again/having tasted/a life wasted/I am never going back again/I escaped it/a life wasted/I am never going back again/I erased it/a life wasted/I am never going back again” More easter songs on the morrow.