Season 1: Episode 11: My Own Personal Jesus

Throughout this whole episode Turk defends the idea of Christmas and celebration and getting in the spirit. Then, after a particularly hard Christmas Eve of being on call he begins to lose his hope and his faith. Watch the clip…

I love Turk’s honesty. I don’t I have ever met a single person, follower of Jesus or not, who doesn’t at some point ask the questions that Turk asks, that feels the despair that Turk feels, that feels the pointlessness that Turk feels. You can hear it echoing in his words, “How am I supposed to believe in something that is willing to let innocent people suffer?”

I don’t care if you have been a Christian from birth, or you refuse to believe in God, this question always comes into play. For a lot of my atheist friends, this is why they refuse to believe in God, any god for that matter. And at some point, every follower of Jesus Christ wrestles with this question.

The answer?

I don’t know.

Let’s be honest, if I knew, I would write a book, travel around talking about it and would have made a lot of money. But alas.

I think there are a lot of answers to how are we supposed to maintain faith when innocent people are suffering but the truth is, they don’t really help.

Fortunately for us the Bible abounds with stories of innocent suffering. The best story, from start to finish is the story of Job. A blameless man whose life God allows Satan to systematically destroy. First his home and all he possesses, then Job loses his family, then his physical health. There is no rhyme or reason for it, but Job maintains his worship, his trust, and of his faith in God. It really is a remarkable story that if you haven’t read, ever or even recently, please read it now, thank me later.

We live in a broken, hurting world with broken, hurting people and sometimes those people make choices that affect the innocent. And its extremely hard to reconcile that fact when we are the innocent or know or have to watch others suffer.

No one denies that it is hard. No one denies that it is easy to just ignore and move on. And it should cause us to pause. To think. It should cause us to cry out to God. But that doesn’t mean we throw away all that we know of who God is because of hard times. And it’s in that moment that our faith becomes so important.

Scripture defines faith in this way in Hebrews 11:

Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.

Assurance about things we cannot see. I have to have hope that there are things we will understand when I stand before God. But if not, I place everything I know of myself in the hands of everything I know of God. And my faith will find its assurance in Him.

May we know that God loves so very much –May we know that He remains faithful, even when we cannot see it. May we know that even in our darkest moments, grace, and love still abound, and may we have the confidence and assurance of faith in a Holy God.

Season 1: Episode 10: My Nickname

I don’t know about you, but I have the innate ability to put my foot in my mouth. It’s a gift really.

You would think that over time we would get it. In fact, there are times when we can even catch ourselves in our head, but then say it anyway.

JD knows he shouldn’t say the crap that he does, and he knows he shouldn’t let his emotions get the best of him, but he says it anyway. In this case, it’s with Karla.

Watching JD put his foot in his mouth reminds me of a story where one of the disciples lets his emotions get the best of his mouth, only instead of pride and frustration (what JD was dealing with), the disciple is operating out of fear.

We pick up the story in Matthew 26:69 – 75, where Peter is denying ever knowing Jesus.

“A little later some of the other bystanders came over to Peter and said, “You must be one of them; we can tell by your Galilean accent.” Peter swore, “A curse on me if I’m lying – I don’t know that man!” And immediately the rooster crowed. Suddenly, Jesus’ words flashed through Peter’s mind: “Before the rooster crows, you will deny three times that you even know me.” And he went away, weeping bitterly.

Granted, denying your relationship with Christ is a lot different than JD yelling at Karla, but Peter’s emotions get the best of him, and he has instant regret.

The word I cant get over is “swore.” Peter swore. Not like, “oh, that damn cat.” But called down a curse on his own head. That is a powerful emotion, to get so wrapped up in the emotion of the moment that you call down a curse.

James writes in his first chapter that we should be “slow to speak.” The more I think about that, the more I realize how often my emotions dictate my words and how often that hurts those around me, as well as myself.

May we all be aware of our emotions, may we not react out of fear, hurt, or anger, but may we be slow to speak, quick to listen, and may we experience the grace of those who have been hurt by our reactions and words.

Season 1: Episode 9: My Day Off

I always think it’s hard to hear tough love. Whether it is coming at us, or we are being called to give it. It’s never easy to tell people the hard things about them or things that need to change. Not only that, but its hard to find people who will tell you what they think in love.

I mean, it’s super easy to find someone who will be mean to you or to who will tell you what he or she thinks with no regard to how it will hurt you. But it is a rare person who will tell you how they feel because they care and are invested in your life.

Dr. Cox gets his tough love here:

I think challenging people to fully realize their identity in Christ is the greatest calling one can have. Dr. Cox is being challenged to be a better doctor by his mentor. Without his mentor knowing him and what he needed to hear and how he needed to hear it, Dr. Cox would not have heard it or responded to it.

We find the same challenging in the Bible. Timothy is exhorted by his mentor Paul. Paul isn’t mad at Timothy or disappointed, but he knows what he needs to hear and challenges him to be faithful to that calling. We pick it up in 2^nd Tim. 4:2:

“Preach the word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke and encourage your people with good teaching.”

We are called to correct, and to rebuke. We are all called to encourage and teach. Sometimes what a person needs is a swift kick in the pants. But do it patiently. And lovingly.

Dr Cox took the tongue lashing because he was in relationship with the former chief of medicine. And it’s the same way with us. We just cant go around correcting everyone we see, or else we will just end up having people sing the wrong song at us (um… see the highlights. It’s a good song). It’s about being in relationship with people and loving them well.

So know that while tough love may not be easy, its what we are called to do. And we are called to listen to it as well. Just because we are supposed to listen to it, doesn’t mean that it is always easy to hear. So good luck with that, cause I know I struggle with it.

May we know when to patiently correct, and may we have open ears and listen when someone takes the time to lovingly rebuke us.

Season 1: Episode 8: My Fifteen Minutes

This is one of my favorite wrap-ups of the whole series.

Perceptions are a big deal, and our worldview is a very important thing. Sadly, the way we usually view the world is through the lens of me.

The lens of me is we only see how the world effects us. And I know, that’s the whole point of a show like Scrubs, to give J.D’s opinion and to see through his world. But more than just J.D., we all get caught up in seeing the world for ourselves. We see global issues from the perspective of how it affects me. Look at the national health care debate. The rallying cry for those opposed is “me.” How is this going to affect me? What about my costs? Where will my doctor be? How long will I have to wait?

All valid concerns. And I am not saying we shouldn’t ask these questions, I am just saying we tend to be self-centered. Elliot can’t see how she fits in because she’s is too busy focusing on the fact that she feels left out. Turk is tired of being seen and having his identity found solely in his skin color. J.D. is so focused on himself that he has no real idea what people think of him, even the good things.

A verse I have been coming back to over and over again is from John 3:30:

“He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less.”

I am a very selfish person. Sometimes I find that my worldview is significantly smaller than I would like. And that’s why I come back to this verse.

What are you doing to become less, to be less selfish? What do you wish you were doing?

May we all be reminded that we are not the end all, be all, and may we work harder to make ourselves less, not so we can obtain some false sense of humility, but so that we may make Him more.

Season 1: Episode 7: My Super Ego

We often want really big things. Especially when we read the Bible. God told Noah to built an ark. Moses parted the Red Sea and was talked to by a burning bush. Jacob literally got in a fight with God. Joshua destroyed a city by walking around it. The disciples got to witness all the big things that Jesus did – water into wine, healing the sick, walking on water, feeding thousands, and more.

I think because of this we come to expect big things from God. We have these major expectations of God and how He is supposed to communicate to us. I know I do. I want clouds in the sky spelling out with perfect lucidity when I have to make a decision. I want talking shrubbery and waters to part and cities to crumble at my beck and call. I want there to be such perfect clarity, miraculous signs, and obviousness that no one can deny that God had a special place for me in His heart.

Sadly the real world isn’t like that, but it is not that God hasn’t done miraculous things in my life. More than that, He has constantly shown up in my darkest moments – just not in the ways I wanted him to show up. And that’s probably a really good thing.

But God is a lot bigger than me. And that’s an even better thing.

More than me, God is all about relationships. And relationships are all about little things. Sure there are big moments in my life, but it’s the everyday little things that maintain my relationships.

Little things are a big deal. Watch.

It's the little things that help us get through. The things we do on a daily basis that helps us survive. The psalmist opens up about it.

“They delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night.”

Day and night. And not this day and night.

I think this is a little thing that we all need to do.

It’s so easy to see a forest rather than the trees. I know that may sound cheesy and I apologize, but the simple truth is that we would much rather talk about the big than the monotonous. It’s the self-discipline of the “day and night” that leads to the big moments.

Noah would have never heard from God to build an ark if he hadn’t been diligent everyday in pursuing God; Moses never would have talked to a burning bush if he hadn’t been faithful to the daily grind of shepherding; Jacob would never have wrestled with God had he not been seeking forgiveness, Joshua wouldn’t have been able to lead the people into the promised land had he not been faithful in the everyday to the leadership of Moses. The disciples would have missed out on all that Jesus had done had they not taken the actual steps every day.

May we be faithful in the little things, and may we be able to see the grandness of God and His love for us in our ordinary, everyday lives.

Season 1: Episode 6: My Bad

This episode has a lot we could talk about. Anger's infectious nature; Elliot wanting/needing counseling; Turk & Karla fighting about her mom; Dr. Cox’s marriage (and subsequent divorce) to Jordan; the Janitor talking to himself. You get the point.

We are going to go with anger.

Anger has a weird way of sneaking up on you. Little things can spark a response we didn’t know was even possible. Or maybe event after event piles up until you finally just explode.

Anger lacks a lot of things, but at the core of it is selfishness. Is there such a thing as righteous anger? Of course, but let’s be honest, on a daily basis we deal with our own anger issues rather than some justified emotion about the injustices of our world. When those righteously angry moments present themselves our hope is that that energy is pointing to positive change and bringing about hope, but again, that’s not what we are talking about here.

Dr. Cox gets angry and it infects the whole hospital…

This is the perfect description of anger for me. Its something that is so easily passed on if one isn’t careful. Whether it be around a hospital, a family, or even generations, anger can get in and infect a lot of our lives.

Because it’s a selfish response, we usually get sidetracked and lose focus on the things that are really important in our lives. For being such a selfish response, anger usually hurts others. I think that’s why the writers of the Bible are so clear.

Love is slow to anger... (I Cor. 13)

Fruit of the spirit is self control. (Galatians 5: 23)

The Psalmist writes, "Stop being angry! Turn from your rage! Do not lose your temper, it only leads to harm."

Colossians 3:8 says, "Now is the time to get rid of anger..."

I think what’s difficult is being self-aware enough in the moment. Cause I am good at catching myself, but when that moment hits, it seems I lose all perspective. Just reason 4,632 that I am thankful for grace and forgiveness.

May we be slow to anger. May we maintain our self control. May we not lash at others when we are angry, and may we be grateful for the grace and forgiveness that is offered to us.

Season 1: Episode 5: My Two Dads

I think we are pretty quick to categorize life. We like to live in an either-or world and we are concerned about making decisions based on facts (and sometimes the lack of) . We don’t like when there are these grey areas we have to walk through.

Some of the debates people are having:

Democrat or Republican

Abortion or Pro-Life

Peace or War

Gay Rights or ‘Sanctity’ of Marriage

Going green or Global Warming is not a big deal

Heath Care Reform or Health Care System staying the same

USA or the World

Soccer or Football

Twitter or Facebook

Cherry coke or whatever else passes as a “beverage” in this world.

In the case of Scrubs, it’s the patient or the hospital. Here is how it plays out…

It’s easier to choose, you know? It’s easier to live in black and white. It’s easier to avoid the grey areas, to bury our head in the sand and ignore everything around us, to classify one as good and the other as evil. It’s a lot easier to draw boundaries than it is to navigate the tension that exists in the world and culture we live in today.

I think the reason is because living in tension is a constant process. It’s something that has to be constantly going on. Drawing boundaries is a one time deal and maybe, just maybe we will revisit them in a few years, but the lines are there…

Jesus was all about tension. He created tension. When he was presented with lines and boundaries he erased the line and taught a new way. We have to be able live and balance things out.

His best examples of this are in what is known as the Sermon on the Mount.

In his first few sentences Jesus creates a dynamic tension…

“You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.

You’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.

You’re blessed when you’re content with just who you are – no more, no less. That’s the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can’t be bought…”

- Matthew 5; 2 – 5 (The Message)

You should really read the rest of that… but Jesus creates a tension that is hard to live with, especially on a daily basis or in crisis.

J.D. comes to his own sort of conclusion, “I decided that there was room to play by the rules and care about the patients…”

We have to be willing to live in the grey. To work out the tension, whether its figuring out how to love to our neighbor or how to responsibly care for patients.

May we know that living in the tension is okay. And may we know that Jesus has come not to remove the difficult decisions in life, but to help us walk in the midst of grey.

Season 1: Episode 4: My Old Lady

I don’t think about death a lot and I am not sure why.

Maybe it’s because I had one of those almost-died experiences due to a car accident. Or maybe those times when I have been surrounded by the death of others, I didn’t fully understand or comprehend what was actually going on. Or maybe I didn’t allow myself to understand because I didn’t want to deal with it.

But I think the real reason I have never really thought about it is that there has never been much point to me. There are a lot of theories about death – whether it be about someone seeing a bright light, or about the pivotal life events flashing through their mind, and to think about something I will never have the ability to understand, seems… well, like a waste of time. Or at least that's what I tell myself, but in reality, it is just a fairly good defense mechanism.

I think its more than death, its about the unknown. We really are not sure how the story is going to play itself out. And it’s the unknown that sparks our fear, our anxiety, and our uncertainty.

I think the other reason I don’t ever think about death is due to the clichés that people tend to say, that are never helpful. Things like, “Its going to be okay,” or “they are in a better place now” or “they would want us to be happy.”

Whether or not those things are true sentiments, I think the real deal is that we are afraid to deal with grief. It is not a comfortable emotion. It is not invigorating, it doesn't feel redeeming, and so we try to avoid it.

In this episode, JD begins to face death for the first time as a doctor. I think we expect doctor’s to have more knowledge than we do, so its always been refreshing to me that doctor’s struggle to wrap their ideas around death. J.D.’s struggle seems to be with his own mortality rather than the death of his patient… here watch…

I don’t understand grief at all. I mean, I understand the concept and the emotions behind it, and I even feel like I have lots of technical answers when others are faced with a deep grief. But I don't understand the depth and worth of it all. I guess one reason is so that when we feel real, true joy, the experience is that much more valuable, especially in relation to the depth of grief.

“Jesus wept” is the shortest verse in the Bible. But there is an undercurrent about grief and death that runs much deeper than the two words express.

We read the story in John 11. His dear friend Lazarus is sick. Instead of responding right away, Jesus waits with his disciples and they eventually get word that Lazarus has died. And Jesus weeps. The Son of God, the Word, the One who was there at the beginning of creation weeps out of his deep feeling of grief.

I think its because Jesus knows that this isn’t how the story was supposed to end. And I don’t mean Lazarus’ story because he ends up raising him from the dead. But the story of humanity was not supposed to end in death.

He weeps for the loss of his friend. And for himself, for the emotions he is feeling. And he weeps for us. He longs to tell us that there is a better way. That the point of life was not supposed to end in being cut off from those you love and who love you. But he cant say all that, the disciples barely understood the things he did say. And so Jesus weeps for all of creation and knows that he must show us that he can conquer death, only by dying.

But in the mean time, before that is to happen, he grieves. He doesn’t offer empty words or promises, Jesus weeps for his friend that he misses. He weeps for the family, for Lazarus’ sisters, that he could not be there with them. And he teaches us a lot about ourselves and about death. That it is okay to grieve, to experience hurt, that these emotions are not some sign of weakness or lack of trust in the promise of eternity, but valid emotions.

May we know that Jesus has conquered death. May we know that its okay to grieve. May we be present with those who are suffering, because we can find hope in the creator of everything weeps for his friends. But may our greater hope lie in the fact that Jesus conquered death, that is not how our story ends, and may we live out of that hope.

Season 1: Episode 3: My Best Friend's Mistake

Let’s be honest, they all can’t be deep. But this episode contains one of the funniest lines of any episode, and is worth the full watch.

At the end J.D. comes to the conclusion of friendship over sex with Elliot, and challenges anyone to survive without a close group of friends.

I think that is why community is so important, whether it be in the lives of the disciples, or whether it is with us. It’s a lot more than just making life fun, but the people around us help us survive those difficult or trying times.

May we all find a community of people to walk through life with. And when we are not connecting, may we miss them so much it hurts sometimes.

Too funny.

Season 1: Episode 2: My Mentor

A lot of times I say things and immediately regret it. Other times I don’t realize that I am putting my foot in my mouth, but I keep talking anyway. Elliot is the same way. She just starts talking and talking and talking…

Good news is, the disciples are the same way. They are sitting at what we know as the last supper. Jesus had just broke the bread and poured the wine. A very emotional, holy moment. Sadly, the disciples completely miss the point.

We read in Luke 22 that the disciples get into an argument about who is the greatest. In Jesus' final moments, the disciples are bickering about who is the best disciple. And they keep putting their foot in their mouth, getting in their own way.

I think about this story a lot. I think too often if I was slower to speak, I wouldn’t say as much dumb stuff. Elliot is the same way in that clip, and my guess is you can relate.

“Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry…”

- James 1:19

May we all learn when to keep our mouth shut and when to speak out; and when we do speak, may it be something worth actually sharing.

Season 1: Episode 1: My First Day

“It’s not just any other day, its my first day.”

- John Dorian

I think geneses are a big deal for everyone. And not just the band. Beginnings are full of anticipation, anxiety, excitement, fear, loathing, but sadly, no Las Vegas. The beginning is always a big deal. J.D. narrates and says, “This is my story.”

I am a big fan of telling stories. Your story is important. I like to think my story is important. J.D’s story is important, no matter how fictitious it may be. I think one of the reasons I connect with this show is because there is something deep in all of us that longs to connect with others by sharing our story.

Another reason I think beginnings are so important is because they usually come with expectations. It doesn’t matter what it is, whether its starting a new job, a marriage, or a friendship, we come full of expectations. A lot of times we may even lack the ability to fully articulate what our expectations are, but they are still there, and we realize it only when they are broken. Watch this scene:

J.D is probably referring to this movie.

But I think this describes the majority of my expectations. They always fall short. Some in small ways, others in major ways. And more than expectations, I am always falling short. When my expectations aren’t met, it seems to remind me not only of my own short-comings, but the short-comings of everyone around me. Expectations remind us that we live in a fallen world with fallen people.

I think this comes down to the lyrics by Lazlo Blane in the song that opens the show:

“I can’t do this on my own. I’m no superman.”

We were made to share in each other’s stories. We weren’t made to live and work and laugh by ourselves, to go at life on our own. Even with the disappointment of broken expectations, I think we long to be part of something greater than ourselves.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer writes in his book Life Together that Christian community is a reality created by God in which we get to participate, and says “It is grace, nothing but grace that we were allowed to live in community with others.”

It’s the people and relationships that surround J.D. that will allow him to survive as a doctor, who will pick him up when his expectations are crushed. I hope we all find a true community of people to live, learn, serve, forgive and love.

“Behold, how good and pleasant it is when people dwell in unity.”

Psalm 133:1

May we all learn what it means to live in community, that we don’t have to be superman, that we don’t have to go at it on our own, and may we learn to live with the ebb and flow of our expectations.

I leave you with the highlights from episode one: