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 sucha 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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:
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 Blanein 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.