Sunday, March 9, 2008

Austin Powers: "Why won't you die?" (Lazarus edition)

One can't help but notice a rather strange irony in today's Gospel reading in most of the Western churches that use the Common Lectionary; in relation to the events of the last few weeks in the States. Today's pick is John 11 -- the death and raising of Lazarus. What is often skipped in the reading is what comes after Lazarus is raised; that the council of religious elders in Jerusalem were so furious that not only did they decide there and then to finish off Jesus of Nazareth, they also decided to go after Lazarus even though he didn't stay dead the first time.

How does this relate to the campaign between Obama and Clinton? At this point, there is so much bad blood between the two that when one seems to be dead he or she comes back and then the other seems to falter only to come back. And it becomes infuriating to one candidate that the other won't go away. It's like they're both like the Chief Priests of Jesus' time: They're not happy the enemy stayed dead the first time so they'll do almost any thing to perform another death blow -- again and again. Whether it's having the opponent shoot themselves in the foot, or saying someone patently stupid oneself.

They're also both devout Christians, but as of late neither have really acted as such. Of course, I don't wish ill of either but at some point something has to give and one may have to make the supreme sacrifice (winding up his or her campaign) to save the other.

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