Spiritual Hiccups - What's Really Important

I occasionally stay up too late watching old movies on TCM.  Last night I watched one I'd never heard of, the 1966 film Seconds starring Rock Hudson.  It's a rather dark and disturbing movie about a well-to-do, middle-aged businessman whose life had lost its purpose.  Through a friend he finds out about the "Company," a secretive organization that give those who can afford it a new life.  Extensive surgery is used to change people's appearance and make them more youthful.  A similar looking cadaver is used to fake clients' deaths so they can start over.

Hudson plays the former Aurthur Hamilton (played by John Randolph), now reborn as artist Tony Wilson, living in a Malibu beach house.  At first Tony seems to be adjusting to his new life, developing a relationship with the beautiful Nora Marcus.  But he soon becomes disenchanted and discovers that all his new friends are actually other "reborns" like himself.  In violation of "Company" edicts he visits his old wife, pretending to be an old friend of her "deceased" husband.  He discovers that his marriage failed because of his focus on success and material possessions, the very things others told him were important.  And he begins to realize that the "Company" is simply trying to sell he a new version of this.  He's chasing after what they tell him is important, and once again his life seems to lack any real meaning or purpose.

In case you'd like to watch the movie, I won't spoil the ending for you.  But it is a dark film that explores where our wants and desires take us, and whether those wants and desires are reliable guides.  And as I watched it, I could not help being drawn into the profound, religious/philosophical issues being explored.  Where do our pursuits lead us?  Where have we gotten our notions of what is important, of what should motivate and guide our lives?  Would a fresh start let us discover better and more meaningful lives, or would we still be captive to what the culture has taught us is important?

When Moses addresses the Israelites just prior to their entering the Land of Promise, he warns them about not wasting their fresh start.  The previous generation has done just that.  After being rescued from slavery in Egypt, they have been quick to fall back into old patterns and abandon the ways of Yahweh.  And of course the Israelites who cross the Jordan into the Land will regularly copy the ways of the local Canaanites, falling away from the peculiar way of God, the way of life.

Christians often follow this same pattern.  We "believe," but we live by the ways of the world, and trust the world's wisdom on what is important, what will make for meaningful life.  I think this is why Jesus' call, "Follow me," is so important to the life of faith. Jesus shows the way, walks the path of true life, and he invites us to join him and discover our own true life along the way.  Now if only we can trust that he knows what he is doing.

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