Wow. You must watch this video. It is a clip from “Britain’s got talent.” Once that task is done, continue on with reading my thoughts (embedding for this video is disabled, so go here to watch)…..
Now that you’ve watched, read on to see how this made me think of Jesus, the Resurrection, and the Kingdom of God right away.
Holy cow. Can you believe it? ”Didn’t expect that, did ya?” What we saw walk out on stage was awkward, “too old” for such things, not as attractive or edgy as we are used to seeing on TV. People mocked her. Laughed at her dream. Expected to enjoy watching this poor woman make a fool of herself. But then the voice. The song she chose. And the shock of the judges and the audience and you and me.
There are so many things to learn from this. Another good blog on this video is by Eugine Cho called “Susan Boyle and the lesson we should all learn – again.” (In fact, I first learned of this video from a Tweet from Eugine.)
When I first watched, I immediately thought of the Kingdom of God. You see, one of the major themes of the Kingdom is irony. The least are greatest, the weak are strong, children are models, fishermen are leaders, Nazareth is important, life comes through death, and victory through sacrifice. The King of the universe is born in the stables, shepherds are the first to know, and women are the first evangelists of the Resurrection. Everything in the Kingdom of God is different than in the kingdom we have all grown up in. And this little video illustrates that irony wonderfully. This old, ordinary, laughed at woman happens to bring a wonderful song. And tears to our eyes. And much to think about.
Then there is the surprise. Easter, you see, was a great surprise. Many expected Jesus to be the King and Messiah. He had come to Jerusalem as a King on Palm Sunday. He taught in the Temple making things right. But then the shock of Good Friday and the cross. It was all over. Jesus was not it. He is dead. Not King. Not Messiah. Not what we hoped for. And then it happened. The shock and surprise and glory of Easter morning. And Susan Boyle made me think of that as well.
“Not what you expected.” No, not at all. But way better than I ever dreamed.
Filed under: Theology | Tagged: irony, Kingdom of God
That was wonderful! brought tears to my eyes. oh the irony — irony is a wonderful thing. I’ve just finished a study on the book of Esther & it also is full of irony, great, surprising, happy, wonderful, God made irony. Thank you so much for sharing this video.
That was awesome!
Reminds me of this guy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEo5bjnJViA
if you have the time, watch his whole story. It’s soooooo KoG.
Wow, Chris! Thanks for that link…very similar stuff. I agree – these are both soooo KoG. Good stuff.
If I may be permitted a comment as an outsider and a Hindu, it is awe-inspiring when the shining glory of God is glimpsed briefly and unexpectedly dispelling the ugly fog of our basest emotions. This was a blessed and sacred moment, no doubt about it.