spectacular spectacles

Spectacles draw a lot of attention. The spectacle of a three year old throwing a tantrum in aisle three of Walmart can draw some awkward attention. A fender bender on the side of the highway can turn into a spectacle as people bring traffic to a snails pace to stare at the scene. The spectacle of a rich British woman marrying a richer, more privileged British man draws more attention than a nation in chaos, a region in turmoil or a garbage float twice the size of the state of Texas floating out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Real life, real issues, real pain, real loss, real injustice - all of this is really ignored for the sake of a more amusing spectacle. What is humanities bent on making trivial things into public spectacles and ignoring important matters all together?

I was talking with a friend the other night about the upcoming royal wedding and how I will be so glad when it is all over. The royal wedding is all the "news" seems capable of discussing. "Kate and William: The Saga of Love" is getting a ginormous amount of play in the media. I am almost physically ill because of it. I don't begrudge the couple their happiness or their future together - but it does not consume my life or affect my life or change my life. I had the news on last night and already little British girls are dropping higher aspirations of being humanitarians, doctors and scientists, instead aspiring to become royal princesses. How sad is that, what does that say about how women view themselves and how women are viewed by others? Beauty and fertility are still regarded as woman's highest assets.

Some public spectacles can be used as a means of warning. In the past hanging criminals was done in public to show all the penalty for serious crimes. The Romans used public spectacles of punishment to show their power and public spectacles of entertainment to show their wealth. Mankind has always been attracted to ostentatious, gregarious spectacles. May this British royal wedding spectacle make us think of the true spectacle: an innocent, perfect, poor Nazarene man and God's only Son being slaughtered for the sins of those who would but believe in him. Now that is a spectacular spectacle!

Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the Scriptures: "'The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes!’?"' Matthew 21:42