Ali and I have been big fans of the TV show "House" pretty much since it started. Over the last 8 years or so, there aren't many episodes we've missed and I think it was one of the most well-written dramas going around.
Sadly, it came to a conclusion last Monday, so it was with some trepidation that we sat down to watch the last episode... (I should confess here that I don't think there were many final episodes of any of the previous seasons where a few tears weren't shed).
**Spoiler alert** If you don't want to know what happens during the episode, you should probably stop reading now...
They had done a great job building up to the finale - setting up a number of plot possibilities and the episode did look like it was heading to a close with House dying in an explosion. Sure, very sad way to finish, but in some ways, it kind of seemed appropriate.
However, it was all a ruse and in the end House lives and he and Wilson end up riding off on motorcycles as they live out the final months of Wilson's life (which we don't see).
While I think it was a good (not great) ending, I was left with a lingering question...
Why do we always look for a happy ending?
Think about it - there have been lots of shows that have wrapped up, but in the main, they end up being nicely resolved with some sort of happy ending (although someone did tell me that the Desperate Housewives finale finished with less of a happy ending - haven't ever watched that though, so I can't comment...)
I think that if ever a show was ripe for a sad, non-resolved ending, it was House (if you've watched it over the years, you know what I mean). Yet here again, we return to "it all worked out in the end."
As I've thought more about it, I've reflected again on God's big story and been reminded about the way in which we believe that will end... us living at peace with God, each other and creation. Forever.
In his book "Simply Christian", NT Wright talks about echoes - times and spaces where we hear an echo of something bigger and more profound - in beauty, in justice, in relationships, in our spiritual thirst.
I wonder whether happy endings are another echo - something that points us to a greater reality, where we inherently know "this is how it should all turn out" and causes us to live in greater hope, for now and the future.
How do I feel about happy endings? Why is that?
Why are we wired to want everything to work out in the end?
How much confidence do I have in God's authoring of the great story and the way in which it will end?
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