The Rich Man and Lazarus - Part One

I was intending to write a few comments about last night's lent parable, but I have just read a report on the Telegraph online web-site about Lady GaGa's latest pop video.  It is nine and a half minutes long.  I have just watched it on Vevo.  As the warning above it says, 'it may contain material which may offend', which, of course, is its whole point.

What I found especially interesting, however, was what the Telegraph report said.  I quote:

'Most debate has focused on whether the video could be considered a work of pop art or just salacious sensationalism threatening the moral fabric of society. Lady GaGa herself claims it is a “commentary on the kind of country that we are”.

In which case, as GaGa and Beyoncé ride off into the sunset following a series of semi-naked dance routines, random outfit changes, B-movie locations, clunking product placement and a near-incoherent plot centring on infidelity and mass poisoning, one might be forced to conclude that America is a nation straining under its own decadence, producing a jaded, thrill-seeking, attention-deficit generation who can communicate only through irony. It is certainly not the state-of-the-nation message that President Obama would like to be sending out.'

The thing is that it had had 20 million hits when I watched it.  There is a whole generation growing up that connects with this.  What's my point?  Well only that unless we start connecting with it too we are going to lose a whole generation for Christ.  I am not advocating making shocking videos (or am I?), but I am sure we have to do better than I have to confess I do each Sunday.

This is also my link to the theme of parables: Jesus' parables did connect and did shock.  Last night, we heard about a rich and successful man being tortured in hell and being refused even a drop of water to relieve his pain by a righteous hero.  Lady Gaga connects because she believes in what she is doing and knows how to project both it and herself.  We had better start learning to do the same.

More on the parable itself later ...