Episode 12: "We're Gonna Be Alright"

"Illnesses can take on many forms. Those of the body are easy to treat. Those of the heart are maladies more difficult to control. We need to find that special someone who can heal us..."

I love this show! They give me so much stuff to work with! Maladies of the heart...

I come from an alcoholic background and I can attest to the fact that diseases of the body are easier to cure than those of the mind. It seems that most of the trouble is in my head anyway. In this episode, we see many variations of "illnesses" in our culture:

1. Lynette has irrational fears about Tom wanting to keep his options open if she dies.

2. Tom feels emasculated because of he isn't happy in his new job (home).

3. Gabrielle is a slave to her old ways, loving the way things have always been. She beams with excitement when Carlos punches the guy through the window.

4. Carlos battles with his attempt at a new life, and ultimately gives in to pride and weakness.

5. The Applewhites have hidden secrets, which become harder and harder to hide.

6. Susan resorts to desperate and pathetic (though quite funny) measures to secure a date. As if her life could suddenly have meaning because a man is in it.

7. Detective Barton uses his power and position to get back at Bree for his embarrassment.

8. Bree self medicates without even realizing it.

9. Dierdre's father realizes that he has spent his life for absolutely nothing meaningful. In the end, he will die alone, unhappy adn unfulfilled.

10. Zach consistently wanders around discovering new details about his life that have been hidden from him, thanks to Paul.

But really, these don't even touch on a portion of the ways we allow ourselves to become sick. It is our sinful nature that carries us to these dark places of illness, where we find our hearts much in need of someone to heal us. And the amazing thing is that we usually seem to go to God last. Shouldn't we visit the soul doctor FIRST? He created us. He knows our bodies, our minds, our weaknesses, our failings, our hopes, our dreams, and everything in between.

If we think about the items above, most of them are spiritual issues. They don't look like it at first glance, but when our greatest struggles can be cured by something eternal, it is worth a second look. What do we really need in our lives today? A feeling of importance? Joy in our work? Acceptance of change? Strength to change ourselves? Confession and cleansing, freedom from the past? Courage to stand alone? Forgiveness or to forgive others? Honesty with ourselves? Meaningful lives? Truth? All of these things are spiritually gained.

Isaiah 55:1-3a - "Come all you who are thirsty, come to the waters, and you who have no money, come buy and eat. Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare. Give ear and come to me, hear me, that your soul may live."

There's something really tempting about the offer, "that your soul may live." We spend so much time living dead lives, wallowing in sickness and grief, in maladies of the heart. Isn't it time we go try going to God FIRST? After all, that's what Christ died for...that we might have access to the Father, and be encouraged by the Holy Spirit (Counselor). He took on the sickness of the body to gain for us a cure for our hearts.

Episode 11: "One More Kiss"

"Kisses mean different things to different people. Ultimately the meaning depends on the one who does the kissing and the one who sees it happen." In this episode, three kisses are significant.

First, when Gabrielle kisses Tom, she means only to kid around and playfully repair all the insults of his youth, claiming the kiss is for all the cheerleaders that didn't kiss him when he was in high school. Tom understands it the same way and doesn't think twice about it. However, Lynette becomes extremely uncomfortable. We already know from previous episodes that Lynette is sensitive about the possibility of Tom cheating on her. So the meaning for her is steeped in fear. What if he liked it? What if he took it as an interest in her? What if...what if? After he eases her mind about Gabrielle's intentions, she realizes she has overreacted. Or has she?

The second kiss is from Lynette. Despite making up with Gabrielle, Lynette realizes that Gabrielle finds absolutely no fault in her actions. Lynette then lays a fat, juicy one on Carlos. The meaning for Lynette is to prove a point - that any kiss by another woman for any reason can have a serious impact on a man. For Gabrielle, the viewer, the meaning of the kiss brings her to compassion. She understands now how her kisses might impact both men and women in her life.

Third, the kiss between Andrew and Justin means different things to both the kisser and the viewer.
Andrew's intentions are highly questionable throughout this episode, and I keep wondering when Justin is going to figure out that he's partly being used. Andrew MAY intend the kiss for intimacy, but the way he uses it in front of his mother suggests that perhaps he intends it for something darker. Andrew's plight is for control, to get the upper hand on his mom. And his tactics prove effective. Bree flips. For her, the meaning of the kiss is a total disrespect for her values and for her kindness. She tells him that she can't control what he does outside, but that he won't be allowed to mock her values under her own roof.

So, how could this possibly relate to Christ? Actually Christ suffered at the hands of a kiss as well. He had been praying all night in the Garden of Gethsemane, knowing his crucifixion was to take place the next day. His closest disciples were near him. But one of his disciples, Judas, was on his way to betray him. Judas had agreed with the religious leaders of the day to identifyJesus by giving him a kiss. When he kissed Jesus, the meaning for Judas was ultimate betrayal. It was a condemnation to torture and death. To those watching, it was power. Power to destroy a heretic. They had previously been unable to capture Jesus, but now using someone on the inside, they would finally snare the one who called himself God. I have always wondered why Judas chose to kiss him instead of just pointing him out from behind the bushes. Why such a personal gesture, when the intent was betrayal? I wonder what it must have been like for Judas to kiss the face of God, knowing it would mean the ultimate torture and crucifixion of someone he had walked with for so long. Amazing, really...

I guess I'll never know why it happened that way, but it is a good reminder that kisses aren't always given from a place of love. Perhaps most kisses are given as Mary Alice said, out of a basic human need to connect to another human being. But there are other kisses whose meaning is much darker, even if it's not apparent to the one being kissed.