Sown Amongst Thorns

If it weren't for the fact that everyone and their mother is apparently watching Dr. Who, I'd apologize for the nerdy discussion to follow, but the show could almost be considered mainstream now.  At any rate, there are are two characters in the universe of the Doctor that I want to talk about - older characters, as neither has reappeared since the third season.  They are juxtaposed perhaps obviously, as they appear in two separate episodes together, both times as opposing forces offering definitive counterpoints.

This may come across as silly, but bear with me - there's an application buried in here somewhere.  I promise.

Cassandra

We first encounter Lady Cassandra O'Brien Δ17  in the second episode of the Dr. Who relaunch ("The End of the World").  Without beating around the bush, she is the epitome of vanity and all the shallowness that comes with delusions of bloated self-worth.  She is also termed "the last human," a decidedly questionable status which she nevertheless flaunts, boasting that she is the last pure human to be born.  In a word, she embodies ambition, and also fear, because it is her terror of age that has led to her altered physical state, and her terror of death that has led her to sacrifice her body in order to obtain immortality - or the nearest thing to it.  Ultimately, as Rose scathingly remarks, any truly human qualities Cassandra might have once possessed were "chucked in the bin" during her 708 plastic surgeries, and nothing remains but "skin and lipstick."  In "The End of the World," Cassandra and several other prestigious individuals have gathered on Space Platform 1 in the year 5 billion to watch the earth burn.

The Face of Boe

The Face of Boe's first appearance is in the same episode, but the full weight of his character is only gradually revealed as the show progresses.  He comes to represent wisdom, silence, longevity, and - ultimately - self-sacrifice.  His solemnity is undergirded by the Doctor's respect for him, not to mention the role he will play later in the series (as River Song would term it, "Spoilers!").  He is synonymous with the weariness of the universe, with watchfulness, with responsibility.  His past is a mystery (some hints are scattered in later episodes, but nothing explicit is given) it is clear that he has seen and experienced much - both joy and suffering - and while he, like Cassandra, has surrendered his body to unfathomable age, Boe carries his status less as a trophy than as a duty with which he has been entrusted.

The point I want to make is this.  At the end of the world - the real end of the world - there will likewise be two types of people represented.  The sheep and the goats, if you will.  There will be those who bear a sense of privilege, entitlement, and they will be ultimately humiliated by the worst rejection they will ever experience - and will continue to experience for all of eternity. And then there will be the other type: the people who labored through life intentionally, with a goal and a purpose that was external to themselves.  Perhaps Russel Davies had something like this in mind when he wrote the episode.  Regardless, the end of the world is a considerable enigma on the human radar: we all recognize that our earth and our linear existence must come to an inevitable conclusion, and we therefore must choose what we do with our lives in order to make that end matter.

Unfortunately, in the here and now, I often find myself behaving more like Cassandra than I'd like to admit.  I'm concerned with what other people think.  I'm concerned with success.  I'm concerned with meeting my own needs, not necessarily the needs of others.  That's self-preservation, and it's antithetical to the message Jesus came to preach.  In fact, in the parable of the sower, the Savior warned that the Word can easily be choked out of the believer by the "cares of the world" and the "deceitfulness of riches."  It's an all-or-nothing, either-or type of message.  It's an absolute, and maybe that rubs us the wrong way because we want to have our cake and eat it too, but the bottom line is that we cannot serve two masters.  Even on a practical level, if I want to become proficient in a given skill, then I have to abandon the other skills I'm pursuing in order to devote time and effort to the one I want to really develop.  Faith works the same way in our life.  If we care more about reputation and success, then our relationship with Christ will suffer as a result.  James was the one who pointed out that we are led astray by our own desires.  In order to grow into strong, faithful believers, we've got to weed the garden of our heart of anything that might hinder us from pursuing Christ.

What I desire is to conduct myself with grace and poise - not so that the world can see and applaud, but so that I can present myself as a good and faithful steward at the end of my life.  I've said it before on Häxprocess that my goal is to proclaim as did Job that my heart does not reproach me for any of my days (Job 27.6).  In that regard, I want to be more like Jesus.  I want to be patient and devoted, safeguarding an ancient truth like the Face of Boe.  Albeit, preferably with more legs and less tentacles.