Fascination with Celebrity

Sitting in the vet’s office waiting for my dog's checkup, I find a PEOPLE magazine to pass the time. I’m immediately drawn into the Paris and Paris story, the never-ending Brad and Angelina story, and the beginnings of the Tom and Katie story (it’s last month’s magazine). Why the intrigue? Why do I find these stories tantalizing and interesting when I have no connection at all with any of these people?

Until our class conversation and the reinforcement from the chapter on celebrities, I never considered my fascination with celebrity news worth anything spiritual. But in further analysis, I realize my allure resonates with the statement that “our endless fascination with celebrity could also demonstrate the depth of our spiritual hunger.” We want a picture of the heros, of the imago Dei, a person of worship.

Bingo - It is at this point that I can start a conversation with someone who would otherwise not find Jesus Christ of interest. Don’t we all want a hero, someone who holds the highest ideals by which we hope life functions? And if it is true that the “cool” element intrigues us most, then Jesus exhibits the true essence of “cool.” He demonstrated a subversive rebellion against the established order while simultaneously acknowledging the desire to fulfill what everyone has always wanted – a life abundant. What more could you ask of someone?

That’s the first launching point of conversation. I could continue with our need to connect with someone else’s fallenness and fallibility, acknowledging that Jesus understands our “humanness” by facing it himself. Or articulating our desire to find saints in our culture, look at our fascination with Bono’s mission. We want individuals who can face the evil of our world. Jesus’ initial encounter in the beginning of the gospel of Mark is with an evil spirit. From the center of our pop culture, there are entry points of conversation.

I was struck by an insight by Brian McLaren: “Jesus was short on sermons and long on conversations; short on answers, long on questions…He was a great conversationalist!” More Ready than You Think

Isn’t that what our culture provides? The opportunities for conversation to dialogue about the greatest celebrity there ever was, is and will be.