The Constant

Hi All,
here is a piece published in the June edition of Outflow, the Jesus House monthly magazine. It was written before the end of the fourth series of Lost, so while some of the questions posed have now been answered, I think the the message remains constant! (no pun intended! ;-) ) Enjoy!

The Constant is the title of one of my favourite episodes of the hit television series Lost. If you’re not familiar with the show, it charts the experiences of the Passengers of Oceanic Flight 815 who crash land on a mysterious island. Since the dramatic plane crash in the pilot episode, viewers have been subjected to four agonising seasons of the survivors desperately trying to get off the island, little knowing that the outside world thinks they’ve all perished in the ill-fated crash. Only a fraction of the show’s initial record-breaking viewership remains now, but after three and a half seasons, it seems there are glimpses of hope for the faithful who remain, as the light at the end of the tunnel is beginning to flicker for the lost passengers trying to escape the island.

For three seasons, the show contained flashbacks – in each episode these flashbacks would focus on a different character, giving viewers an insight into who these characters were and how they wound up on the ill-fated flight that got them to the island. In the current season, “flash-forwards”, instead of flashbacks are used to give an insight into what happens to them after they finally get off the island, implicitly indicating that they do eventually leave the island - well, some of them anyway. This has given viewers renewed hoped that four years of sticking with the show have not been in vain! The format for the episode in question has an extra-special twist, incorporating a concept from the sci-fi genre that would perhaps be more at home in a Star Trek or Dr Who episode – time travel.

In The Constant, the spotlight is on Desmond Hume, a Scotsman who wasn’t on Oceanic Flight 815, but shipwrecked on the island years earlier while trying to sail around the world in a pointless and futile attempt to prove himself to the love of his life, Penny and her father. Now a mysterious freighter ship has appeared just off the island, and while they are shuttling from the island to the freighter on a helicopter with one of their would-be rescuers, they encounter a storm. Temporal side-effects from the storm leave Desmond’s consciousness shuttling between 1996, where he is serving in the British army, and 2004, present day in the Lost series. A side effect of his time travelling is amnesia, or more precisely, he has no memories beyond 1996, which means that he doesn’t recognise anyone in 2004 nor does he remember how he got to the island!

Desmond’s condition is familiar to Daniel Faraday, a physicist on the island who appears to have studied the phenomenon. Faraday explains to Desmond that he must find a constant in the two eras, something familiar in both times to cure himself of the time jumps, which are beginning to occur with increased frequency and will eventually cause a brain aneurism that will lead to his death if not dealt with. He must find something or someone dear to him in both time zones that can anchor him, that he can use a reference point. He decides that his ‘constant’ is going to be Penny and now he is in a race against time to contact her in 2004, in order to save his own life. This may prove near impossible, considering that in the 1996 timeline, he has just broken up with her and she has moved house and changed phone numbers to make a clean break. A dramatic scene ensues, where he asks an angry and reluctant Penny for her new phone number, promises not to call her for another eight years and begs her to pick up the phone on Christmas Eve of 2004, the date that he is due to make the call that will save his life!

The concept of The Constant reminds me of our passage through life. Sometimes life can be confusing and lacking in meaning. It is difficult for most people to live a meaningful and fulfilled life without knowing their purpose or reason for living. Even though as Christians we ought to know the reason we are here on earth, we sometimes need a constant reminder of the facts, otherwise, rather like Desmond, we run the risk of our world being turned upside down completely when we encounter the storms of life. Our relationship with God should be our Constant, and we ought to be continuously anchored in His word, the Bible, lest we forget our purpose, abandon our callings and are found wanting when the big tests in life come. The confusion that engulfs Desmond’s life when he is trying to find his constant is rather like the confusion that can set in, either gradually or suddenly when we take our walk with God for granted. The trials of life can sometimes force our hands, causing us to exhibit tendencies and traits that we were unaware existed within us, leading to identity crises, and in the extreme, a fight for our very lives – our spiritual lives (Ephesians 6:12 tells us the we wrestle not against flesh and blood!).

But The Constant is also a love story. In a dramatic final scene, Desmond makes the call that will save his life in 2004 and Penny answers the phone. It’s the first time they’ve spoken in years and Penny reveals she’s been searching for him for the three years that he’s been missing. They profess their undying love to each other several times and she promises to never stop trying to find him (the exact location of the island is a mystery to the outside world – in fact she’s one of a handful of people who even know it exists!). And this is what makes this closing scene so dramatic, that despite having overcome impossible odds to find each other, they both know that their reunion in person has to be put on hold, and indeed may never happen. Will she find the island? Will Desmond make it off the island or freighter alive? Only time will tell, but experience tells me that some love stories, like that of agiant-sized ape and a petite New York City actress, are ill-fated from the get go!

Nevertheless, since we all enjoy happily-ever-afters, let’s hope that things work out for Desmond and Penny. After all, for two people who’ve endured a terrible break-up to hold on to their love for more than eight years is nothing short of amazing – one could argue that it is taking love to Biblical proportions! Jacob working for seven years for Rachel’s hand in marriage and another seven years when he finds out he was given Leah instead springs to mind. Just like the prodigal son, Desmond is welcomed back with open arms and all past transgressions are forgiven. For Penny, the overwhelming joy of finding him again made any prior resentment she harboured against him irrelevant! Likewise, in our walk with Christ we must truly understand that He wipes the slate of our past clean – His love is all encompassing, transcending the boundaries of time and unparalleled when compared with the finite nature of human love! So the pertinent questions that everyone ought to answer for themselves are these – Who or what is your Constant? Is your Constant firm enough for you to feel secure in the knowledge of your past, present and future? Is it strong enough to anchor your identity for all eternity? Like Desmond, to make sense of the present day and where we are headed, we also have to go back to the past, some two thousand years ago to find our Constant. The Constant who is the same yesterday, today and forevermore – Christ who gave His life for us on the Cross of Calvary!