Rising from the Dead

Once upon a time Kerry was famous for its bird watching. Year after year, the most ardent bird watchers from around the world would flock to Kerry in their droves and regale at the beauty of some of the rare birds that grace our skies. Skellig Michael I’m told is the Olympus of bird watching locations. Enthusiasts of the sport will lie prostrate for hours, squinting through binoculars with their brows furrowed in the hope of catching a glimpse of a puffin’s multi-coloured beak or to watch a gannet diving into the water like a torpedo at full speed.

Alas times change. Recently the noble pursuit of bird watching has slipped into obsolescence while gawking at celebrities has become all the rage. For the past few weeks dewy eyed local and national newspapers have been engaging in various hunting expeditions around Kerry from trying to follow the trail of the “Top Gear” roadshow or by trying to re-locate the co-ordinates of Luke Skywalker from “Star Wars” who by all accounts is lost again, judging by their haphazard attempts to find him and his fellow movie stars around Dingle.

At any rate, the soiree of Top Gear’s new presenters into town brought back the tide of sentiment that I had for the show. While irreverent and provocative at times, there’s no denying that Top Gear at its best was absolute TV gold. Underneath its sardonic humour it possessed a soft side and was occasionally able to produce episodes of such poignancy and pathos that it would stir the heart of the viewer.

One such episode that springs to mind was when the presenters attempted to destroy a Toyota Hylux. The aim of the show was to wipe this sturdy vehicle from the face of the earth. No means were spared in doing this. They set the car on fire, they bombarded it with a wrecking ball and a caravan and they also parked it in the sea, where soon enough the car became tidal. Having failed in all these means to write off the car, in a follow up episode they pursued the most dastardly scheme of all. They decided to plant the Toyota on top of a 240 feet apartment block and then proceeded to demolish the apartment block with explosives. The whole building came crashing down and amidst all the rubble the Toyota was presumed dead. When the rubble was removed arguably the most iconic moment in Top Gear history thence occurred. James May – the presenter—gingerly hopped into the vehicle and after a tentative turn of the ignition the Toyota roared into life. The Hylux had risen from the dead against all odds.

Really we shouldn’t have been all that surprised. Story writers have always been enamoured with the resurrection motif. Chronicles like “Lord of the Rings”, “Narnia” and “Harry Potter” are but a few stories where a main protagonist comes back from the dead. Audiences lap up these storylines as they touch at our very essence as human beings. Consciously or subconsciously, they remind us of our frailty arising from original sin and our need to be redeemed. They all echo the ultimate story of when Jesus Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead to save us from our sins.

Fictional stories can be of practical use to Catholics as they remind us that redemption is not a foregone conclusion but is contingent on a lot of striving on our part. Amidst all the euphoria of the resurrection, we can be prone to forget we must be co-redeemers with Christ and like Simon of Cyrene help Him to carry his cross.

In order to do this we must always have our heart and gaze set on Christ. We cannot do this by our own means but we must have constant recourse to prayer, the sacraments and spiritual direction to be able to achieve this. The Toyota Hylux is a great simile to explain these points.

Frequently receiving the Eucharist (daily if possible) is a basic starting point for being able to follow Christ. Like the petrol the Toyota Hylux devours by the gallon, the Eucharist is a Catholic’s nourishment and fuel for being able to persevere. It is our anchor amidst the tumults and challenges of life.

Frequent Confession is also necessary to keep on the right track. However I’d like to stress that only a good Confession will enable a Catholic to follow Christ. To return to the analogy of the Hylux when the vehicle was submerged by water it was necessary to get under the bonnet and to remove the silt that had built up in the cylinders. It would have been completely superfluous in that situation to give the car a new lick of paint and expect it to start. A paint job would only serve to paper over the cracks and does more harm than good. Conversely with a bad Confession – where you try to conceal the most embarrassing sins from the confessor— this only serves to deceive yourself and to offend God.

Lastly, to be able to stay close to Christ at the foot of the cross, it is necessary to be in contact with a good spiritual director that you can trust and will help you to navigate the vicissitudes of life. A good spiritual director should be an experienced soul who is able to provide advice on spiritual reading and how to improve one’s prayer life.

At the end of the Top Gear episode after the Toyota emerged from the rubble the presenters decided enough was enough and they decided to erect the Toyota on a pedestal in their studio as a constant testament to the sheer endurance of the car. Ironically, it came to symbolise the show’s own longevity and steadfastness in the midst of strife and controversy. Likewise the cross should always be a reminder of the sacrifice Christ underwent for us and serve as a reminder to take up our own cross and follow Him.