For centuries, questers have sought the Holy Grail, the legendary cup that was used at the Last Supper and/or caught His sacred blood as Christ hung upon the cross. The quest for it gave King Arthur's knights a purpose and helped Indy Jones make peace with his father. In more recent days, secular culture has tried to lay claim to the myth with commercially spectacular, though theologically nauseating, results. It would be a simple manner to get off on a tangent about that matter.
The most recent Grail quest had nothing to do with knights, spiritual defamation, or swashbucking adventure. The season premiere of Criminal Minds set the stage for it and came very close to finding the answer sought by Crusaders in all ages. The F.B.I.'s Behavorial Analysis Unit was left at the end of last year searching for a kidnapper who was playing mind games with the entire group, using a troubling knowledge of their loved ones to wage a siege of terror against those who would defeat him.
As the action resumed, one of the "knights", Elle, was shot and clinging to life by a thread as she went into surgery where she encountered her late father in a dream or near-death experience. As she struggled to choose between Heaven now or deferred, she had to deal with the fact that the last words she said to her dad before he died when she was eight were ones of childish hatred. Meanwhile, Dr. Spencer Reed pieces together the clues to come to the realization of not only who their unsub is, but what his game is. He fancies himself the Fisher King, the mythic being said to stand guard over the Grail despite his grievous injury. The "injury" in question was not a physical wound, but a festering one on the man's soul, his failure to save his family from a fire long ago and his omni-present self-unforgiveness. Assuming the role of Parsifal, the one knight worthy to see the Grail, Spence finds and confronts the villain. Over and over again, the scarred figure demands that Spencer/Parsifal ask the question that will heal him. Spencer insists that there is no question, that the reply cannot come from anyone other than the man himself. If there must be a question, it was this, could he forgive himself?
The response was negative, and nearly fatal for all involved. In a parallel resolution, Elle makes her choice and whether she was dreaming or truly at Heaven's gate, finally gets to express her love to her father and release her own guilt before choosing to return to temporal life. Elle found the Grail.
What does all this mean to ordinary life? As the show ended, I found myself in tears, for like Elle, I was angry at my dad because he had been sick for so very long the day he died, back when I was a little girl. For two decades, I have wondered if at any point that day, I had told him that I loved him. Elle's father knew she loved him, and through the tears I realized mine must have, knew in a way that goes beyond head knowledge. Reconcilling with our Father, our Heavenly Father, is the reason we have sought the Grail as a civilization. This episode states clearly, albeit obllquely, that what is held in that cup is forgiveness, love, and peace with the Father. Theologian R.C. Sproule has stated often that Christ did not save us from the devil, but from God, from His justice and wrath. Only by accepting the forgiveness and love decanted through Christ's sacrificial death and resurrection can we ever find the Grail. The good news is that we do not have to look for it and achieve brave deeds. It has all been done for us by the Son. His Bloodline does live on in each and every one of the Elect who were bought with His blood.
The tears I shared with Elle answered one further question. At Lazarus' tomb, Jesus wept. Scholars have debated why He did. He certainly knew that Lazarus would shortly be returned to life. As I cried, I felt better, clean and closer to being healed inside. No, Christ did not need cleansing or healing. However, He was, is, and ever will be our example as well as Savior. When a Christian dies, we know that they, too, will live again, just in a far better place that we cannot yet see. Some will tell us Christians should not mourn the dead, so we bottle that pain unhealthily. Christ's tears give us permission to grieve for our loss, however temporary. He wept so that we would know healing.
May you find the Grail and feel free to drink of it.
