And who are you supposed to be?

I have a confession to make. I’m a little obsessed with the AMC show “Mad Men.” The writing is impeccable and the way Matthew Weiner can weave a story through just five words of dialogue or a simple glance is remarkable. I’ll admit I have plenty of issues with the show. For instance, does anyone else find it hard to believe that ALL those women would just throw themselves at Don Draper? Talk about wishful thinking! Anyhow…

If you are a fellow watcher, I’m sure you’ll agree that last week’s episode was HUGE! Don Draper was finally cornered by Betty regarding his big life secret, so the entire episode was filled with tensions between dream and reality, truth and illusion. Who are you? When is love real? Is the person you show to the world the real you or someone else? Does the person you love love the real you or someone else? Is your life based on truth or are you just playing house?

There was a fantastic scene where Don is standing in the kitchen and you can see the door, and you just KNOW he’s trying to decide whether to do what he always does (run away) or whether he’s going to stay and face reality. Then, the last scene of the episode Don and Betty are taking the kids trick or treating, and after a neighbor gives candy to the kids, he looks at Don and says, “And who are you supposed to be?”

Not a bad question to ask ourselves this weekend while the parade of costumes goes literal.

Following Jesus means doing the hard work of living into who we are supposed to be, not acting like it or faking it or putting on airs. Not running away when we are faced with the worst version of ourselves. Authentic life is often painful and hard work- but costumes? They are a lifeless prison.