I spent a while setting up my plans for the three marathon events that I plan to hold before the end of summer. All of them are for Star Wars TV shows: The Book of Boba Fett (whose last three episodes serve as a season 2.5 of The Mandalorian, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and season 3 of The Mandalorian. Each of these seasons are pretty short with the longest only having 8 episodes and the episode run time varying between 35 and 59 minutes per episode. This means that they are starting later and ending earlier than most of my marathons. Obi-Wan Kenobi is the shortest series, but will have the longest showing as I plan to bookend it with Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope. Thus, I will see all three of Vader/Anakin and Obi-Wan's lightsaber duels. 

The tentative schedules are as follows:

The Book of Boba Fett - Friday, July 14
10:00 AM - 10:40 AM    Chapter 1: Stranger in a Strange Land (38m)
10:45 AM - 11:40 AM     Chapter 2: The Tribes of Tatooine (51m)
11:45 AM - 12:25 PM      Chapter 3: The Streets of Mos Espa (38m)
12:30 PM - 1:20 PM       Chapter 4: The Gathering Storm (47m)
1:25 PM - 2:15 PM          Chapter 5 [TM 2.5]: Return of the Mandalorian (50m)
2:20 PM - 3:10 PM         Chapter 6 [TM 2.5]: From the Desert Comes a Stranger (47m)
3:15 PM - 4:15 PM          Chapter 7 [TM 2.5]: In the Name of Honor (59m)

Obi-Wan Kenobi - Tuesday, July 18
8:30 AM - 10:50 AM    Star Wars: Episode IV -  Revenge of the Sith (2h 20m)
10:55 AM - 11:50 AM     Part I (53m)
11:55 AM - 12:35 PM     Part II (39m)
12:40 PM - 1:25 PM       Part III (45m)
1:30 PM - 2:05 PM         Part IV (36m)
2:10 PM - 2:50 PM         Part V (40m)
2:55 PM - 3:45 PM         Part VI (48m)
3:50 PM - 5:55 PM         Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope  (2h 1m)

The Mandalorian - Season 3 - Monday, July 24
10:00 AM - 10:35 AM    Chapter 17: The Apostate (35m)
10:40 AM - 11:25 AM     Chapter 18: The Mines of Mandalore (42m)
11:30 AM - 12:30 PM     Chapter 19: The Convert (56m)
12:35 PM - 1:10 PM        Chapter 20: The Foundling (31m)
1:15 PM - 2:00 PM          Chapter 21: The Pirate (41m)
2:05 PM - 2:50 PM         Chapter 22: Guns of Hire (45m)
2:55 PM - 3:50 PM         Chapter 23: The Spies (51m)
3:55 PM - 4:35 PM         Chapter 24: The Return (39m)

Today's homily focused on the First Reading and the importance of hospitality. One of the primary themes of the Bible is the need to be hospitable. The Garden of Eden itself demonstrated the hospitable environment that God created for us. However, just as much of a theme is how humankind often rejects the hospitality offered to us or intentionally makes places inhospitable for other people.

The primary desire of Christianity--aside from worshipping God--is to live in a hospitable world--one that can be enjoyed for all of eternity. I liked how our deacon pointed out the many ways that people can (and do) demonstrate that hospitality here and now as a reflection or perhaps preview of the future world. For me, I believe that it is essential that we work at making (and keeping) our world hospitable, that we provide and maintain hospitality for others, and that we take the time to enjoy the hospitality that has been offered to us. 

The Gospel reading was a bit harder as it talked about being willing to leave behind family to follow Jesus. Jesus was clearly warning about the divide that was about to happen in the Jewish community during (and soon after) His lifetime. However, this idea still rings true today. Religious divides are still common in families in the world today--just as they were back then. I believe that truly embracing the teachings of Jesus means to move away from just doing what you had been taught as a child and fully examining them for yourself. My experience with Jesus is a path that is different from others; it is not a path that can be taught, but one that must be found.

As missionaries of Christ, we are to help other people find their own path to His Way. This means becoming welcoming and helpful. It means demonstrating the hospitality of Christ.

I have three more planned TV shows that I have planned on watching in a single sitting: The Book of Boba Fett, season 3 of The Mandalorian, and Obi-Wan Kenobi (bookended by Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope). At this point, I have not set up dates or figured out schedules, but I will need to host these (if I do) in the next several weeks. I'm a little concerned that my Starlink Internet (although much, much improved) might not be entirely up to the task, especially since Disney Plus has been the buggiest of the streaming platforms if there are any hiccups in service. 

That said, there have been significantly fewer hiccups with Starlink lately. Yes, it still cuts out from time to time, but usually only for less than a minute (often only a few seconds) before reconnecting. There have been no more half hour or longer blackouts. Still, those hiccups can still be frustrating when they happen.

Sadly, unlike Strange New Worlds or Firefly, there are not DVD versions of these shows. They have to be streamed through Disney Plus. I had a few issues when holding marathons on Disney Plus last summer with our old Internet provider, and I feel that the experience now would be comparable. Still, it would be nice if this wasn't an issue at all.

Alas, First World problems.