Glee, Pray, Love

I will admit it. I am not a GLEEk. I have seen a total of three episodes of the hit show GLEE. If anything I only watch in hopes of catching Sue Sylvester in something other than a track suit...but I digress.

I did however watch the episode involving Jesus appearing on a grilled chee sandwich. Partly because I love Jesus and partly because I love grilled cheese. I was quite surprised that this episode of GLEE was void of Britney Spears and actually packed with some emotional and theological depth.

The Cheesus Christ Superstar episode touched on the idea of faith, God and homosexuality, the question of suffering, and of course the always popular debate of God's very existence. I couldn't help but wonder, how many viewers resonated with the questions asked or the conclusions made? For those of us Christ followers seriously interested in practical evangelism, missional living and finding areas of connection with our friends, family and neighbours who are spiritually seeking, is there anything that we can glean from GLEE? (trust me, I am more surprised than you that I just typed those words)

“Asking someone to believe in a fantasy, however comforting, is an immoral thing to do. It’s cruel. It’s as arrogant as telling someone how to believe in God, and if they don’t accept it, no matter how open-hearted or honest their dissent, they’re going to hell. That doesn’t sound very Christian, does it?” Sue Sylvester

What we say matters:

There are many more brilliant minds than I who can expound on this point and wax eloquent about the vernacular in which we speak and the relevance to our post-modern culture....but all I know is this: your words have power.

It might sound cliche, it might sound juvenile, but if I was being honest with you (and myself) I haven't mastered my mouth. You may not have meant to tell your neighbor that they were going to hell in a hand basket, but you pretty much said everything but. You maybe didn't mean for your co worker to overhear you complaining to your husband on the phone about your secular co worker and their homosexual lifestyle, but they heard it. We can't help the southern preachers rattling on television about fire and brimstone, nor can we push the soap box preachers off their box as they yell downtown. But we can make it a priority to watch our words.

"I appreciate your thoughts, but I don't want your prayers." Kurt

What we do matters:

In this episode of GLEE, Kurt's father has a heart attack and through this difficult and confusing time, Kurt reveals to the Glee club that he is an atheist. His well meaning classmates continue to communicate they will pray for him and his father, much to Kurt's chagrin. Instead of his classmates running to their prayer closet's for Kurt and his Father, they head straight to the hospital and hold a prayer vigil bedside.

How many times have Christians, myself included, disrespected the wishes of those who are agnostic, atheists or just annoyed? How many times have we pushed the issue, passed the tract, or continued to send religious Christmas cards with just enough hint of Jesus? We don't like to respect people's wishes when it comes to their faith (or lack of) because they need Jesus after all and their temporary discomfort is a small price to pay for their eternal....well you know.

I know we hate to use Jesus as an example (He seems to always mess up our missiology) but sometimes He walked away from people who weren't ready or willing to dig deeper. He said He wasn't here for the healthy but the sick and He didn't spend His time trying to convince people of their illness, nor pushed Himself where He wasn't wanted. We learned in Sunday School to be on our best behaviour because people were always watching. I wonder where along the way did we lose that truth?

"God works in all kinds of mysterious ways, but I'm pretty sure he doesn't spend a lot of time trying to speak to us through sandwiches." Emma

What we believe matters:

Let's face it, Finn on his knees in a locker room praying to a grilled cheese Jesus is pretty ridiculous and perhaps easy to brush off. But is there any truth to the grilled cheese Jesus? I don't have a crusty sandwich held up in my fridge that I pray to, but sometimes I like to pray to "do what I want, in the name of Jesus" Jesus.

And don't pretend that you don't like to either.

We all like the idea that Jesus takes our side, that He hearkens his ear to our requests and that He especially likes to bless me (of course so I can be a blessing to others). We enjoy things to go our way, even if we are asking for well meaning things. I can't help but wonder if sometimes our doubts, fears and questions come more from our wrong believing than it does from our honest wrestling through the truths of Christ. If we believe, even in the slightest, that our "Jesus in a bottle" is granting us all sorts of great things it is quite easy to believe that when life goes topsy turvy that maybe "Jesus in a bottle" checked out. It's easy to get angry at a God when a loved one passes away and act like bad things are never supposed to happen to us we have been praying to our "Jesus in a bottle". What we believes matters because what we believe turns into how we live. Another cliche we threw under the bus, but one that we should perhaps be revived now and again.

The message that GLEE shared in that episode was broadcast to millions of people who either nodded in agreement or shrugged with apathy. For each person that watched and wondered, I can only hope that they hear the message of a God who is into wasteful grace and extravagant love. It is sometimes sobering to take a look at what our culture thinks about the God that we serve. However comical or extreme there is always a bit of truth in every jab, poke or pronouncement and this episode should give every believer something to think about.