Talking to Jesus
07 January 2006 12:33 am by Taylor Marsh
Talking to Jesus
Daniel: You know, I've been meaning to ask
you, have I been chosen?Jesus: No.
Daniel: Well, then why do you talk to me then?
Jesus: I talk to everybody.
Daniel: Well, few mention it.
Jesus: Few hear me. Some hear what they want.
Most don't listen.
Some absolutely
hate “The Book of Daniel,” while others like me want to give it
a chance, if for no other reason than to see where it's going. There's even
a BlogofDaniel.
Think of the show as “The Desperately Faithful,” a mix
of Desperate Episcopalians and other flawed humans doing their best, as they
meet life's inevitable cruelties and inconveniences with as much humor and humanity
as they can muster.
As an Episcopalian, however wayward at the moment, seeing I just
haven't taken to the churches in Las Vegas, which are lacking the stone and
pomp I prefer. I loved the show's flawed nature. The absurdity of people's imperfections,
the oddity of families and the messiness of life with which we all contend.
That the show also manages to take the clergy down several notches, while never
belittling the work, is doing a service in my opinion, because no institution
needs humbling more than organized religion. Just look at what the church and its disciples have done to modern women, the disrespect and disdain leveled at us all. The church becomes more accessible through “Daniel.”
And just what exactly is so wrong about talking to Jesus, seeing
Daniel talk to Him?
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| Justice Sunday III |
Religion is talked about all the time in this land, but spirituality
is hard to come by.
We've got Pat Robertson claiming that Ariel Sharon is dying because
he's separating Israel, while on Fox John Kasich, sitting in for Bill phone
sex O'Reilly, actually sticks up for Robertson, as our born again proselytizer
in chief believes he can torture anyone he wants, getting around McCain's new
amendment because he's Terror Guy.
Few today, especially those who profess to, hear Jesus at all.
Most hear exactly what they want and nothing more, that is if they listen at
all.
Just look at what passes as “leadership” today. It's
appalling. Our proselytizer in chief believes permanent tax cuts are more important
than helping the poor, because his
party believes that poverty is punishment that forges a person's character,
something that must be overcome and if it isn't, well, you're just not righteous
enough.
Take the “Christocrat” televangelist Rod Parsley of
Ohio, the next Pat Robertson – Jerry Falwell clone combo. An article in the
American
Prospect paints a harrowing portrait of the right's new star, who just
might sweep Secretary of State J. Kenneth into higher office.
… Meanwhile, records in three lawsuits
filed against Parsley in the 1990s indicate that the autocratic structure
of the church shaped his behavior and, in some instances, drove followers
— and even his own family members — to the courthouse. All three plaintiffs
complained that other church members ostracized them for questioning Parsley,
and one plaintiff became the target of a venomous sermon during which Parsley
publicly accused him of trying to extort money from the church. All three
cases were settled in secret, and the lawyers and parties are prohibited from
discussing them publicly.In one case, filed in late 1992, a painting contractor
who also attended World Harvest, Lewis Bungard, alleged that Parsley choked
him and that Parsley’s father punched him after an argument over money
owed him under a contract to paint Parsley’s new home, during which
Bungard accused the pastor of deceiving his followers. Criminal charges against
Parsley were dropped, Bungard claimed, after Parsley’s handlers backed
up his denial to police that he had assaulted Bungard. Parsley’s father
pleaded no contest to a reduced charge of disorderly conduct. According to
court records, Bungard sued not only to recover the money he was owed under
the contract but to establish a court-supervised trust to ensure that money
Parsley had solicited to build a home for unwed mothers and a retirement home
was used for those purposes. Bungard and his wife testified that based on
Parsley’s representations, they had donated about $7,000, sometimes
in cash or by check. Because the case settled in secret, it is not publicly
known whether such a trust was ever created. …
“The Book of Daniel” may be way out there, but that's
its purpose. American audiences couldn't take an exact portrayal of what the
church means to the average citizen, because without the satire, the over the
top insanity amidst the humanity, all you'd have is a dry, barren institution
without any common ground with the common man, let alone the modern woman.
It's also not an accident that we're looking at Episcopalians,
the imperfect church that welcomes gays into the congregation, women as priests
and gays at the lectern. Most Episcopalians believe it's not for the church
to judge, but to minister. That's one of the many things I love and miss about
my church, as I practice and pray through daily meditation and visit my church
in L.A. whenever I can.
Luther may have found this new TV show shockingly irreverent,
but he would have likely welcomed it if it made people realize that we can indeed
talk right to Jesus whenever we want and even get answers if we're willing to
listen and hear even things we don't want to know. That we can be one with God,
while talking to Jesus on our own, without a televangelist as mediator.
But, of course, to talk to Jesus you must have time and be willing
to stop, be silent and reflect with an open heart. Most churches today don't
offer anything close to this experience, because the clergy and lay people are
too busy passing the plate, giving torturous sermons on tithing, while judging everyone, but never ministering, playing politics and acting like
hypocrites, while professing to be high and mighty, instead of humble before God.
Again, look at the public face of religion today, starting with
George W. Bush, Tom Delay, Jack Abramoff and the rest of the Republican clan.
Believe me, “The Book of Daniel” is not the problem.
