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8Oct, 2010

Relevant Faith

Posted by Scott

gleehymns On Fridays, this site has been offering a series of quotes, but never figured I’d be posting one of my own.  Yet, above is a quote that appeared via twitter and facebook.

gleejesus On Tuesday’s edition of Glee, the producers take on spiritual themes. The show opens as the “semi-clueless jock,” Finn, makes a grilled cheese sandwich and see the face of God in the charred bread.  He then prayed to his Grilled Cheesus (the title of the show) for some special wishes: football success and getting to “second base” with his girlfriend. He is later disappointed when his “direct line to God” through the sandwich is challenged by a trusted adult.

Meanwhile, Kurt Hummel’s father attempts to maintain the ritual (“they’re sacred”) of family Friday night dinner.  Bert Hummel’s subsequent heart attack causes a crisis of faith for all the Glee kids, but

Kurt, whose homosexual character is flamboyantly “out” challenges them as he views God as “like Santa Claus for adults.” While he graciously appreciates the thoughts of his classmates, but does not welcome their prayers because of his perception of the (Church-ish) persecution he has faced due to his sexuality. As in today’s culture, any early (and superficial) conversation in this episode regarding Jesus Christ disintegrates into contentious debate about church and spirituality. Nonetheless, Mercedes boldly asks her friend Kurt to join her at church, in part, because he might “be closing himself to a world of experiences that might surprise him.”

The next day morning after Glee, while talking about evangelization, ArchBalt’s Archbishop O’Brien quoted Pope Benedict in saying that “There is nothing more beautiful than to be surprised by God.” Kurt, at minimum was surprised by his need to touch something   …more. At his father’s bedside, Kurt later confesses that “I believe in you and I believe in us – you and me.  That’s what’s is sacred to me. And I’m sorry that I never got to tell you that…” moments before his father begins to show signs of recovery.

The hour ends in what other sites have referred to as a Eucharistic moment as Finn consumes his Grilled Cheesus… although I suspect it was more out of temporal desire rather than a sense of spiritual hunger.

It is important to note, however, and I hope to do so this morning on Relevant Radio at 9am eastern (Listen in on the Steaming Audio or Download the Podcast) will update later with the podcast links), that the soundtrack of this episode (see below) is not of the soundtrack of the lives of the Glee kids but of their parents. Both Adam and Ian have taken a relook at Moralistic Therapeutic Deism recently and we must remember that the faith of our children remarkably resembles the “faith of our fathers” / parents. That whole sense of MTD’s cosmic butler in the form of Grilled Cheesus has been passed down culturally through us.

By the way, the hymnal (playlist) was:
> Only the Good Die Young – Billy Joel
> I Look to You – Whitney Houston
> Papa, Can You Hear Me – Yentl (Barbara Streisand)
> I Want to Hold Your Hand – The Beatles
> Losing My Religion – R.E.M.
> Bridge over Troubled Water – Simon and Garfunkel
> What If God Was One of Us – Joan Osborne

Did you watch Glee?  What was your take on the episode?

9 Comments »

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    Pingback by Tweets that mention Catholic Youth Ministry Blog » Relevant Faith -- Topsy.com — Friday, October 8, 2010 @ 7:25 am

  2. Thanks for writing about this. I’ve never seen Glee but I’ve heard a lot about it, and I’ve heard this “Grilled Cheesus” mentioned several times on FB and Twitter. I just watched the first part up to where they sing the Billy Joel song. Funny, I grew up Catholic and singing this song…and loved it. I agreed with Joel! I guess MTD is nothing new huh? I was raised in it and by God’s grace have broken out of it. That gives credence to the notion that we all, as adults, are in some way to blame for the rampant MTD in our youth. Anyway, the episode seems extremely irreverent up to this point but, from your review, ends with a somewhat redeeming message. I suppose this show is a very relevant social commentary isn’t it?

    Comment by Marc Cardaronella — Friday, October 8, 2010 @ 10:22 am

  3. We watch the show every week, even though I sit there and think, “I am going to stop watching this annoying show.” Not sure what that says about me.

    Liked: Mercedes’ interaction with Kurt. I thought Kurt’s reaction to his father’s illness and to his friends’ attempts to “help” was very authentic. The actor who plays Kurt is really good. I am actually kind of glad that they didn’t end the episode with a Very Special Moment of Faith for Kurt because that would have been corny.

    Loved: Sue Sylvester’s interaction with her sister and the impact it had on her. Really loved seeing a character with Down Syndrome say “God doesn’t make mistakes.”

    Completely, totally annoyed by: The whole Grilled Cheezus storyline felt like LOOK WE ARE BEING EDGY ABOUT RELIGION HERE. Totally stupid, gross, Rachel is driving me up the wall, and the whole plotline felt like it was shoved into the episode to allow them to pull in more songs about “spirituality.”

    I don’t understand why a show that is trying very hard to have a stock character for every high school stereotype doesn’t have a character who is recognizably Catholic. It’s not that I *want* them to, it just seems weird that they’re passing up the chance to toss in all of our symbols and appear to be Saying Something.

    But they did tick me off right from the beginning with the Auto-Tuned cover of “Only the Good Die Young.” Sorry, Marc, we’ll have to disagree on this one – I really hate that song. Possibly because it’s so catchy and upbeat and yet seriously offensive in my opinion.

    Comment by Dorian Speed — Saturday, October 9, 2010 @ 12:08 am

  4. Oh, and I forgot! My husband and I had placed bets on when “What if God Was One of Us?” would show up and we both started laughing when it inevitably appeared.

    Related: The Sensitive Female Chord Progression.

    Comment by Dorian Speed — Saturday, October 9, 2010 @ 12:11 am

  5. I think this Glee episode is a great conversation starter with teens and adults alike. As I was watching it I was wishing that I had a DVD recorder! I was thinking of you too Scott – going hmm I know Scott’s a Gleek what’s he going to take out of this. Ahh Scott’s one of the voices in my head ;)

    Comment by Marissa — Sunday, October 10, 2010 @ 8:27 am

  6. “Scott’s one of the voices in my head”… now that there is one terrifying thought

    Comment by Scott — Sunday, October 10, 2010 @ 8:40 am

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    Pingback by Catholic Youth Ministry Blog » Glee Duets — Saturday, October 16, 2010 @ 7:55 am

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