“Glee” on G-d

By Talia Davis Recently the hit TV show, “Glee,” did an episode focused around G-d and god concepts. The premise of the show was that Kurt Hummel (a very snazzy member of the glee club who lost his mother as a child) faces a tragedy. His father is struck with a heart attack and resulting coma. His fellow glee club members present prayers and thoughts to him to help him deal with this situation. The only issue? Kurt doesn’t believe in G-d. Here’s some dialogue from the episode: Prior to his father’s heart attack -- Kurt: "Sorry, but if I wanted to sing about Jesus, I'd go to church, and the reason I don't go to church is because most churches don't think very much of gay people. Or women. Or science.” This is post-heart attack -- Kurt: "Thank you, Mercedes. Your voice is stunning. But I don't believe in god." Silence Tina: "Wait, what?" Kurt: "You’ve all professed your beliefs, I am just stating mine. I think god is like Santa Claus for adults. Otherwise, god's kind of a jerk, isn't he? I mean, he makes me gay and then has his followers going around saying it's something that I chose, as if someone would choose to be mocked every single day of their lives. And right now I don't want a heavenly father. I want my real one back." Mercedes: "But Kurt, how do you know? You can't prove there's no god." Kurt: "You can't prove there isn't a magic teapot floating around the dark side of the moon with a dwarf inside of it that reads romance novels and shoots lightning out of its boobs, but it seems pretty unlikely, doesn't it?" Brittany: "Is God an evil dwarf?" Quinn: “We shouldn’t be talking like this, it’s not right.” Kurt: “I’m sorry Quinn but you all can believe whatever you want to but I can’t believe something that I don’t. I appreciate your thoughts. But I don't want your prayers." Later in the episode when super(hilarious) villain, Sue, complains that the glee club is singing about G-d, she makes this statement: “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?” Her anger stems from a childhood trauma. Her older sister has Down Syndrome and was made fun of. Sue prayed to G-d to help her and G-d did not. Since then, she’s been angry. Well, “Glee,” you opened the can of worms, let’s go there. But first, let’s talk music choices. “Glee” poses a nice mix of Jewish and Christian characters, as well as characters that have a faith but ‘don’t go there’ in this episode. Each comes through and sings a song that exemplifies his or her faith or is an attempt to pray for Kurt. It was a bit of a copout that the Jewish bad boy, Puck, sang “Only the Good Die Young” because it was by a Jewish singer. Mercedes’ rendition of “I Look to You” by Whitney Houston was touching and moving (aka, it had me in tears). It didn’t feel overly Christian but it embodied an everyman search for meaning and strength. Rachel (our other Jewish character) sings -- surprise -- “Papa Can You Hear Me” from Yentl... because it talks about fathers and it was a Jewish song. I get it... couldn’t there be a better song that helps the story along that delves into Jewish spirituality? Dropping it... I know, but that isn’t the point of my evaluation, their songs are only for our edification. Finally, Kurt gets up and shares how he feels. He tells us that his father held his hand the day they buried his mother and sings a tear-jerking and heart-melting rendition (complete with childhood flashbacks) of The Beatles’ “I Want to Hold Your Hand.” Our lead boy, Finn, who, by the way, has been praying this whole episode to “Grilled Cheesus” a grilled cheese Jesus, is now questioning G-d in his life. Why? Because he made three wishes to G-d and they came true; however, they could easily be explained by circumstances. He hits us with a powerful R.E.M. classic, “Losing My Religion.” At the end Kurt goes to a beautiful black church with Mercedes on Sunday (because he got to wear a fabulous hat) where Mercedes and the choir sing “Bridge Over Troubled Water” (Aretha Franklin’s cover of the classic Simon & Garfunkel tune). As I watched this episode, so many emotions flooded my soul. For the record, I know it is not real, however, it evoked real emotion. Here is this kid who has always felt on the outs, never fitting in, never being accepted or having it easy. He and his father have found a rhythm and suddenly his father is gone. Suddenly he is literally all alone in the world and the religious world has pushed him further away. To me, this spoke to our single-mindedness when it comes to faith. We are right. No one else has a valid point anymore. It’s not A way, it’s THE way. Have we really gotten to a place where there is no room in our hearts for people who are different from us? Do we no longer celebrate all the intricate differences that make us who we are? Can we not find a moment to say, its okay that you are different, come pray with me anyway? It feels like some groups are so stuck on this “must save” mission that they forget about the humanity. Stop trying to live for after you die; start living for today. One thing that really struck me in this episode was the ripple effect it had on the other characters. It forced them to either firmly entrench themselves in their stated beliefs or reevaluate them. Rachel, the lead gal and main Jew, had the discussion that (more or less) any Jewish girl has with a non-Jewish boyfriend. How will we raise the kids? To her, she didn’t have a problem being with and potentially setting up a future with a non-Jewish boy (but let’s be honest, they are what? sophomores in high school? juniors?) as long as her kids were raised Jewish. Meanwhile, Finn is having a crisis of religion based on a grilled cheese sandwich. Beyond the absurdity and similarity to real life situations, what is his deal? He’s lost. He lost his identity when he lost his role as quarterback. How many times have we looked for signs in everything we do when we are wandering aimlessly? Finn, like many of us, took it to the absurd terminal point. He asked Grilled Cheesus for three wishes (mistaking Cheesus for a genie, apparently). He asked for three material needs and he got them. But he never turned that energy toward Kurt who was in pain for his father. Rather he chose the selfish path. How often do we forget that list of sick people being passed around in synagogue or church but we always seem to remember to pray for a good grade, success in business, or something else physical? It is always so easy to remember what is right in front of us, yet rarely is that what is desperately needed. Prayer often becomes a laundry list of what we need from G-d. Within Judaism, we aren’t supposed to ‘ask’ for anything on Shabbat. Why? Because Shabbat is a time of happiness and we shouldn’t focus on what is missing. Shabbat is our built-in timer to remember to thank G-d, praise G-d, and connect to G-d. A reminder to get out of our physical needs and remember what else is around. I found Sue’s story line relatable and impactful. Here is this mean woman whose life’s goal is to torture everyone around her. Rather than seeing her that way in this episode, we saw a woman who has been burnt. She pleaded with G-d to help her sister and G-d did not deliver the way she wanted. As a child, her perception was that G-d wasn’t listening or didn’t exist. But maybe she didn’t see how G-d was working in her life? We see her sitting with her disabled sister and asking her sister if she believes in G-d. In the end, the disabled sister offers to pray for Sue. Perhaps Sue has some ego to let go of; perhaps she needs to open her eyes to the gifts in her life. Perhaps she didn’t notice G-d’s presence in her life. Finally, we have Mercedes. She, in the end, convinces Kurt to go to church with her. She presents this safe place for Kurt. It’s not about him. There are people around him who love him, but now it’s time to focus on his father. They sing to him, dedicate their service to his father, and the congregants hold his hand and involve him in the praying. Here we see, beautifully displayed, a community. She wraps Kurt in the strength he needs for his father. How often do we stop in our daily lives to offer support to our neighbor or friend, to share their burden? Isn’t it much easier to drive past the guy who has a flat? The lady who needs help getting up the stairs with her groceries? In the end, Kurt realizes the prayers weren’t for him or about him; rather they were for his father. Once he let go of his ego, he connected with his father. “Glee” so elegantly displayed this for us by his father waking up. I know an episode about religion turned some viewers off of “Glee” but I found it beautiful. They packed the pain and challenges and beauty that we all experience into 43 minutes. “Glee” offered us a wealth of opinions, questions, and the gift of being able to watch the difficult moments from the outside. If we can explore these concepts in fun and song, with a sprinkling of laughter in there, why not?