OPENING THE BOOK OF DANIEL

Frankly, I've been a bit bemused by all of the hub-bub which has resulted from the recent airing of the new fantasy NBC series entitled "The Book of Daniel". As the Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of the Upper Peninsula I have been contacted by dozens of people wanting to know how distressed I am about the depiction of the protagonist of the show, an Episcopal priest named Daniel Webster, who struggles with an absurd array of complex interrelationships and who carries on private conversations with an illusive sidekick "Jesus" as he's trying to negotiate his way through life, pastoral ministries, and administrative responsibilities as a parish priest. NBC has now announced cancellation of the show, so it's interesting in retrospect to reflect on its impact and how people have responded to it.

The truth is that I wasn't really very upset about this program. The issues it presented, such as substance abuse, human sexuality, betrayal and forgiveness in relationships, dealings with those in authority, fiscal integrity, Alzheimers and other disease, adolescent coming of age, and so forth, are certainly real life matters, faced in our world today by clergy and their families as well as everyone else who populates our planet. The absurdity was the fancy of the writers to have every single one of them coalesce around poor Daniel in such a relentless and spectacular crisis mode. We're supposed to laugh about it, even while pausing along the way to think, perhaps, about the implications for our own lives.

The thing is, I watch TV all the time. These shows are a dime a dozen. The reason this one stood out, for some, is that people were caught by the gimmick. This time, the producers dared to tread into the usually private and revered territory of established religion. It might be noted that, in fact, the scripts seldom discussed actual matters of faith. They simply presented the same sorts of scandals featured in Desperate Housewives, Will & Grace, Friends, Seinfeld, and all the rest, only this time (the writers hoped) it would be a bit more scintillating because they were happening within the sanctity of Mother Church.

To the extent that people were discomfitted because these things were shown to be happening in a Church setting, I say, "Welcome to my world." To the extent that the particulars, the caricatures, the intensity, the accumulation, and the comic relief of these scandalous affairs took place in any one setting simultaneously, as they do on this and many other TV shows I watch, I am tempted to say: "Come on - - get real!"

My real question is this: Do we think our God, our Church, & our faith are so fragile that they have to be kept in a glass jar, safely protected from the real matters of life and death with which we deal, Mondays through Saturdays?

The actual Book of Daniel appears in the Bible in the midst of the Hebrew Scriptures (known in most Christian settings as "The Old Testament"). It tells stories about life in Babylon (present day Iran and Iraq) during the time of the Exile, when the Israelites were held captive many miles from home in a foreign land. People of faith were persecuted for following their own traditions (thus Daniel was thrown into the lions den, and Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were thrown into the fiery furnace). King Belshazzar saw the "handwriting on the wall", which Daniel helped interpret as foretelling the king's downfall and demise, due to his abuse of power and his unjust reign. The real Book of Daniel is a story about how people of faith deal with challenges which are matters of life and death. Like its TV namesake, it uses hyperbole and vivid imagery to try to make its point. And its bottom line is that in spite of all of the trials and tribulations which life brings us, we can trust in a Creator and a Creation and fellow creatures who are basically good and are grounded and connected by a spirit of love and compassion and the full embrace of all that is. If you haven't already done so, I invite you to open the real Book of Daniel, and give it a read.

But, back to the much hyped TV show about Daniel Webster, the beleaguered Episcopal priest... I have been asked if I am upset by the inaccurate picture presented by the producers, and I must repeat that I am more amused than troubled. People are intelligent, and they can sort out the silliness of TV from the realities of life. And if you want to learn "the rest of the story", I invite you to come to any Episcopal Church to meet the real people with real life concerns and celebrations you will find there.

Let's not lose our sense of humor. Perhaps an outrageous television fantasy show could trigger a more serious conversation or two, delving more significantly into the matters of faith and life and death and purpose and meaning which do, in fact, hold our lives and our relationships together.