Greenleaf

Spoiler Alert: If you are in the middle of watching the Netflix series, Greenleaf, you may not want to read this.

Last night I watched the conclusion of a Netflix show, Greenleaf,  the story of a black family who builds a church into a mega ministry. Throughout the first couple seasons, I was struck by a seeming hypocrisy. The family, led by Bishop James and “First Lady” Mae, lived in an incredible mansion, along with servants, and enjoyed great wealth. That didn’t seem right. Especially with the congregation giving "love gifts" to their pastor and family.

Then there were personal failures. Their son, Jacob was unfaithful to his wife. Later he repented and tried to restore the marriage but his wife Karissa lost trust in him. She was also frustrated with his career in the family ministry and berated him for not “manning up” and seizing certain opportunities. The marriage was doomed.

Their daughter, Charity was married to a man, Kevin, who was beginning to admit to himself that  he was homosexual. This was considered sin by his church and by his family. He attended a support group to overcome this. In one scene, the group leader gives each person a bottle of Ipecac. “If you have any wayward thoughts,” he instructs, “drink this. It will make you nauseas or throw up.” This was conversion therapy. Eventually, the subject of homosexuality had to be faced and the leadership struggled to come to terms with it and to realize that they need to be a more inclusive church.

Another daughter, Grace, had come back home after twenty years away to attend the funeral of her sister, Faith, who'd committed suicide.  Though Grace was struggling with a faith crisis that had kept her away all these years,  she accepted a position with the church and tried to do good for people. Grace’s sister had been sexually abused by an uncle and  Grace encounters a long struggle to come to terms with that uncle and find a way to help abuse victims.

At the beginning of watching this series, I saw such a contrast between the failures of the Greenleaf family and what God would expect from a family running a church. They got it wrong so many times. Saw homosexuality as a deception. Strived for power. Made some seriously wrong choices in trying to hold on to wealth and power.

Then it occurred to me: They are humans. Humans get things wrong. That doesn’t cut them off from God’s Love. That doesn’t cut them off from God’s willingness to do something good through them.

In the final episodes, Grace’s son, AJ, whom she’d put up for adoption more than twenty years before, comes into her life. That presents a long struggle of reconciliation. When AJ comes forward in church to receive God into his life, and the family is happy that he is “saved”, I teared up. I was surprised at myself.   Growing up, I saw a lot of people go forward in church to “get saved”. I’ve come to see that as a negative thing. If you don’t make this “commitment to God”, we were taught, then you were in danger of going to hell. I’ve come to believe that this is not true. God loves and accepts all, regardless of their ability to believe.  

So why did I feel so emotional when AJ gave his heart to God? Then I realized: It is not that he had to be saved to go to Heaven. But he needed to be saved from the sins that had been committed against him. He needed to be saved from his own wrong choices. He needed to be saved from the feeling that he was not loved.

And so did the family.

And so have I.

And that is a good thing.

Reviews

[Coyote Poetry]

Thank you dear Shelley for sharing your view. I will watch Greenleaf ASAP. Life teaches us and if we try. Can accomplish great things.
Coyote

[Shelley Warner]

Thank you for that Coyote. I hope you enjoy the show. It was interesting to me because it touched on so many aspects of a faith crisis that led me in a different faith direction.

[Coyote Poetry]

You are welcome dear Shelley. I enjoyed the poetry.

[barleygirl]

This is what it means to SHOW instead of TELL. I love that you set yourself up as the one showing us how we can all jump to conclusions & judge other people so easily without seeing ourselves doing it. Great parable for modern times! (((HUGS)))

[Shelley Warner]

Thank you for that kind review Barleygirl. I remember a phrase from writing classes: "Show, don't tell."

[emmajoy]

What a family you've described, fate or fact or imagination - whichever. That said, it exampled how it be behind barred and bolted doors: could be HOW the truth of kinship is often doomed.

There is truth in HOW we treat each other.. whether family or not. Your 'summing up', your belief in an individual's spirit, is super Christian..Except,perhaps, he has to understand and bear other human eings' sins before he can forgive then. Is that really the beginning or end of turning the other cheek - for everyone and/or HOW can it be achieved?

I think of the All About as my church. because of a very mixed religious grounding. However perhaps HOW is my mantra. What truths and inspiration you've wrapped around your thoughts with this poem, Shelley. Superb. Enlightening.

[Shelley Warner]

Thank you for reading and reviewing Emmajoy. I appreciate that you said my summing up and belief in an individual's spirit is super Christian.

[Chris Shaw]

I so enjoyed this read dear Shelley. I stopped going to church because I felt it's hostility to those it should have embraced. Some of the congregation were not filled with the milk of human kindness and I found that difficult to deal with. My God is a loving forgiving one. We are all sinners. It is not for us to judge others. Inclusivity, reaching out is important. Not locking the doors and keeping people out. Thank you for sharing this valuable lesson. All good wishes from across the pond.

Chris

[Shelley Warner]

Thank you for that review. I can understand why you stopped going to church. A lot of church people believe they are loving, claiming that they "hate the sin, but love the sinner". I fell into that category for awhile, which I'm ashamed of. When you are convinced that certain things are sin, it's hard to be inclusive. I'm glad to have moved past that. I'm thankful for the church I attended in Idaho and the one I now attend in Washington. Both are United Methodists. A lot of UM churches are pretty progressive.