The Book of Daniel

SCRIPTURES: Daniel

Time does not allow for a complete typed version of my January 15 Sermon on the Book of Daniel, but several have requested an "Executive Summary," so here goes. First, I acknowledged that 90 percent of the feedback I got was negative on the show with the best line being: "This show is a dog. Wait a minute, I like dogs; this show is worse." But despite the 90 percent negative, I am hoping and praying for a long run for Daniel.

Daniel

From there, I went into a Biblical reflection that pointed out the similarities between the fictional TV story about the Book of Daniel to the real life story of the Prophet Daniel. Those similarities included: both Daniels live and minister in a flawed world; both Daniels are tempted to give up any hope that there is a God who loves us, and both Daniels, flawed though they are, rise above the temptation and are instruments of God's grace. In that last point, I used the illustration from the TV show how flawed Father Daniel makes a wonderful pastoral visit to a dying patient and their family.

Following the Service, I did a top 11 list of reasons I hope The Book of Daniel stays on the air. That list includes:

  1. If it is successful, there will be more religious themes on TV
  2. It adds a spiritual dimension to contemporary issues, kind of like a Desperate Housewives with a consciousness
  3. It illustrate the struggle of living out our faith
  4. It illustrates the struggle of being the church
  5. Yes it shows our flaws, but also our ability to rise above our flaws
  6. Shows how complexity of life causes us to compromise
  7. Shows faith as a lifetime journey
  8. Illustrates contemporary issues in Church
  9. Shows the essence of our faith in terms of doing the right thing even though that is easier said than done
  10. It shows people going to Church and listening to a sermon
  11. It's better than watching Fear Factor or Survivor
post script: One of my biggest complaints was the permissiveness of Father Daniel and his wife as parents. In the third episode we see that this is based on the death of one of their children. It is so easy to judge when we don't know the whole story.

Pastor Stephen Giordano — January 15, 2006