This article is by Ryan Cosgrove:
“… not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ” (Phil 3:9)
The church, if you think about it, is actually a very funny little operation. The church is a community formed around the only perfect human (and God) to ever live. This ideal, though, is not something members of the church have been called to aspire for. Instead, the church has been promised that its way forward is found in acknowledging that persistent failure of its adherents to live up to this standard.
For as funny of a premise as this is, it is unfortunate that most depictions of the church out there are either self-important, self-righteous, or just downright dull. Blessedly, though, there is currently another, funnier, take on the church out there! And, like that parable of the treasure hidden in the field, it’s found in the last place you might expect: HBO.
I am talking about, of course, that popular program The Righteous Gemstones, created by Danny McBride. For those those familiar with his work, it would not be unreasonable to expect his show to be nothing more than a takedown of the church. As it turns out, though, it is the lack of piety that makes the show such a faithful portrayal of the institution established on the redemption of the unrighteous.
For instance, the show opens with a mass baptism event soaked in as much production as it is piety. Due to some glitch, however, the whole exhibition is quickly interrupted. It turns out they staged the event at a water resort, and somehow the “party mode” has been activated midway through the parade of baptisms. As people somberly come forward, party music starts to blare, and a laser-light show ensues! The snafu is crowned when the waves to the splash pool are activated. In exaggerated panic, everyone makes for the edges of the pool as if they are caught in an actual tidal wave.
With comedic brio, The Righteous Gemstones captures the death and life quality of baptism better than most depictions of the rite out there. And thus, we are introduced to the surprisingly righteous vision of The Righteous Gemstones.
The show is about the second generation of a successful megachurch founded by its patriarch, Eli Gemstone (played by John Goodman). But much like the Eli of the Bible, the adult children of the charismatic founder do not have much interest in carrying on their father’s legacy. This rift is the source of tension that sets the show in motion.
The creators of The Righteous Gemstones seem to intuit the wisdom of what Luther meant when he said we are all simultaneously saints and sinners. The show is, admittedly, quite tawdry. But the wonder of it all is that these characters are all depicted with a total lack of judgment. As well as a heaping dose of empathy, too. When the characters act with gross and embarrassing wickedness, it is depicted as simply another beat. There is no moralizing or pontificating about their actions. This refusal to judge keeps the series moving along. The creators must know nothing ruins a joke faster than making a lesson out of it. And what’s more, taking these characters at face value allows the creators to mine all the antics for as much humor as they do.
It is not just a lesson in humor The Righteous Gemstones offers up, though. As repugnant as it may be for the devout to admit, the show also offers a faithful lesson on the Christian life.
One of the things The Righteous Gemstones happily gets wrong about the world of performative Christianity is the suffocating piety its denizens often advocate. Characters in the show regularly say and do things that would promptly get them cast out of their church. And in the second season, the secular world happily engages in this moral policing. But in the (un)righteous church of the Gemstones, this behavior is not only tolerated, it also seems to be expected. Along these lines, the show vividly demonstrates how sin is not something you get over. Rather, sin is something you are stuck with.
But alongside its brazen immorality is an audaciously indiscriminate forgiveness. As tawdry as these characters can be, no offense is too big to be forgiven. And when forgiveness occurs, the characters are just as surprised as when one of the family members does something that causes us viewers to clutch our pearls. Apparently, the Gemstones are serious practitioners of the scandalizing grace of God. And fine theologians, to boot.
Now, perhaps these characters take it all in stride because they are good students of the theology of the cross. Or maybe it is because all the characters are always on to the next scheme before they can cast judgment. Or maybe it does not matter one whit. Maybe it is all just in service of the next joke.
Who knows. Either way, The Righteous Gemstones is one of the funniest and most faithful depictions of the institution God initiated to let the world in on the great punchline; none of this exists out of necessity. All of life has been set a-whirring and a-cracking just for the sheer pleasure of it. History has no greater course than a great guffaw of Alleluia!
It is a punchline big enough to include us all. No matter how much we insist on ruining the joke by trying to make a lesson out of it. “The Righteous Gemstones” is a fine antidote to all that priggish piousness. And underneath all the crass humor, the show is a program obsessed with the redemption of the unrighteous like us.
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4 responses to “The Amoral Righteousness of The Righteous Gemstones”
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More Ryan Cosgrove please!!!
Great article!
“none of this exists out of necessity” amazing! guess it’s time to catch up on the second season. Thanks for this, Ryan!
I look every day for a Mockingbird article on the Gemstones !!! Yay! Bravo .
Butterflies , they start as caterpills and Caterpills they change into butterflies
That’s why Jesus died to take all our earthly sins away .