midnight mass

Toxic theology kills.

When religion, or any belief system, becomes cult-like, we all suffer.

We’re seeing it play out in our country right now with those who wish to throw us into theocracy, those who insist there is only one true religion - their own.

Diana Butler Bass is a theologian I greatly respect. When she tweeted recently about the brilliance of the Netflix series Midnight Mass, I immediately added it to my watch list.

A perfect fit for me and Tracy to watch together, as it’s horror (a genre Tracy loves) and theology (a subject with which I’m obsessed.)

I think the best horror is always sad, because fear, sorrow, and grief are so intertwined. I was knocked off my feet by my emotional connection to these characters and this story.

Midnight Mass is certainly creepy, but honestly, while there is some gore and violence, the theology was the scariest part of this series, which I don’t really think of as a series, but rather a long slow-burn of a movie.

I’ve dreamed of this movie every night since we started watching it.

It’s the best thing I’ve watched in a long time and I don’t believe I’ve ever cried harder over something on television.

I find that most of the time if church is portrayed in film, there’s always something wrong about it. The ritual is slightly misunderstood. The language wrong, or the wardrobe, or the tone. It was clear from the start that Mike Flanagan knows what he’s talking about.

The fact that church felt like church plus the soaring Neil Diamond sucked me in right from the start.

The use of music throughout Midnight Mass is perfection, the writing and the acting luminous and heart-wrenching.

You could say Midnight Mass is about what happens when evil masquerades as good, but I think it’s more complex than that, and more relevant. At its core, it addresses who we are as humans experiencing life, the role faith and belief play in our existence, and ultimately, the nature of God. While it offers up some of the most horrifying theology I’ve ever witnessed, what is revealed in the final episodes is some of the most beautiful.

Here’s what Diana Bulter Bass had to say.

Religion is difficult to talk about. Maybe the most difficult thing to talk about.

But the times we are all living in right now beg us to drag it out into the light, gaze at it head-on, do our shadow work and our light work.

That’s a bit of what I’m doing with the writing project I’m sharing on Patreon, and I’d love it if you’d join the conversation.