Be Subject to One Another

If you never watched The West Wing, I'm sorry, you just have no idea. It is/was and amazing show. Watching an episode of Season 3 last night, I was struck by a bit of dialogue (sorry for the length). But it highlighted a principle of life and faith, easily glossed over in Ephesians...and did it with humor. What does it mean for us to be subject to one another?

Bartlet - President of the United States

Abbey - First Lady

Charlie - Personal assistant to the President

(The doors to the presidential limo open. President Bartlet and Abbey walk inside.)

CHARLIE: Good afternoon.

ABBEY: Hi, Charlie.

CHARLIE: How was church?

BARTLET: [mumbles] It sucked.

ABBEY: It was fine. Stop it!

BARTLET: It sucked!

ABBEY: [sighs] You're talking about church.

BARTLET: Oh, like I'm not already going to hell.

CHARLIE: What was the problem?

ABBEY: He feels the homily lacked panache.

BARTLET: It did lack panache.

ABBEY: It was a perfectly lovely homily on Ephesians 5:21. "Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her."

BARTLET: Yeah. She's skipping over the part that says, "Wives, be subject to your husbands as to the Lord, for a husband is the head of a wife as Christ is the head of the church."

ABBEY: I do skip over that part.

BARTLET: Why?

ABBEY: Because it's stupid!

(They walk in THE OVAL OFFICE)

BARTLET: Okay.

ABBEY: "Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that he might present the Church to himself in...something.”

BARTLET: "In splendor." And I have no problem with Ephesians. And any time you want me to cleanse you with the washing of water, you know I'm up for it.

ABBEY: Then what is your problem?

BARTLET: Hackery! This guy was a hack! He had a captive audience! And the way I know that is that I tried to tunnel out of there several times. He had an audience and he didn't know what to do with it.

ABBEY: You want him to sing "Volare?"

BARTLET: Couldn't have hurt. Words...

ABBEY: Oh, God, no…

BARTLET: Words, when spoken out loud for the sake of performance, are music. They have rhythm, and pitch, and timbre, and volume. These are the properties of music, and music has the ability to find us and move us, and lift us up in ways that literal meanings can't. Do you see?

ABBEY: You are an oratorical snob.

BARTLET: Yes, I am. And God loves me for it.

ABBEY: You said he was sending you to hell.

BARTLET: For other stuff, not for this.

You can't just trod out Ephesians, which he blew, by the way, it has nothing to do with husbands and wives, it's all of us! Saint Paul begins the passage: "Be subject to one another out of reverence to Christ." [passionately] "Be subject to one another." In this day and age of 24-hour cable crap, devoted to feeding the voyeuristic gluttony of the American public, hooked on a bad soap opera that's passing itself off as important, don't you think you might be able to find some relevance in verse 21? How do end the cycle? Be subject to one another!

ABBEY: So...this is about you.

BARTLET: No, it's not about me! Well, yes, it is about me, but tomorrow it'll be about somebody else. We'll watch Larry King and see who. All hacks, off the stage, right now! That's a national security order.

ABBEY: I'm going to the Residence. I'm taking a bath; I'm turning on Sinatra.

BARTLET: How does Mrs. Sinatra feel about that?

ABBEY: Peace be with you.

And the following is posted in case you ever wondered why The West Wing was the best written/acted show on television. The president is questioning a man who has fled China due to religious persecution, but wants to test if he is legit - Shibboleth (might want to check Judges 12:5-6):