House Episode Tackles Religious Issues, Faith

Just saw a terrific "House" episode tonight featuring a fallen priest who has a hallucination, but it's chalked up to his drinking until the eponymous doctor takes an interest. Like most TV comedy/dramas, the deeper questions are summed up in witty dialogue, with House's cynical take the most prominent, but ultimately something profound gets through.

I won't rehash the whole plot here, but the discussions about God and suffering and faith get a superficial treatment, which would have been much more interesting if the writers actually consulted with someone who could have supplied better arguments, but hey, I'm just glad they broached the subject at all in a TV show in more than just a dark manner.

The priest's comment about how God works in coincidences reminds me of a conversation I had with my Mother recently. I told her about how difficult it was finding a pain doctor for Andy, and that how when we contacted the third one who'd turned him down, asking for a recommendation of another doctor, her staff referred us to a Dr. Ahngel. Pronounced "angel," the good doctor wasn't available either, but his office manager referred us to a doctor who was incredibly well credentialed, a former Mayo Clinic doctor who'd started a private practice, and who accepted Andy as a patient and even gave us hope of new treatments.

I told my Mother that it was as though the prayers had led us to an angel who helped us. She pooh-poohed this thinking, of course, but something else happened that day that convinced me I was on the right track. After the appointment with the new doctor, Andy met with a client and I took Lucky for a walk in a residential area nearby. A man walking down the street with a cane stopped us and told me that Lucky was a gift from God, and that we were being watched over. Lucky stopped, sat and listened to him as he petted him -- unusual behavior for Lucky. After a bit of conversation, I learned he was a Korean War veteran with leukemia and diabetes, and he didn't believe he had long to live, but he looked forward to being in heaven. He blessed us and went on his way.

It was a random meeting after nearly three hours of sitting in a waiting room filled with people in various kinds of pain, many of them very obviously suffering. I felt as though he had delivered a message I needed to hear that day, and I truly did feel blessed.