Art
in its greatest forms has the ability to act as a mirror and a microscope in
showing us ourselves and our world more clearly. Les
Misérables is great art and helps us to see not only how systemic issues in
civilization affect ‘the least of these,’ but also to imagine a different world
embodying the beauty of the gospel. With a hat tip to Brian Zahnd and his “Finding God on Your iPod” series and in honor of my wife performing in our community theatre’s production of Les Misérables, I write about what hits me most about the show.
The world is a cruel place. The characters in Les Misérables certainly know this.
Jean Valjean faced the cruel predicament where he has to choose between
stealing some bread and watching his family starve. Fontine found prostitution as
a last effort to support her daughter.
The students of the barricade, enraged with economic injustice, saw no
way forward but to take up arms.
Perhaps these are not the same cruel and unjust situations
you and I find ourselves in, but we all have experiences with cruelty and
injustice. It’s been this way since Cain
murdered his brother out of jealousy.
Genesis tells us Cain then left and started the first city. Cruelty, injustice, vengeance, violence, betrayal…the
list can go on…are all built into this society Cain first built, and we have
received.
Les Misérables calls
us to imagine a new world. With
Christian ears, I hear an invitation to imagine the world under the complete
reign and rule of Christ—the Kingdom of God.
The epilogue invites us to move beyond the barricade of taking to
violence to enforce our wills and agendas into a future where (borrowing from
Isaiah) swords are replaced with plowshares, prisoners are free of their chains
and the poor and outcast are lifted up.
The epilogue leaves us with the probing questions…Do you
hear? Will you join? This is basically the invitation Jesus
explained to Nicodemus that night recorded in John 3. Jesus tells Nicodemus he must be ‘born again’
to see the Kingdom of God. Paul hits the
same concept when he pleads for us to “not be conformed to this world, but be
transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
When confronted with the Kingdom of God, we have to rethink how we understand
everything.
Their willingness or unwillingness to rethink everything drives
the mercy vs. justice contrast between Jean Valjean and Javert we often focus
upon. Both face the same defining moment
as Nicodemus where they’re confronted with the merciful reality of the
Kingdom. Valjean and Javert express the
anguish with shared words, “I am reaching but I fall.” Valjean continues with a recognition
of his sin and a new desire to live a new story. However,
Javert, after serving God so long as a executor of justice, finds himself tortured
by the question and unwilling to reconsider his understanding of God.
This renewing of the mind doesn’t happen in an instant. We see even in Jean Valjean his development
in Christ-likeness throughout the show. We
must continue this process of renewing our minds lest we reach a point of
certitude like Javert. So, wherever you
are in the rethinking process, Les
Misérables doesn’t just invite you to rethink it all, but gives you some
tools to do so. In the Beatitudes, Jesus
announced who will benefit from the Kingdom…the poor in spirit, the mourning,
the meek, those who seek justice, the merciful, the pure in heart, the
peacemakers, and those persecuted for righteousness. These are those who God has a special affinity
toward…these are who we are called to have a special affinity toward. We see a representative of each of these Beatitudes
on display in the show and the opportunity to be contemplative about each
situation.
I invite you to join with me in letting Les Misérables help us renew our minds
through contemplation of how to embody the Kingdom today. ”It is the future that we bring when tomorrow
comes!”
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