A few months ago, I watched the stage musical, “Les Misérables,” for the first time. Sitting within Oklahoma City’s Civic Center Music Hall, I was enthralled for two and a half hours. Nineteenth-century France had never been so alluring. Creative and elaborate sets, beautiful voices, and the intriguing storyline certainly captivated my attention. Cascading themes of romance, familial love, jealousy, betrayal, and friendship had a surprisingly emotional impact on me.
The musical was not only stirring but a colorful depiction of our shared humanity. Throughout the story, we were introduced to competing values of justice, grace, love, and redemption. In the story, the protagonist, Jean Valjean, is a convicted criminal who is forced to repay his petty crime through a lifetime of retribution. His escape only hardens his souring view of human cruelty. Nevertheless, one act of generosity by an old Bishop drastically changes, even redeems, Valjean’s life. The musical number for this scene highlights not only the Bishop’s act of mercy but his ability to recognize Jean Valjean’s human dignity. The Bishop’s act of love is shaped by his view of others. This is juxtaposed with Javert, a rigid police officer whose legalistic understanding of the law neglects the weightier matters of love and mercy. When Jean Valjean spares Javert’s life, the officer, who cannot accept the fundamental change in Valjean, takes his own life. The same wretched criminal Javert always knew now embodies compassion and mercy towards him, and he is therefore destroyed. He decides it is better not to live than to live in a world that forfeits law for grace. Both Jean Valjean and Javert are extended grace and are fundamentally transformed by the encounter: Valjean accepts the gift of grace, while Javert rejects the grace for law.
As I pondered the themes of the play, I understood that each of us can be changed by acts of love clothed in grace. Unfortunately, many of us view others based solely on their past. Our prejudices too often shape our responses. If we are not careful, we can begin to look at our blessings and giftings as rights we have inherited through hard work and discipline rather than divine gifts. Because of our affluence, it can be easy for us to make distinctions between “us” and “them.” A rigid understanding of punishment, law and order, and justice can easily overwhelm our perception of the “other.” In our attempts to reject the wrong doer, the disobedient, and the criminal, we may fundamentally be rejecting ourselves by forgetting our own trespasses.
In the Gospels, we find that Jesus denounced those in power who would not extend mercy to those in need. He rebuked those who prejudicially sat in judgment on those with criminal or immoral past actions. Interestingly, Jesus’s harshest words were directed at those who saw themselves as upright while failing to extend grace to the stranger. Likewise, it is easy for us to stand in condemnation against those with whom we share little. In fact, I am prone to follow the pattern of Javert’s rigid interpretation of justice and to condemn rather than extend mercy. However, when we recognize the humanness of others, we are more apt to love. Further, an encounter with the grace of Jesus will not leave us unchanged. It will challenge us, thwart us, and revolutionize us. Through this encounter we are transformed and can then extend grace to others.
The story of Les Misérables, then, is a story of radical grace that fundamentally alters those who experience it. In positive and negative ways all are changed, and no one is left undisturbed. Although God does not seem to directly respond to human activity in the musical, I believe he is present in the encounters of grace that come through people. The sweet sound of grace changes the wretch but destroys the self-righteous.
I learned that one translation of Les Misérables is “The Wretched.” Surely, we can see the wretchedness around us, and in our quieter moments, we can see it in ourselves. Les Misérables then reminds us that we all share afflictions, triumphs, vices, and desires. The musical beautifully reminds us of our common humanity.
In the final scenes of the musical, darkness capitulates to love. Jean Valjean is vindicated through the marital union between a young man, whose life he saved, and his adopted daughter. Most importantly, Les Misérables reminds us that we are most wretched when we refuse to recognize our shared humanity. It inspires us to experience God through the grace of our brothers and sisters.
Published in the Edmond Sun: Sunday Sermon 12/15/18