Les Miserables, Mercy and Grace

In a few weeks I will have the opportunity to speak to a bunch of high school age kids.  They said I can speak about anything I want…Muahahahaha. But in all seriousness, I love this age group, and find it a little overwhelming to have all subject matter available to me at my discretion. How does one choose what to talk about? Well, I decided to talk about Les Miserables (please don’t roll your eyes….just read on, you’ll see), Mercy and Grace. Let me share with you “why”.

My favorite scene in Les Miserables (can be translated to The Miserable, or The Wretched)...(the 2012 movie version) is near the beginning when Jean Val Jean, a man who had recently been released from 19 years of prison for stealing a loaf of bread, searched in vain to find food and shelter. You see, no one wanted to take him in because his papers reflected his past and since everyone at that time was starving, he wasn’t worth a risk or precious food.  He roamed around, close to dying from hunger, when he stumbled upon a convent of sorts. The Bishop was the only one that offered him food and a warm, safe place to stay for the night. Once everyone was asleep, Jean Val Jean stole all the valuable silver and took off.  The Bishop’s wife was clearly unhappy when they woke to find that they had been robbed by the man they showed compassion to, but soon the police showed up with Jean Val Jean in chains. They showed the bag of stolen goods to the Bishop and told the bishop that the man said the bag of silver was a gift. This is where the movie gets good. The Bishop looked down at the pathetic, guilty, and angry Jean Val Jean and told the police that the man was telling the truth! That the silver WAS a gift and then said to Jean Val Jean, “You forgot I gave these also, would you leave the best behind”? “They are worth more, surely you forgot them” and then gave him the expensive, highly valuable candlesticks while the police watched in disbelief. The Bishop thanked the police for doing their job and dismissed them. Once they left, he told Jean Val Jean that he saved his soul for God and to use the items to live a life of honesty. Bam.

Let me submit my definitions for Mercy and Grace:

Mercy: NOT getting what you deserve

Grace: Getting what you DON’T deserve

Obviously, if the Bishop wanted to send Jean Val Jean back to prison, he was totally in the right, no one would have blinked an eye. But he held back and didn’t let Jean Val Jean get the punishment he deserved. Mercy.

On top of that, now this is the “kicker” for me, on TOP of not giving the thief what he deserved, he gave him some good stuff, the expensive candle sticks! Grace.

What was this guy’s motive? He didn’t get anything for showing Mercy or Grace to someone so clearly undeserving, maybe a “good feeling” but that doesn’t last long when you have no income, or financial stability. He must have placed his value, personal significance, and security in something else. SomeTHING else, or someONE else.

It reminds me of this poem I read:

 

“Praise the Lord, my soul,
And forget not all his benefits—
Who forgives all your sins
And heals all your diseases,
Who redeems your life from the pit
And crowns you with love and compassion,
Who satisfies your desires with good things
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s…” (Psalms 103:2-5)

So God gives new life, brings a person out of “The Pit,” which is totally an act of mercy because we all do things or create situations that make “The Pit” a consequence of those actions…But he doesn't stop there, on top of that redemptive act, he gives good stuff, he satisfies our desires with good things and renews our youth! That’s crazy stuff. I imagine that really getting this concept is the stuff that life change is made out of.  I mean, how can someone so forgiven, or released from obvious guilt not live in amazing freedom, especially when he receives good stuff on top of that so he is equipped of living a free man’s life!?

Can we take this back to Les Mis for a quick minute? Because of one Bishop’s actions towards one man, how many people reaped the benefit? Here are a few examples: Jean Val Jean (now to be known as JVJ) created a business situation that gave many poor people work, JVJ saved the man under from the weight of the cart, JVJ saved Fantine from immediate death from the hands of a ruthless man, JVJ saved the orphan named Cosette, JVJ saved Marius from the French soldiers, and he saved Javert from the French Student’s revolt. All these people received the benefits of the Bishop’s selfless act of releasing his rights in order to give Mercy and Grace.

Man, personally, it is easier for me to show Mercy to people than to show Grace (please note I specifically wrote "easier...than"). I can relent, but to relent AND be kind on top of it…it is a painful struggle I normally lose. Sometimes, there is not even a struggle. I am an example of a “work in progress.” Ah, but a work in progress is still a work in progress so there is hope! Are you with me?!

Alright, video time! I like this band, and I love this song (I do not own this video)!

 

What if?

When tragedy suddenly and fiercely bears down on a community or a nation, people look for answers. I doubt that there is ever a satisfactory answer to the question of “Why?” What explanation is ever good enough for the loss of a precious life? There is a question of “What if” that perhaps may help with preventing future events of evil.

What if a community turned in on itself to love one another?  Not with a passive love, only a proactive, inconvenient love can truly combat hate and evil.  Instead of turning to a governmental power, or professional entity for help, we would take pride in caring for our own.  

What if we saw a problem and became peacemakers instead of people that placate (one does what is needed for real peace, the other appeases to smooth over an issue but doesn’t necessarily fix the problem)?  This would imply that we have to know our neighbors, to love them and to be willing to get in their business, or worse, to allow them into ours. What if we weren’t concerned with the messiness implied in really knowing our neighbors?

What if we had a history of kindness with a person before we pointed out a flaw?

What if we ruthlessly loved people so that there is no doubt that love is the motive of the addressing person, making it perhaps a little easier to receive correction as the instigator?

What if we stopped blaming “things” as evil, but address the heart of the issue?

What if we remember that love is not just a good feeling but often has to be fought for?

What if grace (getting what I do not deserve) and mercy (not getting what I deserve) were not just actions I demand or desire from others, but became the characteristics of a lifestyle that I extend to others?

What if we created an atmosphere for people to be honest about their issues, so that they could then begin to address them? What if this didn’t take place in a secret AA meeting, or in the expensive office of a psychologist, but this conversation begins in a neighbor’s home where people sit side to side as equals?

What if I didn't ask these questions because I knew that I would have pressure from my peers to prove I really want answers?

I am sure that there are tons of people who have already asked these questions (perhaps even determined them to void of substance) and are already on this road to actively finding answers but I don’t have the answers. These are the questions I am asking myself. I want more for my community, Modesto, than what we have currently settled for. Confession:  I definitely have the Type A personality, all in or nothing, so when I see huge problems that I cannot fix I don’t attempt to do anything. Or, I think if no one else is going to help, if this doesn’t become a “movement”, then trying to do anything by myself is futile.  However, I am now beginning to think that true community change cannot happen by a temporary movement or by an organization, but only when individuals seek answers to the social problems they are confronted with and then are willing to be uncomfortable and act accordingly. What if as situations come up, I will consider them opportunities, and not inconveniences, that I will have the audacity to claim love from a Higher Power, and be willing to be uncomfortable. It may take a while, and if you know me, then you know it is unlikely that I will ever come even close to perfecting any acts of love, I am flawed, but….what if I try?