It is an amazing piece of theatre! Our family recently had a trip to the West End. The show was Les Misérables and this was the first time I’d seen it in London. I was completely drawn into the drama: so many characters, so many stories, so many wonderful songs. A powerful mixture of poverty, injustice, hope and love; by the end I was struggling to hold back the tears. No wonder it’s many people’s favourite musical. At the heart of the musical [spoiler alert!] is Jean Valjean - an ex-convict guilty of stealing bread to feed his sister’s child. At his lowest point, it looks like his life is as good as over; he is about to be sent back to prison and hard labour for stealing silver when his life is transformed. The elderly bishop, who had fed him and from whom he’d stolen the silver, tells the authorities that he gave Valjean the silver as a gift. More than that, the bishop gives Valjean his silver candlesticks too, saying Valjean had forgotten them. In that moment, Jean Valjean’s life changes direction. Not simply because of his new wealth. He is a changed man because of the remarkable, selfless, act of loving-kindness done by the bishop. Throughout the rest of the musical Jean Valjean repeatedly puts himself at risk, touching and changing the lives of others through acts of loving-kindness. In the middle of the misery and suffering, lives are saved and transformed, even if perfectly happy endings are in short supply. The Christian celebration of Easter has just passed. Easter Sunday follows the suffering and misery of Good Friday, when Jesus was violently executed on a wooden cross. In the early hours of Easter morning some women discover Jesus’ empty tomb. In the hours and days that follow many people meet the risen Jesus. Some get to examine his wounds, others talk with him, but all are changed by their encounter. In Jesus, God has overcome evil and death, so that we may always be with the God who loves us. Many stories are told of the many people whose lives were transformed by their encounter with the risen Jesus. We have some of them in the earliest writings of the bible. Other stories come to us through the tradition of the church. Most, if not all, of Jesus’ closest followers are believed to have suffered and died because of their desire to share the Good News that Jesus is alive and that in Jesus, God is with us and loves us and invites each one of us to share God’s love with each other and with the world. Selfless acts of loving-kindness continue to change lives; even where there is poverty and injustice, there is hope and love. The greatest act of loving-kindness is seen in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. We too can act in ways that are loving, because we have received love. We love because God loved us first. Happy Easter! |
Revd Stephen SpainSeasonal reflections Archives
April 2024
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