Les Misérables: God’s Redeeming Love

It was London, 1995.

The theater was small by American standards which created an intimacy between audience and actors that was palpable. The production was dark and intense, gritty and raw, and then there were moments of utter brokenness and beauty. There was indeed great suffering endured, but also great love. By the time we heard “Bring Him Home,” we were so moved we began to weep, and we knew this artistic experience changed us. It was a night we would never forget.

This was my introduction to the musical Les Misérables. I had never read the novel, but I knew the famous plot points. When the show premiered in 1985, I remember thinking- why, and how on earth would you make a musical out of this lengthy, depressing story? Who would want to see that? Hugo, like Dickens in England, created this story to articulate the plight of the poor and the destitute- the miserable. In the novel, Hugo states, “according to one English statistic, the primary cause of four out of five thefts in London is hunger.” Where once the French fought for freedom, now they fought for bread.

While few of us have gone to prison, much less served 5 years for stealing a loaf of bread, we can relate to Valjean’s struggle to understand himself and the fallen world in which he lives.

The beauty of any great piece of theater is its ability to help us connect with our humanity as we see ourselves in the characters and the story played out before us. One of the central questions the characters in this story ask is, “Who am I?” This is a universal question, is it not? Are we merely the sum of our deeds? Javert certainly thinks so, and it is a worldview which ultimately destroys him. “Who am I?” Is the persona we present to the world a reality, or a mask that covers our shame and hides the person we are so others won’t see? At the end of the day, the greater question isn’t “Who am I?”, but “Who is God?”

And, is He most concerned with the outward- our deeds, our pretense, our performance? Are we to walk under the Law, daily shrouded in guilt and in fear of retribution because of the choices we have made? Javert would say unequivocally, yes. And at the beginning of the story, Valjean would agree. But as Valjean experiences God’s grace and forgiveness through the mercy of the Bishop, he learns

What we see throughout the story of Les Misérables is the power of God’s love to transform people- the convict, the prostitute, the abandoned. When Valjean is released from prison, he is surprised to discover his freedom is an illusion. He resides in spiritual bondage, wrestling with the darkness that is still consuming him. However, once forgiven and freed from his spiritual bondage, Valjean is then able to show love and mercy to those in his community. “For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” Galatians 5:13-15

Who is God? He is the one who sets us free from the Law, and lays before us a journey on which we will become more like Jesus, leaving the past in the past.

Once we know who God is, the most important question becomes, “Who am I in Him?” Or put another way, “What is my identity in Christ?” Valjean’s journey is summed up in Romans 8:37, “We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” He learns your past does not define you, you are not who you were, and because of who you are in Christ, you are not all who you will be.  This is the gospel message!  Thanks be to God who offers us a way out of the prison of our sin; through Jesus, we are adopted into His family and become heirs with Christ.  And being sons and daughters of God, we must take the love of God and share it with others.  Hugo’s benediction says it well,

“To love another person is to see the face of God.”

The CCA theater department is proud to present Les Misérables to our community March 21-23, 2019.  Here is a snapshot from a February 7th rehearsal.