Coming Out of Ruin

Have you ever known some one who fell deeply into sin, only to overcome the failure and become a champion for God?

A couple of weeks ago, Rhesa and I were offered a pair of tickets to the acclaimed Broadway musical, Les Miserables. Accepting the tickets was a bit of a moral dilemma, as our small group was already scheduled to meet on the night of the show. Yet, after about 15 seconds of wrestling and reflection, we painfully came to the conclusion that we would go! HA!

First of all…seeing a Broadway production of a legendary classic is…a transcendent experience. The precision of the orchestra, the execution of the A/V, lighting, and props, the seemingly effortless high notes that bellow from the chest of the singer/actors – all of these meld together in perfect harmony to tell a story in song whose intent is to affect the viewers forever.

This was my first time to see Les Miserables live. I had seen the movie with Liam Neeson on several occasions and had listened to the soundtrack with some frequency in college…but I had never seen the story unfold in the drama of a theater with live players on the stage. And as much as a person goes to a Broadway show to be entertained, I was amazed at how transformative and captivating the experience was for me.

If you’re not familiar with the story line, it goes something like this.

(excerpts taken from the official website: http://www.lesmis.com/

Jean Valjean, released from prison on parole after 19 years on the chain gang, finds that the yellow ticket-of-leave he must, by law, display condemns him to be an outcast. Only the saintly Bishop of Digne treats him kindly and Valjean, embittered by years of hardship, repays him by stealing some silver. Valjean is caught and brought back by police, and is astonished when the Bishop lies to the police to save him, also giving him two precious candlesticks. Valjean decides to start his life anew.

Eight years have passed and Valjean, having broken his parole and changed his name to Monsieur Madeleine, has risen to become both a factory owner and Mayor. One of his workers, Fantine, has a secret illegitimate child. When the other women discover this, they demand her dismissal. The foreman, whose advances she has rejected, throws her out. Desperate for money to pay for medicines for her daughter, Fantine sells her locket, her hair, and then joins the whores in selling herself. Utterly degraded by her new trade, she gets into a fight with a prospective customer and is about to be taken to prison by Javert, the chief of police, when "The Mayor" arrives and demands she be taken to a hospital instead. The Mayor then rescues a man pinned down by a runaway cart. Javert is reminded of the abnormal strength of convict 24601 Jean Valjean, a parole-breaker whom he has been tracking for years, but who, he says, has just been recaptured. Valjean, unable to see an innocent man go to prison in his place, confesses to the court that he is prisoner 24601. At the hospital, Valjean promises the dying Fantine to find and look after her daughter Cosette. Javert arrives to arrest him, but Valjean escapes.

Young Cosette has been lodged for five years with the Thenardiers who run an inn, horribly abusing the little girl whom they use as a skivvy while indulging their own daughter, Eponine. Valjean finds Cosette fetching water in the dark. He pays the Thernardiers to let him take Cosette away and takes her to Paris. But Javert is still on his tail...

Nine years later there is a great unrest in the city because of the likely demise of the popular leader General Lamarque, the only man left in the Government who shows any feeling for the poor. The urchin Gavroche is in his element mixing with the whores and beggars of the capital. Among the street gangs is one led by Thernardier and his wife, which sets upon Jean Valjean and Cosette. They are rescued by Javert, who does not recognize Valjean until after he has made good his escape. The Thernardiers' daughter Eponine, who is secretly in love with the student Marius, reluctantly agrees to help him find Cosette, with whom he has fallen in love. At a political meeting in a small cafe, a group of idealistic students prepare for the revolution they are sure will erupt on the death of General Lamarque. When Gavroche brings the news of the General's death, the students, led by Enjolras, stream out into the streets to whip up popular support. Only Marius is distracted by thoughts of the mysterious Cosette. Cosette is consumed by thoughts of Marius, with whom she has fallen in love. Valjean realizes that his "daughter" is changing very quickly but refuses to tell her anything of her past. In spite of her own feelings for Marius, Eponine sadly brings him to Cosette and then prevents an attempt by her father's gang to rob Valjean's house. Valjean, convinced it was Javert who was lurking outside his house, tells Cosette they must prepare to flee the country. On the eve of the revolution the students and Javert see the situation from their different viewpoints; Cosette and Marius part in despair of ever meeting again; Eponine mourns the loss of Marius; and Valjean looks forward to the security of exile.

The students prepare to build the barricade. Marius, noticing that Eponine has joined the insurrection, sends her with a letter to Cosette, which is intercepted at the Rue Plumet by Valjean. Eponine decides, despite what he has said to her, to rejoin Marius at the barricade.

The barricade is built and the revolutionaries defy an army warning that they must give up or die. Gavroche exposes Javert as a police spy. In trying to return to the barricade Eponine is shot and killed. Valjean arrives at the barricades in search of Marius. He is given the chance to kill Javert, but instead lets him go.

The students settle down for a night on the barricade and, in the quiet of the night, Valjean prays to God to save Marius from the onslaught which is to come. The next day, with ammunition running low, Gavroche runs out to collect more and is shot. The rebels are all killed, including their leader, Enjolras. Valjean escapes into the sewers with the unconscious Marius. After meeting Thernardier, who is robbing the corpses of the rebels, he emerges into the light only to meet Javert once more. He pleads for time to deliver the young man to a hospital. Javert decides to let him go and, his unbending principles of justice having been shattered by Valjean's own mercy, he kills himself by throwing himself into the swollen River Seine. A number of Parisian women come to terms with the failed insurrection and its victims. Unaware of the identity of his rescuer, Marius recovers in Cosette's care.

Valjean confessed the truth of his past to Marius and insists that after the young couple are married, he must go away rather than taint the sanctity and safety of their union. At Marius' and Cosette's wedding the Thernardiers try to blackmail Marius. Thernardier says Cosette's "father" is a murderer and, as proof, produces a ring which he stole from the corpse in the sewers the night the barricades fell. It is Marius' own ring, and he realizes it was Valjean who rescued him that night. He and Cosette go to Valjean, where Cosette learns for the first time of her own history before the old man dies in peace. As he dies the song on his lips is sung…

And lead me to salvation.

Take my love, for love is everlasting.

And remember, the truth that once was spoken.

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

What a touching story of both tragedy and a life risen from the rubble. Such is the story of Samson. Last week, we saw the great Samson break God’s covenant and fall from a very high pedestal. Yet, even in the ruin of his own sin, Samson, both blind and bald, makes a choice to pull down the pillars of his unfaithfulness and restore his vow to the Lord.

Where are you today in your walk with God? Are you like Valjean in Les Miserables, a man or woman who has been at the breaking point of sin, only to rise up and pull the pillars down to live a new, changed life? Or are you more like Javert, a person so bent on righteousness that there’s no place in your heart for love or forgiveness or mercy? Wherever you are, focus your worship this week on the unchanging truth that God forgives all sin in Jesus Christ…and more strikingly, he raises us up to a new life in his service!

Resounding Themes:
A Reconciling God
Jesus, the True Restorationist
Pulling Down the Pillars of Sin Thru Confession
Forgiveness

Ready, Set, READ

Judges 16:22-31

Ready, Set, MEDITATE

- After the fall of Samson, his blinding, and being shackled in chains, what ray of hope does the writer give us about his condition? What possible reasons could there be for including this tidbit of the story? Knowing what Samson has done, is this shocking? Warranted? For Samson, what did the growing back of his hair symbolize? What about for us today?

- After Samson is subdued, where is he taken? Why is this ironic for Samson? What do the people say and do with Samson? Again, what is the irony in this for Samson?

- In his final moments, what does Samson decide to do? By what strength does he do it? How does he regain his strength to stand up against God’s enemies once again? What is Samson’s fate? In your opinion, is this a just ending for Samson? Why or why not? Do you see any parallels with this part of Samson’s life and the story of Jesus? Why or why not? Are you in need of pulling down the pillars of sin in your own life?

Ready, Set, PRAY

Father of marvelous light, we come to You and wither in the presence of Your majesty. For in your presence, none can stand in their sinful ways. We confess our sins to you, O God. Our pride, selfishness, greed, lusts…all of these we bring to You and pray in the power of your mighty servant David:

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge. Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place. Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice. Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity. Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you. Save me from bloodguilt, O God, the God who saves me, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness. O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

Righteous God, as we pull down the pillars of sin that tower over us, restore to us forgiveness and the joy of Your precious salvation! In Jesus name, AMEN.

Ready, Set, WORSHIP!