Les Mis

We coordinated with our dear friends to see Les Mis together yesterday. The parents took up four seats in one row. Our kids took up the four seats right in front of us on the next row. Afterwards, we all went out to dinner. We left our little kids out of this event, since we knew that the content of this musical was too grown-up for them. 

Some of the songs were very familiar, and I had a basic story line in my mind, but it has been years since hearing the songs or seeing the film, and I had never seen the whole story played out on Broadway. Therefore, I was totally blown away by the spiritual elements and all the redemptive messages. 

From the first note of the orchestra, I was captured and transported. Les Mis is going to be competing with Hadestown as a favorite musical. 

And having just read about justice and equity and forgiveness in Aristotle's Rhetoric this week and then rereading it all yesterday morning before leaving for the play, the timing of the story could not have been more perfect. 

Obviously, I believe in mercy and forgiveness in my mind, because of what Christ has done for my soul and all the Scripture I have read through the years. But interestingly, after reading Aristotle this week, something huge and monumental shifted in my heart. Aristotle actually demonstrates through argument how mercy is quite reasonable given all the reasons why people do what they do, and the fact that we all commit injustices. No one is without sin, which leads back to Jesus and the Scriptures and all I know, because of God's forgiveness to me and His goodness in my own life. So this musical contrasting justice and mercy really landed for me yesterday in a way that only God could orchestrate. 

The wonder of God's perfect justice and mercy astounds me!