The following piece contains some mild Les Misérables spoilers.
n an Odeon cinema in Kingston town, I wept. Nothing to do with the singing or facial
contorƟons of Hugh Jackman and Russell Crowe. Rather, it was the visualisaƟon of
God’s kingdom that first captured my heart nine years ago, evoked so beauƟfully in
Tom Hooper’s Oscar-nominated adaptaƟon of Les Misérables, that broke me.
As other reviews aƩest, Valjean’s tale is one of life-changing grace that reaches out
to all, redeeming and transforming. Yet the moƟvaƟons behind each of the plot
lines tell of a bigger story. FanƟne’s fall into poverty to pay the debt of supporƟng
her daughter, the revoluƟonary students’ belief in a naƟon of equality even,
ulƟmately, at the expense of their own lives, and Valjean’s rescue of CoseƩe, Javert
and Marius all speak of the other-centred life – where there is no greater love than
to lay down one’s life for one’s friends (John 15:13), even those unknown to us.
Of course, violent revoluƟon is not the model by which our Prince of Peace directs
His kingdom. SƟll, my hope remains that despite a Ɵme where the church has been
said to be ‘out of touch’ those who see this film may see a beauty – something of
the presence of the kingdom – in lives poured out for others, where not our will is
done but His, with God enlivening believers and sƟrring belief in the hearts of those
lost and without hope - as Herbert Kretzmer’s lyrics express it:
Do you hear the people sing
Lost in the valley of the night?
It is the music of a people
Who are climbing to the light.
For the wretched of the earth
There is a flame that never dies.
Even the darkest night will end
And the sun will rise.
They will live again in freedom
In the garden of the Lord.
They will walk behind the ploughshare;
They will put away the sword.
The chain will be broken
And all men will have their reward.
Will you join in our crusade?
Who will be strong and stand with me?
Somewhere beyond the barricade
Is there a world you long to see?
Do you hear the people sing?
Say, do you hear the distant drums?
It is the future that they bring
When tomorrow comes...
Tomorrow comes!
Jay Butcher (L.I.CC)
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