I didn't know superheroes can sing, and sing very well at that. Hugh Jackman aka Wolverine of X-Men mesmerized me with his vocal prowess singing his soul out as Jean Valjean in the cinematic take of the famed Les Miserables opera. So did the other protagonist Russell Crowe, in fact so did all the rest of the supporting cast, whose voices blended in rich resonance to re-tell Victor Hugo's famous classic tale of a thief who after his release breaks parole, but made good, yet is haunted or rather hunted down by his old jailor amidst the background of pre-French Revolution social activism. I barely noticed how long the show was, although for some people I am sure it was a drag, as 3 hours of continuous song and dance can be pretty boring if you don't particularly fancy musicals. Personally, I enjoyed not only the excellent voices, especially the duets and harmonies, but also the fine acting, which i venture touched many a heart in the audience as i heard sniffles besides my own.
After all who can fail to be affected by the vivid realism portrayed of the oppression of so-called lower classes of society - the convicts, prostitutes, poor and hungry dying on the streets? Who will not be aroused to sympathize with the idealism espoused by the young, even kids, willing to believe in and die defending a cause bigger than themselves? Who will not root for a fallen hero who finds his redemption becoz someone chose to show him mercy instead of the condemnation he knows he deserves? Even the 'villain' attracts sympathy; we can fault Javert the cop for being over-zealous in applying the law, but we can't fault him for being right to execute his duty under the law.
It really doesn't matter why the law was broken or that amends were made, the point is the law was broken which consequence is punishment. That's what makes law law. The fact that Jean stole bread for his sister's son, served his 19 years, turned over a new leaf to become a good compassionate guy, fulfilling his promise to a dying prostitute to take care of her only daughter, saving someone's life, even refusing to take revenge on his jailor who insists on making his life hell, cannot take away the facts that he did break parole, he did steal (again), and he did live a life of deception as far as the law was concerned. A good prosecutor will tell you all that 'emo' stuff only goes towards mitigation and a fair judge would still have to pass sentence. That's why Javert is so right, and Jean knew it. The climatic moment was his cry as he pondered whether to let an innocent man be blamed for his offense - Who am I?
Who are we? Surely there must come a time in everyone's life we are faced with that question. Are we really that 'nice' 'harmless' person we profess to be and indeed for all intents and purposes appear to be? Well, I dunno about you, but I am no criminal for sure. I don't kill, murder, plunder. I give to charity, volunteer my Saturdays feeding the poor, and am even kind to stray cats. So...big deal, God's prophet pronounces the truth - 'The heart (that's me, by the way) is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?" (Jer.17:9). Who am I trying to kid but myself? When I am inclined to pat myself on the back for being 'so' good, my memory bank screams out an alert regarding all the 'bad' I have accumulated over 50 years of living, and once again I am reminded of how great is the mercy I have received from God that He hasn't punished me as I deserve. Like the bishop who chose to cover up for Jean even tho he was guilty of stealing his benefactor's silverware and declared, '...My brother....You no longer belong to evil...I have ransomed you from fear and hatred, and now I give you back to God', I am reminded that's exactly what Jesus did for me. If I were to pinpoint the most significant moment of the movie, I would say this was it - the point when a man, knowing he has run afoul of the law, deserving and expecting punishment, instead gets saved by the very hands of the one he wronged. He was shown mercy and given grace. Someone put it very simply "Mercy is when you don't get what you deserve, and grace is when you get what you don't deserve". That's what a convict got - instead of rotting in prison, he was set free, instead of death, he got to live. And Jean Valjean learnt the lesson well - he in turn extended mercy and grace to his arch enemy Javert when he could have killed him off, held as he was as a prisoner of the rebel upstarts.
And so it is with the rest of us . Jean Valjean is but a reflection of the entire human race. All of us already stand (rightfully) condemned before God's court of law for there is no one who can ever claim to have done zero wrong (whether it is 'big' or 'small' wrong, is still wrong). So if God were like Javert, He would have - indeed He has - every good reason and right to refuse to let us live , since the divine law prescribes that the wages of sin is death. Someone commented on the incomprehensibility of Javert walking away and ultimately committing suicide when he clearly had the upper hand over Jean as the latter was desperately trying to rescue his adopted daughter's wounded boyfren. He could have either arrested Jean on the spot or postponed the arrest as requested, why instead did he have to kill himself? If we can't 'get' it, that means we have failed to appreciate the tension tugging at Javert's heart. We fail to see that he really couldn't live with either option. To arrest Jean meant condemning the one to whom he owed his life. To let Jean go free meant he would be condoning the breaking of the law of which he was sworn to uphold. He said it himself - 'it's a pity the law doesn't allow me to be merciful'. So our tormented tormentor throws himself into the raging sea to end the dilemma of choice.
So it is with God as He looks on our sinful estate. If He lets man off the hook, He is breaking His own law. If He exercises just judgment, He has to punish man to death, in effect destroying the beloved 'crown jewel' of His creation - us. Someone put it very simply - God loves us but He cannot Not punish us, if He is to be a just God. I am reminded of how my mom used to run after me with a cane whenever I got into mischief - which was often enuf. I had no doubt she loved me, but she didn't spare the rod. Thankfully we don't have to run from God, for He Himself provided the escape route for us, yet at the same time fulfilling His law. In His grace and mercy He spared us, but He requited the punishment due us onto Jesus Christ. Certainly it wasn't fair on Jesus. But it was never about fairness with God; it's always been about justice and mercy. At the cross justice kissed mercy, and man is enabled to be reconciled to God.
We can only come to the Cross when we realize the import of this truth as we see ourselves the way God sees us. And when we do, there is only 1 appropriate response to the mercy and grace of God available to all. The bishop not only didn't condemn the thief, he went 1 step further to give him the very best silver-ware still in the house. Jean Valjean couldn't understand it, but on his knees, he received his redemption. At the end of the day, that's all we can do too.
"He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" ... 2 Corinthians 5:21
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