To Believe is To See: A Reflection on Les Miserables

The movie Les Misérables meaning “The Miserable Ones” is a musical portrayal of the French Revolution that happened more than 200 years ago. The musical film is an epic tale showing the different faces of the poorest of the poor and their sufferings throughout their lives. There are four main characters in the story namely Fantine, a factory worker that later on became a prostitute; Jean Valjean who is a convict but given another chance by a priest to change his life; Javert, Valjean’s arch enemy and Cosette, the naïve daughter of Fantine. The story focuses on one man’s conversion and how an experience of God’s mercy can change a person’s life.

Few days have passed but I’m still unpacking the impact of this movie to me. There are lots of remarkable scenes in the film but what I love the most is the scene where a priest found the protagonist Jean Valjean sleeping outside in the cold. He then invites Valjean into his rectory and treats him as an honored guest. Jean Valjean stayed for the night and while the priest sleeps, he makes off with all the silver he can carry. The police catch him and was brought before the priest. At this point, the priest does something extraordinary, he called Jean Valjean his friend and gave him the candlesticks along with the stolen silverware as a gift. He blessed Jean Valjean and commended his soul to God; this encounter is a turning point for Jean Valjean. The clarity to truly see the person before him and not just a convict required the eyes that are well-acquainted with the biblical view of things. I believe that the key lies in the priest’s gaze—a gaze which showed generosity, mercy and forgiveness. This gaze helped Jean Valjean to see himself in a new way.

Cosette

I didn’t expect that this epic musical film would also affect my prayer life. After seeing the movie, every time that I pray or talk to God I always include the people who need mercy and justice just like the characters in Les Misérables. Both the characters of Jean Valjean and Javert believe that they are serving God in their own way: Valjean’s actions are motivated out of love and Javert’s are motivated out of justice and obligation. This resulted to a question that wouldn’t leave my mind, “Do I do good things, avoid committing sin and practice Catholic virtues because I’m obliged to? Or am I doing these things because of my love for God?” I’m not sure of my answer so I talked to God and asked Him to help me to know the answer for my question and then I realized that God loves me from the beginning and is steadfast and unfailing even when I am at my worst.

God’s love for us is unconditional and unfailing—we do not have to perform or live up to certain expectations to receive His love.  In our personal lives, we may always strive to be good enough, interesting enough or attractive enough to be accepted and liked by others, but with God all we need to do is to trust and have faith in Him. God says, “When you call Me, I will answer.” This is a strong affirmation; there are no limitations, no strings attached, just a simple and pure promise. This is what unconditional love is about—it is all about God being there for us, day and night, year after year, during the highs and the lows of our life.  Will we always get the answer we want? Probably not, but then God, like a good parent, knows what is best for us; His answers are the right ones and He will always provide us the love we need.

We live in a world where a proof is needed first before we believe in something. People want to make sure that they are not fooled just like what magicians do to them. Unlike God’s unfailing love, we must believe in it first before we could feel and experience His love. Jesus once said, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”