Jesus Christ Superstar

So our family and some friends saw a local production of Jesus Christ Superstar last night. Having never seen the production, I had been warned that it might be offensive, and some actually used the word blasphemous. I am publicly admitting today that I am either theatrically ignorant or more religiously tolerant than I thought. Or both.

In bullet points (because it's how I think and see the world) here are my observations:

• No one approaches the subject of Jesus' life without bringing a certain bias, and Andrew Lloyd Weber and Tim Rice are no exception. They are entitled to express their bias with their own creative and brilliant methods.

• The music of the 70's rocked!

• There is no biblical evidence for portraying Mary Magdalene as a woman with a sordid sexual past, but there it was. Again, I refer to my first point: you're the genius in theater - you get to portray the characters any way you like. Weber and Rice were certainly not the first, nor will they be the last to think of Mary as a former whore.

• Dan Brown (author of The DaVinci Code) probably loved this play. The whole Mary/Jesus love connection...I'm just sayin'.

• Jesus and Judas did die the same week. Fascinating premise to chronicle what that last week would have been like between them. (Also wondering how that era produced such high tenors that could melt your face with their singing. Who knew that's what Jesus and Judas had in common?)

• Staging the tongue in cheek numbers (think Herod in a spa and Judas in the all-sequined afterlife) just that way seemed apt in light of how off everyone was in their assessment of Jesus' purpose. Had Jesus jumped down off the cross to appease the crowd's thirst for sensationalism, everyone would have believed; but they would have believed in an incomplete Jesus. Bottom line: He had to die and rise to actually conquer sin and death. It wasn't the show-stopping number everyone anticipated. It was so much more. I miss it too, sometimes. "Prove you're who you say you are", I demand. As if this life is about me.

• I don't believe Jesus told the lepers, the lame, the poor, and the blind to heal themselves, as He did in the play, but I do believe He may have felt tempted to, if we're to believe Hebrews 4:15, which tells us that "we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are - yet was without sin."

• The song Jesus sang in the Garden of Gethsemane scene depicts every bit of anguish and desperation that I picture when I read the gospels. Gorgeous lyrics, heartbreaking delivery. What must that night have been like? Did it feel like Jesus was drinking poison to obey? How does that figure in with the description in Hebrews 12 that says Jesus endured the cross "for the joy set before him"? And what would it be like for me to have my mind so focused on an eternal perspective - so consumed with love for my Savior - that joy could be mingled with anguish? I think I've experienced that to some degree in my life at times, but nothing like Jesus.

So I think the 1973 movie might have to move up on my netflix list. Those rockin' disciples and their songs are going to be haunting me for a while.

Weighing In: Mandatory Retirement

It's time for Numbers in my trek through the Bible. For many, it's a book for skimming. And while there's a place for that, I'm noticing some fascinating details in this book of many details this time around.

And instead of my usual researching and pondering to find the answers to my periodic "huh?", I'm going to pose the questions to you, since I'm going to bet you skimmed this part the last time you read the 7th and 8th chapters of the book of Numbers.

Numbers 7 describes each tribe of Israel giving an offering for the newly consecrated Tent of Meeting. This is what each of the 12 tribes brings:

¹² The one who brought his offering on the first day was Nahshon son of Amminadab of the tribe of Judah.

¹³ His offering was one silver plate weighing a hundred and thirty shekels and one silver sprinkling bowl weighing seventy shekels,^[b] both according to the sanctuary shekel, each filled with the finest flour mixed with olive oil as a grain offering; ¹⁴ one gold dish weighing ten shekels, filled with incense; ¹⁵ one young bull, one ram and one male lamb a year old for a burnt offering; ¹⁶ one male goat for a sin offering; ¹⁷ and two oxen, five rams, five male goats and five male lambs a year old to be sacrificed as a fellowship offering. This was the offering of Nahshon son of Amminadab.

Each of the other tribes then brings exactly the same thing as an offering. So, here's my question:

Where did these wandering Jews in the desert get all this gold and silver when they ran for their lives in the middle of the night of Passover?

I think I have the answer to this, which highlights God's attention to detail, but I'll let you weigh in on this. (Get it? Weigh in? Anyway...)

Second "huh?" moment is in chapter 8:

²³ The LORD said to Moses, ²⁴ “This applies to the Levites: Men twenty-five years old or more shall come to take part in the work at the tent of meeting, ²⁵ but at the age of fifty, they must retire from their regular service and work no longer. ²⁶ They may assist their brothers in performing their duties at the tent of meeting, but they themselves must not do the work. This, then, is how you are to assign the responsibilities of the Levites.”

Mandatory retirement age is in the Bible! What? The Levites have to retire from duty on the tabernacle when they turn 50. Why do you suppose that is?

I'm going to be pondering the nature of work, the structure of society, and God's principles for His people as I let this one simmer. And I look forward to your insight, as well.

Evil

A couple of weeks ago I went to see a French film with a friend at the Seattle International Film Festival. It was called The Clink of Ice. The premise was fascinating. A writer named Charles has cancer and lives alone in an isolated house with his housekeeper (and his young Russian lover for a while, but that's incidental). His wife and son have left him and he drinks wine all day long. One day a man comes to the house and introduces himself as his cancer. The movie then follows Charles as his relationship with the incarnation of his cancer evolves and forces him to reevaluate many aspects of his life. It's not pretty.

Eventually, the housekeeper also develops cancer and so the house now has a dynamic of four instead of two. Charles and Louisa (the housekeeper). Charles and his cancer. Louisa and her cancer. And brain cancer with breast cancer.

Why am I telling you all this?

What has stuck with me since I saw the movie were lines that Charles' cancer kept repeating: Evil always wins. Evil will always be here. His message seemed to be that no matter how many regrets you have in life - no matter how much more time you'd like to have to live your dreams and make things right - cancer doesn't care. It is, in fact, one of life's great equalizers.

And last week, as part of my family and I sat in on the trial for my sister-in-law's murderer, I went back to the lines of the movie and wondered: is it true?

Does evil win?

What do we do with the apparent injustice and depravity all around us?

Are we powerless against the forces of evil in this world? It's scary and disgusting out there.

Where is God when tragedy strikes?

I am happy to report that, even through my tears, God's truth penetrated my doubt. The truth of Scripture and the resonant truth of experience. Here are a few examples of what the Bible says about this:

"...the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world." (1 John 4:4)

"It is mine to avenge; I will repay...There is no god besides me. I put to death and I bring to life, I have wounded and I will heal, and no one can deliver out of my hand." (Deuteronomy 32:35, 39)

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." (John 4:27)

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹ Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. ¹³ Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand." (Ephesians 6:10-13)

"His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption of the world by evil desires." (2 Peter 1:3-4)

"...If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all - how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?...For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:31-32, 38-39)

"Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, for true and just are his judgments." (Revelation 19:1-2)

"...and hope does not disappoint us..." (Romans 5:5)

And there's much, much more. Our God is sovereign and victorious over evil. Read the book of Revelation. He wins, my friends. He wins. Even when the darkness seems profound, He is there, comforting and working out the details of our lives to bring Him glory and make us into the image of Christ.

As for experience, I know that my Redeemer lives because His Spirit is alive and active in me every day. I sense His promptings, His conviction, His inexplicable peace, and His assurance that He will never leave me or forsake me. I am a stronger, more loving person than I am capable of being. He holds me together when I would fall apart on my own. He loves me completely and holds me when I feel utterly alone. He's done it countless times in the past week alone.

Evil most certainly does not win.

Our Lord God Almighty reigns. And He has already won the victory. We just haven't seen all the acts of the play yet.

Yes, evil will always be here with us while we live on this earth. But when we have a relationship with the God of the universe through Jesus, we are more than victorious over the evil. He is our peace. He is our comfort. He is our advocate.

Cancer will never have the last word over an empty grave.

Jesus already beat death and sin.

They just don't know it yet.