Les Miserables: Mercy and the Law

I just finished watching the student production of “Les Misérables,” and I was deeply touched by the message of the production. The professionalism of actor’s performances and singing were also deeply moving.

I cannot help but reflect upon the timeless struggle between mercy and the law. In 1830, the July Revolution that was the basis for the play projected a rebellion by liberals and revolutionaries against the French monarchy. King Charles X limited freedom of the press as he sought to consolidate his power, especially after the upheavals of the French Revolution of 1789. Revolutionaries wants to establish a republic where the voice of the common person would be heard and honored.

The protagonist, Jean Valjean, at his lowest point of humanity, experiences the mercy of God through the local bishop who bought his soul for God. He then devoted his life to paying it forward as often as possible. His devotion to mercy pits him squarely against his antagonist, Javert, who is a police detective obsessed with the fulfilment of the law and the metering out of punishment in accordance with the legal system.

Often throughout this story, mercy and the law clash. The law provides comfort and is designed to assist in the freedom of individuals and the proper functioning of society, but it can be made into a god as well. Mercy is the law of God written into human hearts and it cannot be squashed. Mercy is the divine act in which we enter into the chaos of another person’s life and give them a glimpse of the divine. The story of every person must be heard.

Valjean was fearful of telling his story and he could not see his saintliness, which was based on always doing what was right. It is helpful to us to really listen to another person’s story and learn about the humble, insignificant ways that God has touched each person’s life. When Valjean’s story becomes known, we weep in gratitude. When we learn another person’s story, we weep and celebrate as well. This is mercy. It is entering into the chaos of another person.

Pope Francis is a champion of mercy within the church that can at times become laden with legalism, rigorism, and clericalism. His two most recent official teachings, “Amoris Laetitia,” (2016) and last month’s “Gaudete et Exsultate,” are his calls to holiness based upon the development of one’s valuesbased on mercy.

I invite you to read at the very least the latest one, “Rejoice and Be Glad” because it bases one’s daily holiness on the pursuit of the Beatitudes found in the Sermon on the Mount.

As Javert experienced, mercy can upend the teachings we hold as true, eternal, and changeless. As Valjean experienced, mercy saves lives and makes sense out of senseless situations.

The Pope is doing his best to advance the practice of mercy among the faithful lest we become mini-Javerts who hold onto church teachings merely because they have served an earlier time well enough. A law that is not based on mercy or does not engender mercy is no law at all. It is our responsibility to honor the law, to wrestle with it, to uphold it, and to change if it is necessary. The Pope is asking up to become Valjeans who are always forming and informing our consciences and choosing to do what is right.

Who are the Javerts in your life, your church, and what do they need? Who are the Valjeans in your world, your church, and what do they value? Valjeans walk the hallways and are found in the classroom and playing fields of BC High.

This is not a spoiler, but at the end of Les Misérables, as in everyday life, mercy has the last word over the law. Valjean’s life and all the misérables whose lives were killed by the law ends in glory while we pray for Javert’s life that was taken from him by the law. Few will forget the touching ending when the heavenly choruses acclaim, “and remember, the truth that once was spoken, to love another person is to see the face of God.”

We are fortunate at BC High to see God’s face every day.