Tonight, I watched "Les Miserables in Concert" for the umpteenth time, and, once again, I was overwhelmed by the story and the music. If you have never seen it, I encourage you to do so. It features an outstanding cast of singers/performers, and the music is beyond expressing. It is the story, though, that touches my heart again and again. It is an incredible tale of redemption, but there are two characters who steal the show: Jean Valjean and Javert. These men truly illustrate the differences between relationship and religion.
Jean Valjean grows up poor and ends up going to jail for stealing food for his starving family. Javert (born in prison to a jailed prostitute) is the self-righteous constable who imprisons Valjean. When Valjean is released from prison and put on parole, he finds himself at the house of a priest who feeds, clothes, and shelters him. During the night, Valjean steals the priest's silver and flees. He is brought back by two officers of the law, but the priest insists he gave Valjean the silver and sends the officers on their way. The priest informs Valjean that he has bought his soul for God.
This moment of mercy changes Valjean's life forever. The priest had the power to send him back to prison. He had every right to send him back to prison. And yet, he let Valjean go. It is in this moment that Valjean sees the darkness of his heart, but he also sees the depths of God's forgiveness. He breaks his parole and goes on the run. He eventually adopts a false identity, becomes mayor of a small town, and owns a factory that employs hundreds of workers. Javert spends all his years chasing Valjean.
There are many similarities between the two men: both are born into extreme poverty, both rise to greatness and wealth, and both develop a deep faith in God. That is where the similarities stop.
Jean Valjean's life became a blessing to others. He was concerned about his employees in a time when the poor were not valued. He showed kindness to a sick prostitute by housing her, caring for her, and adopting her child. He refused to let an innocent man go to prison in his stead, although it would have been the easier route. He knew that his life was not his own, and he gave all glory to God.
Javert, who had lived a "righteous" life before God, used his religion as a weapon. He bullied those he saw as sinful, and he refused to believe that a man like Valjean could change. He had all the benefits of living a good life without enjoying any of the richness.
The ending of their lives is very interesting. Jean Valjean holds Javert's life in his hands, but he lets him go. Here was the man who had made his life hell - he had chased him for years without end, but, instead, he offers him forgiveness and lets him go. Javert is in shock. These are the words he sings in his disbelief*:
Who is this man?
What sort of devil is he
To have me caught in a trap
And choose to let me go free?
It was his hour at last
To put a seal on my fate
Wipe out the past
And wash me clean off the slate!
All it would take
Was a flick of his knife
Vengeance was his
And he gave me back my life!
Damned if I'll live in the debt of a thief!
Damned if I'll yield at the end of the chase.
I am the Law, and the Law is not mocked
I'll spit his pity right back in his face
There is nothing on earth that we share
It is either Valjean or Javert!
How can I now allow this man
To hold dominion over me?
This desperate man whom I have hunted
He gave me my life. He gave me freedom.
I should have perished by his hand
It was his right.
It was my right to die as well
Instead I live... but live in hell.
And my thoughts fly apart
Can this man be believed?
Shall his sins be forgiven?
Shall his crimes be reprieved?
And must I now begin to doubt,
Who never doubted all these years?
My heart is stone and still it trembles
The world I have known is lost in shadow.
Is he from heaven or from hell?
And does he know
That granting me my life today
This man has killed me even so?
I am reaching, but I fall
And the stars are black and cold
As I stare into the void
Of a world that cannot hold
I'll escape now from the world
From the world of Jean Valjean
There is nowhere I can turn
There is no way to go on...
Javert had lived so long dependent upon his own righteousness. He may have acknowledged God, but he never accepted the all-encompassing love of God. He couldn't live in a world where sinful people could be forgiven. Javert committed suicide. It is the story of the Pharisees told a little differently. Valjean recognized the wretchedness of his life, and the redemptive power of Jesus came alive to him all the more. Javert, who saw himself as righteous, was judgmental and rigid.
At the end of his long life, with his daughter and her husband beside him, Jean Valjean sings*:
Take my hand
And lead me to salvation
Take my love
For love is everlasting
And remember
The truth that once was spoken
To love another person
Is to see the face of God.
Javert, who had lived a life of boasting and judgment, left this world in anguish. Jean Valjean, who had lived a life devoted to serving God and loving his fellow man, left this world in peace, walking hand in hand with his Savior.
*The lyrics and music from "Les Miserables" are not mine. They belong to Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schonberg respectively.
