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Gorsehillian Hello there
We still have at home a copy of the Disney Classic Beauty and the Beast. Disney hailed it as the greatest animated film of all time. Disney has it that Belle the young girl from the village finds herself imprisoned in the castle of a mysterious beast. A delightful and tender romance develops between these two unlikely friends. The friendship turns to love, and the beast becomes handsome once again.
The story’s familiar not because it’s a fairy story but because it reminds us of our own humanity. We all wrestle with the beast inside of us. Writer Somerset Maugham put it "If I wrote down every thought I have ever thought, and every deed I have ever done, me would call me a monster of depravity." Our deeds can be ugly, or actions can be harsh, we don’t do what we want to do, we don’t like what we do. The French writer Michael de Montaigne put it.’ There is no man so good, who, where he to submit all his thoughts and actions to the laws, would not deserve hanging ten times in his life.’
The Bible gives us a truth to announce, which is the deep resonance of the reality of what God is doing in the cross of Jesus. The other week I found myself lost in Bristol, I was looking for Broadmead, and I was totally lost, I didn’t need someone to keep reminding me I was lost I needed a guide I could trust. J.John the British Church leader put it. ‘Jesus didn’t come to rub it in that mankind was sinful he came to rub out the sin in mankind.’ The task of an individual believer and the Church is to be the irrefutable demonstration that God in Jesus through the events of the cross, was doing something to deal with the beast in all of us.
In the fable Beauty and the Beast, Beauty kisses the beast. The Bible story of Jesus goes further, he becomes the beast, so that we the beasts can become the beautiful ones. Jesus changes places with us, the Bible reminds us that ‘he [Jesus] changed places with us and put himself under the curse [of sin].’ Galatians Ch 3 v 13. The next time you read or watch Beauty and the Beast just ask your self these questions’ What would have happened if Beauty had not come to the castle of the Beast? What would have happened if Beauty had not cared?
Tim Hughes has a song called Wonderful so Wonderful. The chorus goes ‘Beautiful One I love, Beautiful One I adore, Beautiful One my soul must sing.’ The cross of Jesus tells that the Beautiful One Jesus did care, did come, and does cure our sin sickness So,as one of the early Church leaders put it.’ We celebrate not our sickness, but our cure.’ What we celebrate we need to offer to others, because our behaviour is always an echo of our belief.
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