Narrow Way, Broadway | Part IV | Blood Red

And for my biggest challenge yet on The Hidden Gospel - finding the Hidden Truths in Sweeney Todd. You know...the demon barber of Fleet Street? 

I debated for a while on whether or not to include this show in this series, but I must - it's been one of my favorites since Tim Burton's musical horror film starring Johnny Depp (whose blood-splattered, R-Rated movie poster hung on my pale purple bedroom wall) released in theatres when I was in the 9th grade. So, I decided to take a leap of Faith and see what I could find. I love finding God in all the places the church told me not to look.

"Where can I go from Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence? If I go up to the heavens, You are there; if I make my bed in the depths, You are there." ~ Psalm 139:7-8, NIV

"Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" ~ 1 Corinthians 15:55

For those of you not familiar with Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd, here is a brief synopsis: 

A revenge-hungry barber slits his patrons' throats and his girlfriend bakes them into meat pies. In the end, everyone dies. Everyone, that is, except the stray orphan boy they took in off the streets who loves gin. The end. 

Super dark, right? So what is there to sift from this? 

That those who kill by the sword, or rather - straight razor, will die by the sword straight razor? Sure, we could get into that. (See Matthew 26:50-52). 

Maybe it's the lessons about the death trap of revenge? Or perhaps we explore gouging out eyeballs and chopping off body parts? I suppose there are some metaphors there. In fact, Jesus Himself talks about these things in Matthew Chapter 5. 

We could follow the trail paved by Bible scholar Phyllis Trible in her book, Texts of Terror: "If art imitates life, scripture likewise reflects it in both holiness and horror," referring to the Rated-R scenes of the Bible, such as the gang-rape of a young girl who then got chopped up into 12 pieces and sent to each of the tribes of Israel, as recorded in Judges 19. Talk about outrageous...

A younger me would have jumped on the opportunity to connect the doctrine of Total Depravity to Mr. Todd's Epiphany - "They all deserve to die!"

But the word that has been ringing in my ear is... Faith. 

Faith /fāTH/

[noun] :
1. complete trust or confidence in someone or something;
2. confidence in what we Hope for and assurance about what we do not see [see also: Hebrews 11:1]

Our beloved gin-drinking child demonstrated great Faith - complete trust - in his 'Mum'. Have a listen: 

Nothing's gonna harm you, not while I'm around. 

Nothing's gonna harm you, no sir, not while I'm around. 

Demons are prowling everywhere nowadays;

I'll send 'em howling, I don't care, I got ways. 

The ballad is sang lovingly to Mrs. Lovett as Toby keeps careful watch over his shoulder for Mr. Todd. He knows the truth about Mr. Todd, but does not realize that his dear Mrs. Lovett has been his accomplice this whole time. Catching wind of his suspicions, Mrs. Lovett returns the ballad to calm him, and then decides to finally "show him the bakehouse." I know, right? Simply outrageous. Looks like his Faith in Mrs. Lovett failed him. 

This begs the question: Who, or what, are you putting your Faith in? 

Jesus spoke so much about Faith and its importance in our journey with Him. Nothing impressed Jesus so much as great Faith, and few things grieved Him so much as a lack thereof. He even went so far as to give credit for the miraculous healings recorded in the Gospels to His followers' Faith: "Take heart, daughter, your Faith has healed you." (Matthew 9:22, NIV)

Perhaps we can all agree that putting our Faith in worldly things - our savings account, our security systems, our relationships, our career or our status - ultimately runs the risk of failing us. But what happens when we put our Faith in, well, our Faith? Because here is the reality of it - sometimes even our Faith fails us. 

Hebrews 11 recounts the 'Faith Hall-of-Famers' - those characters throughout scripture who were awarded the medal of 'Great Faith' - from the somewhat outrageous Faith story of Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, to the First Century martyrs who would choose death over apostatizing their Faith in Jesus. Verse 6 even says that it is impossible to please God without Faith. 

But what about those who weren't named on the list? Did they please God? Take Simon-Peter; Peter's Faith failed him more than once, yet he was the disciple whom Jesus chose to build His church on - His 'Rock'. Let's take a look at a few of his most infamous moments:  

"Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. 'It's a ghost!' they said, and cried out in fear.

But Jesus immediately said to them: 'Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid.'

'Lord, if it's you,' Peter replied, 'tell me to come to you on the water.' 

'Come,' he said.

Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, 'Lord, save me!'

Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. 'You of little Faith,' he said, 'why did you doubt?' (Matthew 14:25-31, NIV) 

Here's another: 

"Jesus told them, 'This very night you will all fall away on account of me, for it is written: 'I will strike the shepherd and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.' But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.'

Peter replied, 'Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will.'

'Truly I tell you,' Jesus answered, 'this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.' 

But Peter declared, 'Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.'" (Matthew 26:31-35, NIV)

Spoiler alert: Peter definitely disowned him that night. Three times, in fact, before the break of dawn. 

What else do we put our Faith in that seems Good at first, but when taking the place of Jesus Himself tends to fail us? 

Much of my life I've worshipped the wrong Trinity; that is - the Father, the Son, and the Holy Scriptures. Not that these sacred Scriptures shouldn't be revered as holy - they absolutely should, as the test of time can affirm - but I think we should certainly be careful which 'Word' we give ultimate authority. 

Pastor Paul Dazet (Sandy Hook United Methodist Church, Columbus, Indiana) has also been recently reflecting on what he has truly built his Faith upon. In a recent article, he presents an interesting idea:

All Scripture is Inspired. But not all Scripture is equal. 

I chewed on this one for a while. It was a hard meat pie to swallow, but I think he's on to something. 

Paul Dazet argues that it is all too easy to use the Bible to explain Jesus, rather than using Jesus to interpret the Bible. When we stop centering on Jesus' life and start centering on everything around it, we 'flatten' the Gospel. 

His words reach a tender spot in my Storyteller heart: 

In the earliest days of the Church,
Before there was a New Testament,
Before creeds or confessions,
Before seminaries or denominations,
There were the Jesus Stories. 

His teachings.
His parables.
His healings.
His cross and resurrection.
His face turned toward the vulnerable.
His words that set captives free.

The first Christians didn't systematize these stories.
They didn't rush to organize them into doctrine.
They remembered Jesus.
They re-spoke His words.
They let the life of Christ become their life together.

And it changed the world. 

Have we made Faith harder than it needs to be? Have we turned "The Word" into something to study and control rather than a Person to know and to follow? 

You see, building a foundation on your own human Faith is sinking sand when the rain comes down, the streams rise, and the wind blows. By all means, hold onto these things; but let them point you toward Jesus, not take His place as the foundation.    

So what are we left with to build upon? Let me suggest this: The 'Blood-Red Letters'. 

"Heaven and Earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away." (Matthew 25:9, NIV)

"Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house upon the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock." (Matthew 7:24-25)

What if we take this for Truth? That Jesus' words, teachings, parables and examples - are all more sturdy than even our favorite Psalm? The one that, for me, sounds a whole lot like Toby's ballad:

"I will say of the LORD, 'He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.
Surely He will save you from the fowler's snare and from the deadly pestilence.
He will cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you will find refuge;
His faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. 
You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day,
nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday." (Psalm 91:2-6) 

It comes as no surprise to Jesus that our own Faith is so prone to fail us. He Knows. He gets it. Take a look at the grace He showed Peter just before his three notorious denials: 

"Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your Faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers." (Luke 22:24, NIV) 

It may serve that a momentary relapse of Faith is not a complete failure, after all, especially when we have Someone approaching the throne on our behalf. Notice that Jesus refers to him in this moment as Simon. Jesus knew that he would be in a Simon state of mind that night; it didn't change His mind about the calling He placed on Peter's life, however.  

Faith is not just listing - it's Listening. 

Pick a Gospel Story and sit with it for a while. Really Listen and encounter. And then, when the moment is right, go Tell The Story: 

"Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded of you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.'" (Matthew 28:16-20)