 | The New England Church PulpitNew England Congregational Church UCC |
"A BACKSTAGE VIEW" | John 20.19-33 | April 21, 2004 |
All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players.
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts... (As You Like It)
In Michael Frayn’s play ‘Noises Off’ the audience sees a play from two perspectives. The first act gives us a view of the storyline of the play within this play, and we see various people coming and going in the living room of the house. We hear the director stopping and starting, props being rearranged to better fit the blocking, and things, for the most part, seem smooth and the play is on its way to an exciting performance.
The second half of the play, however, is spent viewing the performance from backstage. The set is turned around, so we now see what happens when the actors are OFF stage and the audience sees what goes on–or what doesn’t go on–as the actors on and off the set during the performance. Missed cues, misplaced anchovies, an alcoholic gardener who keeps a supply in various places back stage, all play a part in the play’s failure to come off smoothly, at least from the perspective of those in it.
Knowing what it’s supposed to look like from the front view, we now see what really happens when things get mixed up behind the scene. We realize that what goes on backstage influences what happens on stage.
Garrison Keillor said, “We always have a backstage view of ourselves.” We let people see only the neatly arranged stage, but behind the curtain all kinds of things are lying around: old failures, hurts, guilt, disappointments, anger.
The interior of our lives–that backstage that is our mind and heart, our attitude, our perspective, our history, our goals–is an important place for people of faith. It is here that we rehearse the lives we portray on the daily stage at work, at home, in the neighborhood, among friends. This backstage of our lives influences the way we portray ourselves on the set of life, and it is imperative that we pay close attention to what’s going on there.
John’s gospel reminds us that we have a serious obligation on stage and backstage, an obligation we must not take lightly. “If you forgive anyone, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” We often forget the power we have over other people, and the influence our life has upon theirs. Words and actions, attitudes and perceptions affect the people around us in ways we may not always realize.
Consider it. How many times have we heard stories about a student who was perceived by her teacher to be dumb and to have no potential, and on the surface that is what seems to be the truth. But that same student, when affirmed by a teacher who believes in her, begins to achieve things no one thought possible. That same student, when encouraged in her potential, begins to believe in herself and the sky is the limit of what she can do. Both teachers have a profound effect on that student, one for the bad and one for the good. Each teacher comes to the stage of the classroom with a preconceived notion which powerfully affects the students in the audience.
I have a close friend whose two sons were vastly different in their potential. The brighter son was always affirmed and encouraged in what he did; and sure enough he is a well-adjusted young man today. The second son was not as bright, and his dad called him “dummy” when he addressed him, and would often talk about his stupid behavior and mock him to others while the child was right there listening. Not surprisingly, that child has grown up with serious psychological dysfunction. What we forgive is forgiven, and what we don’t forgive isn’t.
Garrison Keillor reminds us that what happens backstage in our attitudes and prejudices is the way we play it out on the stage of daily living, and the way we treat people. The power we have to influence or discourage people on stage is directly related to what we think and what we believe and what prejudices we harbor backstage. The Qur’an reminds us that our hatred of someone debars them from holy places, and our responsibility is to help one another in what is good and pious, not what is wicked and sinful. For when we stifle or encourage another, we stifle or encourage all of the human race.
When we are anxious backstage, we can’t be very reassuring to others when we’re comforting them on stage. When we haven’t learned to trust, there is little integrity when we encourage others to trust. When we harbor our prejudices and nurse our angers and feed our fears it is almost impossible to be unprejudiced, and at peace when we are with the world to which we are called to be agents of change. We can’t go on stage seeking justice and peace when backstage in our minds and hearts we are feeding the addictions that influence the way we see others. It is difficult to be truly inclusive of people who are poor if backstage we rehearse the lines of the script that poor means lazy. Without the proper backstage attitude, we merely patronize the poor. When we think the earth and the wildlife in it are to serve our purpose, we abuse it, and use it, and use it up. And that goes for any category of people or life that exists.
Jesus said that attitude counts. His followers were locked up in a room backstage, afraid of what would happen to them if they ventured out. Jesus joins them there, empowers them with peace, and pushes them on stage to bring peace and justice to all the players of life’s drama. And what he says to them, he says to us: feed the hungry, empower the powerless, affirm the timid, uplift the downtrodden, invite those relegated to the wings by society onto the main stage to play out the life God has given to each. Amen.
–Gary L. McCann
John 20.19-23
On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the authorities, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As God has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the holy spirit. If you forgive anyone their sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”
Qur’an 5
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
Believers, be true to your obligations. Do not allow your hatred for those who would debar you from the Holy Place to lead you into sin. Help one another in what is good and pious, not in what is wicked and sinful. We laid it down for the Israelites that whoever killed a human being, except as punishment for murder or other villainy in the land, shall be regarded as having killed all mankind; and that whoever saved a human life shall be regarded as having saved all mankind.
| Copyright © 2004 by Gary L. McCann. All rights reserved. |