Godspell

Devotional for Wednesday, May 18, 2005 by Mary Jane Hanson

Recently, I had the unexpected pleasure of attending a production of the musical, Godspell, which was presented by a local theatre company. I felt prompted to attend the performance to see if there was anything new I would learn about my faith.

As a member of the audience, I witnessed the actors representing Jesus' disciples sit and stand in his presence while he taught them. What was different for me was that I could actually listen to the one portraying Jesus speak his words rather than just reading them from my Bible.

Based on Matthew's gospel, the musical is described on the program as "a pageant that moves from moment to moment." Godspell is a reflection on the life of Jesus, and explores the theme of being "fools for Christ." What struck me was that Christ's love for these young, exuberant, joyful, but sometimes fickle disciples, all clad in tie-died t-shirts and jeans, shone through, and they loved him too.

I wonder how many of us have been just as exuberant in our faith at first, but also just as fickle as we progressed on our faith journey. I expect that all of us can respond with a resounding "Yes".

If Jesus loved those fickle young disciples represented in Godspell, then we know that he certainly loves his modern-day disciples, despite our inconsistencies and failures. One thing about Jesus is that he is consistent; his love for us never changes. Can we, like the disciples portrayed in Godspell, show that we love him too?

Prayer: Loving God, we come to you to seek your help in seeing Jesus' love for us more clearly and, in return, loving him more dearly. Amen.

Mary Jane Hanson <mjh013@sasktel.net>
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada

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