In 2008, Broadway took a serious turn with Tony-Award winning rock-musical, “Next To Normal,” featuring the talents of breakout stars J. Robert Spencer, Alice Ripley & Aaron Tveit. Given the sensitive nature of the show, I’ll offer the brief synopsis from wikipedia.com: “The story centers on a mother who struggles with worsening bipolar disorder and the effects that managing her illness has on her family. The musical addresses grief, depression, suicide, drug abuse, ethics in modern psychiatry, and the underbelly of suburban life.’
In one of the many show-stopping numbers from the production, a frustrated husband, Dan, sings to his emotionally struggling wife, Diana (who is experiencing recurring hallucinations of her deceased son which are creating significant relationship problems – yes, this is a deep, complicated, and perhaps too realistic show), “Can you tell me what it is you’re afraid of? Can you tell me why I’m afraid it’s me? Can I touch you? We’ve been fine for so long now. How can something go wrong that I can’t see? ‘Cause I’m holding on and I won’t let go. I just thought you should know, I am the one who knows you, I am the one who cares, I am the one who’s always been there. I am the one who’s helped you, and if you think that I just don’t give a damn, then you just don’t know who I am”
While I don’t feel qualified to delve too deeply into the socio-emotional and mental health issues raised by the show (and I absolutely admit these are conversations that should becoming more normal and accepted in our society), in the midst of writing a sermon series on the prophets of the Hebrew Bible, the theme of a broken relationship rings poignant. In the book of Hosea, readers are treated to a narrative regarding a marriage fraught with infidelity (spoiler alert: it’s a metaphor for God and Israel). However, despite Israel’s transgressions, God remains faithful, saying, “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. The more I called them, the further they went from me; they kept sacrificing to the Baals, and they burned incense to idols Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk; I took them up in my arms, but they did not know that I healed them. I led them with bands of human kindness, with cords of love. I treated them like those who lift infants to their cheeks; I bent down to them and fed them.” (Hosea 11:1-4)
Dear God, though we often wander astray, though we are prone to mistakes, though we fail over and over again in our part in this relationship with you, this relationship we are so quick to proclaim to others, but often so slow to privately hold up our own end; Lord, we thank you for your constant, relentless, and unquestionable faithfulness. Nurture us, so that we might live into this divine relationship in a way that honors you, and leads us towards abundant and everlasting life. Amen.
the harlequin complex 