The Gospel According to Beauty and the Beast

by Mary Scifres

  Creativity and imagination are tools that tap into the Infinite—the Source that unlocks new ways of seeing and new perspectives on the old and familiar. We see this in the stories of Jesus—stories that activate our creative and imaginative minds, inviting us to take comfort in God’s protective care. We also see this in Beauty and the Beast—a story that leads to expanded, expansive life, based more on right loving than right living. Belle embodies creativity and imagination as she guides Beast beyond his past failings. The sacred dimension of Belle’s dreams and the holy invention of imagination and creativity give this story the tools it needs to be transformative—not only for Belle, Beast, and the castle, but for us as well.

  Curiosity and Wonder Lead the Way

  Belle’s father Maurice is on his own creative journey as he heads off to the fair to share his beautiful creation. Finding himself lost in the woods and chased by wolves, Maurice is driven to Beast’s castle, barely escaping with his life. When Maurice arrives at the dark, mysterious castle in the dead of night, his curiosity and optimistic outlook override his exhaustion and fear. I love the way the 1991 film portrays Maurice as an inquisitive explorer when he encounters the magical creatures of Beast’s castle. “How does this work?” is probably a question that has guided Maurice’s life since childhood. With inventors around the world, when Maurice confronts a mystery that has no clear explanation, it propels his search for answers. Mysteries invite new understanding, and as Maurice perceives his failure to grasp how such workmanship is accomplished, he begins imagining a solution. Had Beast told Maurice his story, I have no doubt Maurice would have begun drawing up blueprints for a new and improved castle experience in their enchanted circumstances. Maurice might have even been able to design a way to sustain the enchanted rose beyond Beast’s 21st year, thereby granting Beast more time to learn how to love and receive love in return. I can even envision Maurice creating a matchmaking enterprise to help Beast connect with women in the outside world, for Maurice brings his creative, inquisitive, curious perspective to every facet of his life.

  In the 2017 film, even when Maurice runs away from the castle in fear, he stops on the way out to courageously pick a rose for his beloved daughter—ever hopeful that he will find his way home and regale Belle with stories of a castle that is “alive.” Keeping with Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont’s “La Belle et le Bête” and other ancient versions of the fairy tale, a rose leads to disaster for Maurice, as it has for Beast before him. Yet the rose is more than a source and symbol of their downfall, it holds the promise of their redemption, connecting their fates, as only love and magic can. When Maurice picks a rose from Beast’s garden, it sets in motion a series of events that brings salvation to Beast and the castle—as Belle saves Beast from himself, helping him learn to love and earn love in return.

  Seeking her father, Belle arrives at the castle, bringing her dreamer-perspective with her. Even when she meets Beast, Belle is more curious than frightened. As she gazes upon this giant monster, her eyes widen with shock, but then narrow with inquisitiveness and wonder. While initially speechless in the presence of a talking candlestick and clock, Belle quickly recovers and is soon grilling Lumiere and Cogsworth for information about the castle. Curiosity drives her, and even Beast’s ferocious temper is not enough to deter her from exploring the forbidden West Wing when the opportunity presents itself. As Belle meets Wardrobe, her shock again gives way to openness and acceptance of this strange being in her bedroom. And as a teapot offers dinner and plates dance before her eyes, Belle laughs and applauds, enjoying the entertainment with joy and wonder. Unlike Gaston, who perceives only dark magic and evil sorcery in objects like the enchanted mirror, Belle’s curious mind never succumbs to fear of the unknown. As she wanders the dark, gloomy castle, Belle is more inquisitive about the possibilities of her strange new home than she is alarmed by the repulsive gargoyles and ugly images that surround her.

  Belle recognizes that there are things yet unknown to her, mysteries yet to unfold, and lessons yet to learn. For as Shakespeare’s Hamlet says to his friend Horatio: “There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.”[25] Openness to the unexpected and surprising mysteries of this magical castle is a natural outgrowth of Belle’s dreamer spirit. With dreams as spacious as they are imaginative, her mind is as open to new possibilities and discoveries as her spirit is free to embrace them. With her dreams and open-minded perspective to guide her, Belle is able to embrace the castle magic and the strange creatures who are bound to it. Like Jesus before her, Belle interacts comfortably with those that appear cursed, dangerous, and frightening.

  The setting of Beauty and the Beast, like the European middle ages, reflects a time in human history when differences were viewed with fear and suspicion. Things deemed unusual were considered ugly and strange; non-conformity to social norm was deemed dangerous, even sinful. We see these attitudes in play as the villagers sing of Belle’s behavior in the film’s opening song. We see these perspectives in action later in the film as Gaston sees “dark magic” in the enchanted mirror, as he plays on the villagers’ fears, and as he locks up Belle and her father for being crazy and bewitched by a magical spell. The villagers’ march to the castle is a typical “dark-age” response to anyone and anything perceived to be magical, witch-like, potentially threatening, or simply different.

  Openness to Mystery, Wonder, and Beauty

  If we are to embrace all the imaginative, creative gifts that life has to offer, we must be open to mystery, wonder, and beauty in all of their rich and wondrous forms. Openness to mystery requires a perspective that there is more to life than the tried and true habits and assumptions we accept every day without so much as a passing glance. Albert Einstein warns us to never stop questioning: “Never lose a holy curiosity.”[26]

  Openness to the sacred requires a perspective that we are deeply connected to divine power—whether that power is understood as God, Christ, Spirit, Allah, Buddha, Brahma, the Tao, Holy Mystery, or another name for your Higher Power. Such openness expands our perspective and invites curiosity to lead us forward to new possibilities. Unfortunately, such openness was sorely lacking in Belle’s France, as it often is in our world today.

  Attending a comedy night at our local Improv Theatre, many in the audience refused to believe that the comedian had really walked in cold, asked us questions, figured us out, and created a routine exposing the hilarious foibles and follies of our lives. While most of us laughed and relaxed into the evening, others resisted. Afraid of being tricked, they were convinced that here had to be “plants” in the audience. The comedian and comedy club must have sketched it all out ahead of time. With folded arms and doubting frowns, those who could not accept the genius at work in the comedian’s long-practiced craft sat stone-faced throughout the performance. The rest of us simply laughed, enjoying the comedian’s clever wit, quick responses, and intelligent humor.

  Magicians encounter the same type of resistance and incredulity as they perform their art of illusion before our very eyes. Some of us laugh and enjoy the seemingly impossible; others grow frustrated that they can’t figure out the trick. These unhappy souls insist on resisting the magic—questioning, testing, trying to part the veil of the magician’s illusions. They insist that there must be trick stages, green screens, or switched props to explain the magic and illusion occurring in our presence. We all bring our own perspectives to magic shows and improvisational acts. Some of us arrive open and eager to be entertained, while some of us arrive closed off from the joy the event might bring. Is it any wonder that those who come open to being entertained, are; and those who come closed off from being entertained, aren’t?

  What joys might the villagers have discovered if they had embraced Belle’s unusual inventions and celebrated her imaginative dreams? How differently might they have experienced the enchanted castle if they had allowed themselves to perceive the absurdity of fighting teacups and wardrobes? How much richer mig
ht their lives have been if they had been able to perceive the castle magic as part of life’s marvelous adventures, instead of being hardened against the unknown and determined to destroy what they could not understand? The 2017 film reveals how disastrous the villagers’ hardness of heart would have been had they succeeded in their murderous campaign to destroy the enchanted servants. For many of these servants were forgotten friends and family of the villagers—forgotten, because the enchantress had wiped all memory of the servants from the villagers’ minds. When housekeeper-turned-teapot Mrs. Potts calls out to her villager husband, Mr. Potts, he hardly notices her voice, even after sensing that there was something strangely familiar about the castle. Though the enchantress has erased their memories, it is the villagers’ close-minded perspective, hardened by years of strict conformity to societal norms, that leads them to attack the castle. It is this same close-minded perspective that leads them to miss an opportunity to explore new possibilities and grow through this magical encounter. Their perspective, and its accompanying behavior, is sadly reflective of both ancient and modern times.

  Contrast the villagers’ “typical” behavior to Belle’s atypical acceptance of her new home, its unusual inhabitants, and even her frightening new master. Belle’s curiosity trumps any other stereotypes she carries with her into this magical castle. She explores, questions, and wonders at everything she finds, and refuses to allow rules or regulations to limit her curious investigations. When she informs Cogsworth and Lumiere that the castle’s West Wing must be interesting or it wouldn’t be forbidden, I can almost hear Jesus arguing with the Pharisees that the Sabbath was made for humanity, humanity was not made for the Sabbath.[27] By their very design, castles and their grounds are intended to serve not only the royal family, but the kingdom under the family’s protection. So is the prince free to do as he wills, or does the prince bear responsibility to do as the people expect of him? Belle would have known the answer to that question: rulers exist to protect their kingdom, not the other way around. Historically, as rulers lose sight of this ethic, their kingdoms tumble and they fall from power, just as Beast’s castle and kingdom are falling apart.

  Let Your Light Shine

  In Jesus’ day, he could already witness the devastation of the Jewish community. He foresees the destruction of Jerusalem’s temple—a physical destruction that reflects the spiritual demise of a faith community under the spell of Roman power and control. Called to be a light to the nations and the source from which God’s light is to bless the rest of the world, Israel has been reduced to a shadow of her former self. The beautiful Jerusalem Temple stood atop that city, offering a glimpse of heaven. God intended that holy city to be a light upon the hill, not a cesspool of corruption hidden under political cronyism and religious abuse. Jesus calls this precious community of faith to shine forth with God’s law of love, not dim its light through demands for strict observance of priestly codes. Jesus calls temple leaders and their flock to worship God in Spirit and in truth, to be a light to the nations once more—a shimmering glimmer of the presence of God in every human community.

  Jesus continues to invite each and every one of us to shine the light of hope, to salt the world with the spice of life, and to proudly offer God’s love for all to experience. Jesus calls all of his followers to be the “light of the world,” to live in holy community as a “city on a hill,” and be the “salt of the earth.”[28] Each and every one of us is called to shine the light of loving hospitality. Every kingdom’s castle is meant to be a beacon of hope for weary travelers and to stand as a symbol of strength to faithful peasants who work for the kingdom. The Statue of Liberty’s torch in New York Harbor, the White House’s glow in Washington D.C., the Taj Mahal’s long reflective pool—these symbols shine the light of hope, the same light that Jesus portrays within his stories and his deeds.[29]

  Like castles before and since, Beast’s castle was built to offer light and hope for the whole kingdom. As prince and ruler, Beast was to portray that same light of strength, hope and hospitality to his people. In our story, the castle has long since lost that shimmer, and Beast has clearly lost sight of his duty to be a source of steadfast strength for his household and kingdom. Animators and artists for both films capture this reality as they darken the castle, only to brighten it with shimmering beauty and dazzling sunlight after the spell is lifted.

  But even in the dark, dreary castle, Belle refuses to allow the castle’s despair to extinguish her innate curiosity or to keep her from seeing beyond what her eyes alone can see. As Belle wanders the West Wing, she sees glimpses of the kingdom that once was. Had Beast invited her optimistic perspective and her imaginative dreaming into his life from the beginning, he would have discovered a faithful friend and a compassionate companion—one who could guide him on new paths and open his mind to new and creative possibilities. We, who follow an infinitely creative God, can offer these same imaginative possibilities and creative options to one another. We, too, are invited to be lights upon the hills of our communities—shimmering with possibilities and revealing God’s presence in our lives and in our world.

  Beauty Lies Within

  Jesus teaches us that when we welcome another, we are welcoming God; and when we care for another’s needs, we are caring for God. When we are able to see the light that shines within one another, we refuse to accept perspectives that seek to limit another’s creative, imaginative possibilities. When we see the world from this perspective, we are able to perceive the God-light in each and every person we encounter, even those who appear to be beasts. The very act of recognizing and acknowledging the light of God within another is often enough to initiate a journey toward transformation within that person—particularly for people like Beast who no longer recognize the light within themselves. By contrast, through her innocence, her curiosity, and her openness to the world of imagination, Belle sees beauty all around. I believe her name means beauty, not just or even primarily because of her physical beauty, but because of her beautiful perspective and her beautiful outlook on the world. Long before our fairy tale was ever told, Jesus taught that beauty lies within.[30] Belle personifies this truth, for her greatest beauty comes from her inner world, not from her outward appearance.

  In Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, the disparity between inner and outer beauty is seen most clearly in Gaston, who is stunningly handsome, yet rotten to the core. In most romances and fairy tales, he would be the one to save the beautiful princess. But perspective is everything in this fairy tale, and we quickly learn that Gaston’s narcissistic shallowness overshadows his outer beauty. While Beast is outwardly monstrous, we soon become enamored with the inner beauty that starts to emerge as he grows in kindness and love. Early on, we realize that a very different fairytale ending is in store for us than the ones we have seen in other Disney fairy tales.

  Later in the story, Belle brings her transformed perspective—that one can look like a beast on the outside and yet be good and kind on the inside— to her neighbors, when she shows them Beast’s image in the magic mirror. Transformed by the blessings this newly discover perspective has effected in her, Belle positively glows. Even Gaston can see love shimmering within her, as Belle tells the villagers that though Beast may look dangerous, he poses no threat to the village. In fact, Beast is her friend. This new and crazy perspective on beasts is a step too far for Gaston and the villagers, who choose to cling to their familiar perspective that terrifying beasts are dangerous and cruel by nature, imminently threatening to their village. The only “prudent” thing to do, therefore, is to kill the beast.

  Sacred Beauty Is All Around

  When we allow our perspective to remain entrenched in unconscious prejudices and stereotypes, as these villagers do, we lose an opportunity for growth and transformation. Conversely, when we open ourselves to sacred beauty, we open ourselves to transformative experiences that shift our perspective in holistic ways. This openness arises naturally from an open-minded perspective to the awe and wo
nder within all of life. When Jesus’ disciples try to silence and send away children who are disturbing the adults in his presence, Jesus gathers a child into his lap and points out that children are pure of heart. Children are on this earth not just to learn, but also to teach, for we must become like children if we are to enter into God’s realm.[31] Children naturally possess the receptivity that Zen Buddhism refers to as Zen mind or “beginner’s mind”—experiencing all things with the enthusiasm and wonder of a child; seeing things as if for the first time. Zen mind is always aware, always that of a beginner—which makes everything new, as we allow the world to present itself to us as if for the first time. Beginner’s mind requires a humility and vulnerability that is difficult for adults to achieve, but comes naturally to children. When children are filled with wonder, innate curiosity, and vivid imagination, they can easily open themselves to the mystery and magic that surrounds them every day. It’s no wonder that Jesus taught that we must become childlike again if we are to perceive the Spirit that is closer to us than our very breath. Talk about a transformative perspective!

  The teachings of Jesus are as true today as they were two thousand years ago: The realm of God is truly within us when we open our hearts to the open-minded perspective of possibility and the transformative power of love. Opening to sacred beauty, we discover the true beauty within one another. This open-minded perspective lays the foundation for the life-giving journey toward transformation that defines the story of Beauty and the Beast. Regardless of our past, regardless of our longstanding patterns of thought and behavior, and regardless of how the world judges us or how we judge ourselves, we remain beautiful beings, created in the divine image of love. We remain capable of giving and receiving love, of claiming wholeness, and of creating beautiful and spacious new beginnings, no matter where we are on the journey of life. If we allow this to guide us, we too can find a “happily ever after” by embracing life-giving perspectives on our journeys of transformation.