by Mary Scifres
Different from the Rest
A man of such mysterious beginnings and mystical power would be unusual in almost any town of any size in any century—but Jesus must have been particularly enigmatic in his tiny, first-century Palestinian town. The Infancy Gospel of Thomas[80] imagines stories of this unusual child—a child who brings dead creatures and even a dead friend back to life, but who also curses another child and blinds his parents. Can’t you just hear the whispers that must follow him, as they follow Belle through the town? Like Belle, Jesus must have been a puzzle and a mystery to the people of his small village. We can even imagine them singing of this strange but special young man the way Belle’s village sings of her.
Like Jesus, Belle would be an unusual young person in just about any town of any size in any century—but particularly as a young woman in a small rural town living in a century not known for supporting free-thinking, imaginative dreamers. Preferring books to vapid conversation, Belle eludes the understanding of Gaston and most of the town. Girls Belle’s age think she’s crazy for rebuffing Gaston’s wedding solicitations. I suspect they’re equally puzzled by her lack of interest in clothing, makeup, and local gossip. The daughter of an inventor, Belle herself is a visionary, transforming the stories she reads into dreams and visions for her own life. She looks out at the mountains and sees great adventures, imaginative possibilities, and limitless opportunities. This visionary outlook is not celebrated in her little village.
Imagine the village receiving Belle as a gift and guide! Might they have grown with Belle, appreciating her wisdom as she learns and develops her creativity? Might they themselves have experienced transformation as they blessed her and supported her dreams, gifts, and inventions? Instead, they resist and reject everything that makes her who she is—everything that might have blessed them with opportunities for growth and transformation.
Rejecting Old Roles to Make Room for the New
The villagers use “strange,” “peculiar,” and “different from the rest of us,” to describe Belle’s refusal to play the roles they expect her to play. The only child of an eccentric inventor, with no mother to lean on, Belle is expected to accept the duties of housekeeper, caretaking daughter, and eventually nursemaid to her aging father. Seen in this light, it’s not far-fetched that Gaston foresees himself as her Prince Charming. In a typical country village, his wealth and strength would be highly valued by young women seeking protection from poverty and social disgrace—particularly for a motherless young woman with an eccentric, risk-taking father. Fortunately, Belle’s father appreciates her creative spirit and does not try to marry her off to secure her future. In the live action re-make, Maurice tells Belle that she reminds him of her mother—another woman equally fearless and ahead of her time.
In first-century Nazareth, Jesus surely faced the same sort of role expectations. A first-born son like Jesus was expected to follow in his father’s footsteps, care for his mother and younger siblings, and take over the family business when his father was too old to do so. Like Belle’s proficiency as an inventor and artisan, Jesus’ knowledge of scripture and his theological acumen indicate proficiencies far beyond the roles his community expects him to play. Jesus has clearly dedicated a significant amount of time to rabbinic study and religious pursuit. The rabbinic life would not be a normal path for such a child—particularly one whose mysterious beginnings carry some questions of legitimacy. Certainly, becoming a traveling rabbi is not on his hometown’s agenda for him. Imagine Nazareth receiving Jesus as their local rabbi! Might they have grown with Jesus, appreciating his wisdom as he learns and develops his ministry? Might they have benefitted by blessing him and supporting him as he moves on to share his gifts with the world? Instead, they resist and reject.
Life-giving teachings can open up new possibilities and lay the groundwork for growth-filled transformation. Amazing leaders can inspire us to expand and grow as we aspire to deeper love, greater fulfillment, and more active participation in making the world a better place. The opposite, however, is equally common. Even the most life-giving teachings are often rejected in favor of old, familiar patterns. Even the most wonderful people are often hated for the bright lights they shine—a hatred that can stoke anger and fear, and can lead to an ugly transformation.
Ah, but when we receive this light and allow it to connect with our own inner light! We can then create a brightness that reveals new truths, new opportunities, and new hope! When communities gather together as their best possible selves shining their light, they create a brilliance that outshines clouds of despair. They light a path toward beautiful transformation for all who bask in their light. When we choose to grow, we can admire the new blossoms that emerge and celebrate the new worlds we create.
Like Jesus before her, Belle yearns for a path of life-giving creativity and transformative growth. In order to embark on this journey of growth and expansion, she must eventually leave this small hometown community that is incapable or unwilling to celebrate her unique gifts. And so Belle must find a new community—a community that will support and nourish her growth; a community that will receive the gifts and creative spirit she has to offer.
Finding New Communities along the Way
Belle’s journey away from home initiates her process of life-giving transformation, and she discovers a community to support her on her way. As with Beast’s transformation, her journey begins in crisis. She embarks on her adventure into “the great wide somewhere” [81] in order to save her missing father. When Belle leaves her town and home behind, she is not rejecting her community or going on a personal journey or Vision Quest to find herself. Nor does she run away from home to seek the adventures for which she yearns. She leaves to search for her father, who is lost and in danger. Like Jesus before her, Belle wanders out into the world with a self-giving purpose. Her courage becomes a gift that will help her find her father and, unexpectedly, a new community of support. But in this quest to seek and save another, she finds and saves herself in ways she might never have imagined or experienced otherwise.
Many of us are best able to answer our calling and embark on the path toward life-giving transformation when we step out of our comfort zones and away from our familiar hometown communities. By leaving their hometowns behind, Belle and Jesus find the freedom to live into their higher calling, discover and develop new communities of support, and grow into their authentic selves. When Jesus leaves his familiar hometown to wander looking for the lost sheep of Israel, Jesus discovers the wide world’s many aspects—not all synagogue-safe experiences, but also wilderness temptations and dangerous encounters with other religious leaders. He heals the sick, welcomes the outcast, and embraces the leper, and forms new communities of faithful support along the way. By leaving her warm home to look for her lost father, Belle also discovers a much wider world—a world of not only heart-pounding adventure, but also dark caverns and dangerous paths. She discovers that she can talk to clocks and candelabras; she can forgive a monster and embrace rather than fear an enchanted castle. With expanded perceptions and perspectives, Belle discovers that a loving being can hide behind a monstrous façade, and that a man may actually be hiding inside a beast.
Only in leaving that little house in that little town can Belle discover the higher truth she needs in order to grow and mature into the beautiful, powerful woman she is capable of becoming. And only in leaving that family home in that family town can Jesus discover the higher truths he needs in order to grow and mature into the miraculous messiah-savior he is capable of becoming.
For many of us, we answer our calling best and embark on the clearest path toward life-giving transformation when we step out of our comfort zones and away from our familiar hometown communities. Even within the familiar walls of his home castle, Beast leaves the seemingly safe and familiar world of anger, fear, and despair to enter Belle’s world of creative dreaming and hope-filled living. Entering that new world, even within the confines of his castle walls, allows him to j
ourney forward to the life-giving transformation he has so desperately yearned for while living under a spell.
In stepping across that threshold from familiar to unfamiliar, growth-filled discoveries present new learnings, unpredicted revelations, and miraculous abilities that strengthen us to become the amazing people we are capable of becoming. Our perspective changes with each new vista we encounter; our perception expands with each new experience. As we move toward transformation, we find new communities of support, and expect even more from the communities who first nurtured us, as we journey to new adventures.
Finding a Community that Embraces Transformation
Discovering communities that will support us is a challenging journey in and of itself. Discerning which communities will embrace and encourage life-giving transformation and which will resist and discourage growth is more challenging still. A closer look at the two communities in Beauty and the Beast reveals clues and wisdom to guide our way. It’s important to ask: What brings these communities joy? What do they celebrate? Where do they place their focus? Contrast the boisterous bar song of Gaston’s village, celebrating Gaston’s narcissism and small-mindedness, with the castle’s joyous song of hospitality, inviting Belle to be their guest.
After Gaston comes up with a plot to have Maurice thrown in the local asylum if Belle continues to rebuff his advances, LeFou and chorus sing to thunderous applause:
No one plots like Gaston
Takes cheap shots like Gaston
Plans to persecute harmless crackpots like Gaston….
My what a guy, Gaston![82]
When a community finds joy in the ideas of persecution and cruelty, it’s a pretty safe bet this community does not, and will not, embrace growth and transformation.
Compare the villager’s gleeful anticipation of Gaston’s cruelty, to the castle servants’ joy as they offer Belle hospitality and help alleviate her fear:
You’re alone
And you’re scared
But the banquet’s all prepared
No one’s gloomy or complaining
While the flatware’s entertaining. . . .
Be our guest![83]
When a community finds joy in offering hospitality and comfort, it’s a pretty safe bet this community embraces growth and transformation.
We Grow What We Feed
These brilliant lyrics of Howard Ashman reveal a truth about the journey of life: We grow what we feed; and we move toward the source of our joy. Where we place our attention and focus, and what we choose to feed, will determine where we end up in life. The same holds true for communities. Communities that focus on hope and love create a world of hope and love. Communities that focus on narcissism and self-interest create a world of narcissism and self-interest. Which of the two wolves will we feed? The appetite of narcissism and self-interest? The hunger for power, prestige, and popularity? Or, the yearning for hope and love? The thirst for friendship, hospitality, and compassion? The appetite we feed determines the feast we create—a feast of love and transformation, or a feast of anger and resentment.
When Gaston feeds the angry and fearful wolves within his fellow villagers, they rise up in hatred to attack and destroy everyone in the castle. The fact that the cruel beast within their souls can be roused so quickly indicates how frequently these villagers have been feeding this beast. Eyes that once twinkled with mirth now narrow in bloodlust. Voices that once sang sweetly and gently of a mysterious girl now chant a vicious battle song. In the 2017 film, LeFou sings of the monstrous turn of events as he marches alongside Gaston. Seeing the dangerously ugly transformation in Gaston and his fellow villagers, LeFou quietly wonders who the real beast truly is.
In sharp contrast to this village community, the castle servants have been caring for one another during the hard years of their enchantment, feeding the gentle wolves inside themselves. Having grown in their own beauty of love and light, they are more bonded than ever as they gather together to defend their castle and their master. With the angry and fearful wolf within kept unfed and in check, these servants have no desire to harm the invading army—they simply want to drive them off so that they can live to see another day, and move another step toward their dream of becoming human again.
Likewise, Jesus is no stranger to ugly transformations. The joyous crowds that sing “Hosanna to the son of David” as Jesus enters Jerusalem transform into an angry mob a few days later shouting: “Crucify him!” We see these crowds throughout human history: crusaders marching in anger against cities and leaders of foreign religions; medieval villagers hunting down alleged witches and burning them at the stake; Hitler youth bullying their Jewish neighbors and destroying their shop fronts, cheering as they are rounded up and sent to the gas chambers; Ku Klux Klan lynch mobs inciting violence and burning churches.
The angry mob in Beauty and the Beast is a reminder that angry mobs are a very real part of our world. If we want to grow, both individually and communally, we must remain diligent. We must feed the gentle wolf within ourselves, attend to our higher selves, and listen to the love and beauty within—lest we become the beast that resides right alongside the beauty in each and every one of us.
Don’t Be Deceived by Appearances
Whereas the villagers in Belle’s hometown shrink from love and become an angry mob intent on death and destruction, the castle community grows and expands in both love and loyalty, as conflict and fear intensify. How we respond when threatened defines not only who we are, it shapes who we become. Those who respond in love, faith, and hope are transformed in life-giving ways, while those who respond in hate, fear, and violence are transformed in ways that lead to self-destruction and death.
While the village community has the appearance of a good and safe place to raise a family, it reveals itself to be a community capable of great cruelty. And while the castle community has the appearance of a cursed place ruled by a horrible beast, it reveals itself to be a community blessed with love, light, and generosity of spirit. The enchantress’ words ring as true at the end of the film as they do at the beginning: “Don’t be deceived by appearances, for beauty lies within.”
The Beauty of Transformational Communities
This reality is seen in communities around the world, some beautifully transformed and others not. Transformational communities reflect the beautiful love that great religious leaders like Jesus taught and lived. This beauty grows exponentially when embraced by a community. As the community grows forward toward more life-giving transformation, lessons received are expanded and leaders broaden their impact as more of love’s beauty is created and shared.
The beauty of the gospel does not end with Jesus’ death. Rather, it expands to reach even more people. With Jesus’ first resurrection appearance to a small group of women, hope is reborn in the midst of death. Soon, many disciples are embracing and proclaiming the good news of life-giving transformation. Jesus’ earthly ending was only a beginning to the fullness of the gospel story. Howard Thurman writes that the work of Christmas begins after the Christmas celebration ends. For, the work of Christmas is the work of Christ: the work of loving God and neighbor. Jesus embodied this message and inspired others to travel the same loving path, living this message each and every day:
To find the lost,
To heal the broken,
To feed the hungry,
To release the prisoner,
To rebuild the nations,
To bring peace among people,
To make music in the heart.[84]
The true beauty of any journey of transformation is most clearly revealed in community. Belle grows more beautiful with each passing scene, as she embraces love and compassion in new ways, and Beast discovers both his ability to love and the beauty that resides within his very being. This is the way of love: Love begets love. Our dreams continue beyond us, and our growth continues in the lives we influence and impact.
The work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. did not end with the signing of the Civil
Rights Act of 1964, nor did his dream die with his death in 1968, for his dream was not just the dream of one man, it was the dream of a community striving for a better world. Long after Dr. King’s death, his work continues moving forward. Dr. King’s dream envisions a beauty far beyond the banning of public segregation, for his vision looks toward a world where justice rolls down like waters and where the rights of all extend without regard to race, color, religion, sex or national origin. More legislation has been passed and additional advocacy work has ensued, even as calls for justice and equality continue. This dream continues today, embodied by religious communities, legal organizations, social agencies, justice advocates, community organizers, political lobbyists, public servants, and individuals who work diligently to forward the cause of justice and inclusion.
What if Dr. King had only preached to a small congregation in the countryside of Georgia? What if his influence had only reached the population of his home church in Atlanta? The world would not be the one we know today, for Dr. King’s life and teachings are inextricably linked with that of his followers, even with that of his enemies. The world is a better place today, not just because of Dr. King’s life and teachings, but because of the communities who embrace his teachings, embrace his legacy, and nourish non-violent journeys of communal transformation. Communities who have followed Dr. King on his personal journey of transformation and those who continue to forward his dream today are creating communal journeys of transformation that have and will forever change our world into a more beautiful place of loving inclusion and justice-seeking for all.
The work and teachings of great leaders like Dr. King, Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Theresa, Muhammad, the Buddha, and Jesus are impactful beyond any one person’s force of personality or personal journey toward transformation. Their work and teachings are powerful because of the way they are embraced by communities on journeys of transformation. Their work and teachings create transformational journeys for others, and continue to guide and nourish transformational journeys around the globe—journeys toward greater beauty, fuller life, and expanded love for all the world. These leaders, just like Jesus before them, proclaim the beauty that comes from within—the beauty that arises from love and justice. This beauty shines forth as we live into our highest purpose and become our fullest selves of love and light.