Courageous - by Michael Healey

In daring to delve into the uncomfortable realities of what life looks like when, the rights and freedoms of different individuals collide, and doing so with a work that's structure itself dares to defy convention, Michael Healey's new play lives up to its own title - Courageous. He tackles the subject of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms in a refreshingly direct, sometimes serious, sometimes quirky but always challenging way. Of course I am not a theatre critic and since my brother has a leading role in the play I could hardly be unbiased, so this is not a review. But religious freedoms being one of the rights and freedoms thrown into the mix there were many things that got me thinking and one scene in particular that I thought I could share some thoughts about.
I have to say that I was expecting to see the stereotypical caricature of a person of faith that I have become so used to seeing. I was expecting the shallow underdeveloped representation that so many writers are not just willing to settle for, but seem happy to promote. I did not find that character in this play. Instead there was an attempt to show multifaceted characters from different angles, scratching below the surface to bring an honest presentation of complex people. This applied to the "christian" characters as well. There was one scene, however, that I was most fascinated by, one in which some amazing things were said but in the end revealed the extent to which Christianity is still misunderstood.
In a scene where a character is discussing and defending his faith, he makes the statement that there is a difference between his being "Catholic" and his being "Christian" and that you could summarize the content of what it means to be Christian on a cocktail napkin. As I was hearing this I was quite surprised and found my self thinking, "Wow, he might actually get it...I can't believe it." Unfortunately, what followed was some line about not killing each other, a vague reference to just living out the basic ethical imperatives of the Ten Commandments. It was the beginning of an important insight that just didn't quite get there. Of course the character in this scene was Catholic, and I recognize I am coming from a evangelical, protestant position which may be part of why the character and I would have a different response at this point. But I still honesty believe that there is a difference between just doing good and living ethically and what it means to be a christian at a foundational level.
There is a scene in Matthew 11 in which Jesus was speaking to a crowd of people who new what it was like to live under an oppressive religious system in which your spiritual state was dependent upon how well you lived out ethical imperatives including the Ten Commandments. To these people Jesus would offer this invitation: "Come to me all who a weary and burdened and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28) Jesus himself suggests that just trying to live a good enough life is an exhausting burden, leading one to need rest, and thus offers something different.
In the gospel of John Jesus says that God "so loved the world that he gave his only Son (Jesus), that whoever should believe in Him might not perish but have eternal life." At the heart of Christianity is the person of Jesus and belief in Him - who He is and what He did for us.
In a letter to a church in the city of Corinth, the apostle Paul wrote: "For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the scriptures...(1 Corinthians 15:3-4)." This is the heart of the gospel, the good news. This is what Jesus has done for us and is at the heart of faith in Jesus. If I were to write what it means to be a Christian on a cocktail napkin it might go something like this:

- admit I am not perfect and my relationship with God is affected. (Sin)
- admit I cannot fix it on my own. (need a Saviour)
- Jesus took the punishment that I deserved on the cross. (Substitute)
- I am forgiven and my relationship with God is restored. (Grace and Reconciliation)
- Jesus' resurrection demonstrated that he conquered sin and death and thus I have hope that I too am forgiven, will be resurrected, and have eternal life. (Hope)

Christianity is thus focused on the person of Jesus Christ and it is belief in what He did for me. It is not primarily about what I do, but what Jesus did for me. Everything else, including the way I live my life etc. is done in response to Jesus and what He has done for me. We may have rules or standards that we aim for, and that our faith calls for, but again they are in response to Jesus and Jesus then equips and empowers us to accomplish what he asks of us.

The play has got me thinking about how what it means to be a follower of Jesus is so misunderstood by the culture around me. I am also asking why is this the case? Are there things that we followers are not doing to better communicate? Are there things that we are doing to communicate the wrong ideas? I am asking and praying about what I should do with the insights that I have gained.

Courageous opens January 6th at the Tarragon Theatre in Toronto.
(And just as a warning - it has got some harsh subject matter and even harsher language so take that into consideration.)