Wait and hope
I recently watched another version of The Count of Monte Cristo on PBS Masterpiece. It was well done and worth a watch, but some of the changes made to the original story diminish the core message, which is that human wisdom is limited, that vengeance, while tempting, is destructive, and that true redemption comes through mercy, forgiveness, and patience. There is a danger in trying to play God. Finding peace only comes by letting go of the past through forgiveness. The main theme of the novel is to “wait and hope”, while this version ended with “love heals”. Even though this is still a good message, it dances around original point of the author as well as the truth that revenge does not ever work in the long term. God’s definition of justice is not the same as our desire for revenge. The protagonist does not get vengeance and then live happily ever after with the girl of his dreams. Rather everything that follows is hollow. He never reconciles and realizes that his consuming desire for revenge consumed his whole life. He comes to the end without knowing the love, joy and peace that God offers through forgiveness.
While in prison for a crime he did not commit, Dantes meets an elderly priest, who teaches him everything he knows in exchange for help digging an escape tunnel. Abbe Faria frees Dantes from captivity, offers him treasures and gifts him with a second chance at life. Hope. Freedom. Love. In his dying words, the priest tells Edmond to leave vengeance to God alone. It is the death of this priest that frees Dantes literally, but, in spite of an opportunity to move forward into a new life, Dantes ignores the counsel of his mentor and spends the rest of his life seeking revenge by plotting the downfall of each of his enemies. I get it. He was horribly wronged. He thinks he wants justice, but it is really revenge that he pursues. Even after escaping prison and gaining his freedom, Edmond spends his life looking backward, never knowing the freedom he could have gained. What he gets instead is vengeance, which does not satisfy. Rather than being transformed by the power of forgiveness, he is consumed with bitterness as he changed for the worse. No transformation. No freedom. No peace. No hope.
The Dumas story is a powerful story that should offer a message of hope & mercy. God teaches us to embrace Him when we feel wronged or betrayed, we are to give him all our injustices so He can fight on our behalf. The truth is that not one of us really wants justice. Not really. We all really want mercy and grace. The end of the book includes a letter written by Dantes about what he finally learned; God alone has power and wisdom. God is just and he promises justice. God is also holy and righteous. Justice and righteousness are inseparable. Our job is hopeful patience as we wait for a God who sees every injustice and is leading every injustice to a just and righteous ending. Wait and hope. Sometimes it’s the hardest thing we ever do!
As it says in Isaiah 43:18,19, “forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up, do you no perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”