Christian Life
Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, and walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
Epiphanes 5:1-2 (NRSV)
STORY
Hal Holbrook was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1925. For most people, he probably is best recognized for his television and movie appearances; though, it is his desire to be best remembered for portraying Mark Twain in a solo stage performance that ran for six decades.
Holbrook was a student majoring in theater at Denison University in Ohio, when his education was interrupted to serve in the Army during World War II. After the war he returned to Denison University and graduated in 1948. While attending the university he participated in an honor’s project. This assignment allowed Holbrook to develop a one-man show called Great Personalities. In these productions he portrayed important historical figures. After moving to New York City to work in radio and television, Holbrook continued to develop the character of Mark Twain.
In 1954 he did his first solo performance of the great author and humorist at a college in Pennsylvania. The show was called Mark Twain Tonight, and what followed over the next 60 years were over 2,000 performances. On the stage he portrayed a 70-year-old Mark Twain. The monologue was a recitation of Twain’s writings from his books and letters.
In 2014, the final year of his stage performance, Holbrook shared why he began this project decades earlier. He wanted to tell the story of Mark Twin, whose real name is Samuel Clemons, because in Holbrook’s words Clemens “is like a fountain of thought.” Holbrook considers the writings of Clemens, who died in 1910, to still be relevant for today. According to Holbrook, “I never, ever update Mark Twain. I don’t modernize it. I let the audience update the material.” Regarding being a stage performer – a storyteller – Holbrook said, “When I go out onstage, I’m trying to make the audience believe they’re looking at this guy who died 104 years ago, and listening to him and saying to themselves, ‘Jesus, he could be talking about today.’ And that’s the point.”
The reason why Holbrook’s portrayal of Mark Twain is so intriguing and entertaining is because Twain’s words are timeless. The thoughts and insights that Samuel Clemens wrote in his books and letters are as meaningful today as they were over a century ago. Clemens presented us with timeless wisdom. They are words that come fresh and new to each succeeding generation.
DEVOTION
Jesus is the greatest personality of all. His message never needs to be updated, though listeners must be able to apply his message to their time and place. When we share the timeless message of Jesus, we must do so with the authenticity in which Jesus taught it. Also, we must live that message as if we were on stage for all to observe our behavior.
Jesus only judged hypocrites, and no one else. The word hypocrite comes from Greek theater. It means that a person acts one way on stage, and another way off stage. Jesus judged hypocrites who acted one way in public to be seen, and another way in private when they could not be seen, living two opposing messages. According to Jesus, both in public and in private, we are always to be the same person.
A basic theme in Ephesians is how to live a Christian life that is seen by everyone, both in public and in private. In the first section of the letter the Apostle Paul outlines his theology. In the last section he outlines ethical living that Christians must abide by. The ethical section, the section on how to live a Christian life, begins with these words penned by Paul, “I, therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace…” (4:1-3) In other words, we are to live by the teachings of Jesus and display his personal attributes.
John Chrysostom was an early church father and recognized biblical interpreter. In 398 he was appointed as the archbishop of Constantinople. The zeal and clarity of his preaching, which appealed especially to the common people, earned him the Greek surname meaning “golden-mouthed.” In his sermon on Ephesians, he interpreted the verses from our lesson this morning as follows, “You are called to imitate God, to become like God. This can only happen when you are reconciled with him.”
Unless you are a narcissist, it is not possible to perfectly imitate God, though that is not a reason to struggle with being God-like. This is why Paul could write in his letter, “Be careful, then, how you live, not as unwise people but as wise, making the most of the time, because the days are evil. So do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” (15-17) We can teach the truth of the scriptures and live a life that exemplifies Jesus if we are wise. To obtain Christian wisdom we attend worship, Sunday school, are a member of a small group, and engage in home study.
In stage productions we often hear the term of the “fourth wall.” A stage has three visible sides, or walls, and a fourth invisible wall that separates the actors from the audience. This allows the actors to perform in what has been referred to as “public solitude.” An actor can perform on stage as if he or she were in a private setting, when in fact their performance is very public. The fourth wall implies that the audience are observers, but not participants in the theatrical production. The fourth wall is dismantled when an actor addresses the audience directly or comes off the stage and walks among the audience.
My first encounter of the fourth wall being transgressed was the musical Godspell. During the intermission the cast wanders around the audience serving them bread and wine. In later productions the audience was actually invited to come up and onto stage.
As we share the gospel message and as we live the gospel message, there should never be a “fourth wall” separating us from others in our sphere of influence.