A Beacon Of Light… Celebrate God’s Beauty During Advent
By FR. RICHARD D. BRETON Jr.
(Editor’s Note: Fr. Richard D. Breton Jr. is a priest of the Diocese of Norwich, Conn.)
- + + Advent is a season of anticipation in preparation to celebrate the beauty of the Incarnation. Through the Incarnation God’s love was made visible in the face of the Baby Jesus. Today, however, the existence of this “God-given beauty” is very much shrouded by the divisions plaguing society. When the fundamental issues surrounding the dignity of human life are no longer considered important, there exists an erosion of the beauty of God’s creation.
This erosion, sadly, has found its way into the hearts of so many and is ruinous to society as a whole. Our ability to see and experience God’s beauty is clouded by the hatred, jealousy, and mistrust that enclose us each day. Our ability to battle and overcome the plagues of society often require life-changing moments to peel away the cataracts that have blinded us.
In 2007, an aspiring author named Paul Young set out on a quest to remind his readers of the importance of not only recognizing God’s beauty in the world, but the necessity of seeing it within our lives. Young wrote a book of Christian fiction called The Shack.
I am using this story simply as a means of portraying God’s beauty. I do not always agree with the opinion of the author nor with the contents of the story; but again I remind you that it is a work of fiction and must be viewed as such. Yet, the story does send a message of hope and consolation and, also, enables us to recognize the beauty and love of God surrounding us.
The novel tells the story of Mack, a man whose daughter has been abducted by a serial killer, meeting “god” face to face and spending a weekend in a shack in the woods exploring grief and religion. The author reminds the reader in the foreword and afterword of the book that the story is “a parable laden with metaphor. It is a true story, but not real” (wmpaulyoung.com).
In The Shack, Willie tells the story of his friend Mack’s experience meeting “god” face to face. Mack had a troubled childhood; due to his father’s alcoholism and aggression, Mack left home at 13. This experience left him with little faith in God. However, in his twenties he settled down in Oregon with a woman named Nan, who is very devout with such faith in God that she calls him Papa. Mack and Nan have five children: Jon, Tyler, Josh, Kate, and Missy.
One summer, Mack decides to take Josh, Kate, and Missy on a camping trip. They stay at a campground for a few days, and meet another family and a couple who are camping in the same area. On the last morning of their trip, Josh and Kate go out canoeing and flip their canoe. While Mack swims out to save Josh, Missy is abducted.
When Mack cannot find Missy after rescuing Josh, the police are called, and an investigation is launched. The recovery of a ladybug-shaped pin with five dots at the campsite ties Missy’s abduction to a serial killer called the Little Ladykiller, and the dress she was wearing on the day of her abduction is found at a shack hidden in the woods nearby.
After weeks of searching, the girl’s body is not recovered. Mack’s family goes on with their lives, though Mack experiences what he calls “The Great Sadness.”
One snowy day while Nan, Josh, and Kate are at Nan’s sister’s house, Mack receives a letter inviting him back to the shack. The letter is signed with the name Papa and has no stamp or return address. Mack decides that it must be either a prank or from Missy’s killer, so he decides not to tell Nan. However, he becomes more curious over the next week and decides to go to the shack to confront whatever is there, be it God or a prankster of some kind.
When Mack gets to the shack, there is nobody else there. When Mack sees the faded bloodstain where Missy’s dress was found, he starts to cry and smash furniture. He falls asleep on the floor. When he wakes up, he decides to go back home, but after walking a few steps away from the shack, his surroundings suddenly change from snowy winter to beautiful warm, sweet-smelling spring. The shack is replaced by a beautiful cabin on the edge of a lake.
Inside the shack, he meets a black woman named Papa, an Asian woman named Saurav, and a Middle Eastern man, Jesus. Together, they are supposed to resemble God in the Trinity. Mack spends the weekend at the shack having conversations with the three of them, and in the process, he learns to love and trust God. He also works through his guilt and anger at his father and Missy’s killer.
The theme of the beauty of God’s creation can be found throughout The Shack. First, The Shack uses beauty to increase the hopelessness of the story. In the foreword, the author describes Mack’s children as “unusually beautiful,” and while Mack himself is described as “a rather unremarkable, slightly overweight, balding, short white guy,” the first thing Mack says to Jesus and Saurav about his wife is, “Well, besides being beautiful….”
Emphasizing the beauty of Nan and the children early in the novel increases the shock and sadness when the family starts to fall apart. Mack’s plainness makes him accessible, and allows the reader to connect and empathize with him as the protagonist.
There exists an interplay between external and internal beauty in The Shack. When Mack talks about his wife to Jesus and Saurav, he doesn’t just call Nan physically beautiful but elaborates, “She really is beautiful, inside and out.” This shows that Mack acknowledges a distinction between external and internal beauty, and that he values both. Still, Mack is surprised that Jesus is not incredibly handsome in person, showing that he had thought internal beauty correlated with external beauty.
Mack boldly tells Jesus, “Somehow I thought you’d be the ideal man, you know, athletic and overwhelmingly good-looking,” to which Jesus responds “By whose standards? Anyway, once you really get to know me, it won’t matter to you.”
Since Mack still does not seem convinced, Jesus broadens His message away from the personal, saying, “Being, always transcends appearance — that which only seems to be. Once you begin to know the being behind the very pretty or very ugly face, as determined by your bias, the surface appearances fade away until they simply no longer matter.” This ties the theme of beauty to the moral that people should never judge others because perception will always be subjective.
The Plan Of God’s Salvation
In the end of the story, through the interaction with the “God-like” figures, Mack is able to see the beauty of God once again. This has a profound impact on his life, and he understands the plan of God’s salvation, even in the midst of tragedy.
How does the experience of The Shack pertain to our experience of the Advent Season? Simply put, it reminds us that even in the midst of turmoil, God’s beauty is still present. Advent affords us the opportunity to open our eyes again to the beauty of the true meaning of the Incarnation. The Incarnation is the most beautiful and visible expression of God’s love for us all.
Sadly, it took the tragedy in The Shack to peel the cataracts of doubt and mistrust from Mack’s eyes in order for him to see the beauty of God’s love for him. I hope we can open our eyes to see the beauty of God around us.
May this year’s celebration of Advent prepare us to see with eyes of faith the glory and beauty manifested in the stable of Bethlehem.
