Orpheus & Hope

It’s been awhile since I typed on this blog.  I have a bit more time now…as school is on hiatus because of the Coronavirus.  I’ve been gardening and reading, grading and planning for online school, practicing “Sweet Home Alabama” on the guitar and working out with Heather Robinson’s free 12 week challenge (you should join me :)).  I’ve been trying to learn new things – and tonight as I watched another TED-Ed video on “Myths from Around the World”, I saw the story of Orpheus and Eurydice. 

Let’s be real for a moment.

Greek myths are RIDICULOUS.  (We can be glad that Greek gods are myths and not real beings). 

But as with any story, we can learn.

Here’s the myth in short:  Orpheus falls in love with Eurydice.  Right before they get married, she dies.  Orpheus decides to go get her back from the underworld and uses his amazing ability to sing to get past the 3-headed dog, over the river Styx, and ultimately to convince Hades to let her go.  The catch?  He has to walk out of the underworld without looking back, trusting that Eurydice is following.  And just before he makes his final steps…he looks back.

Rats.

Now, you may be thinking…I know this story!  Isn’t there a newer Broadway musical about it?  Well, you are more with it than me, because as I scrolled down to see the comments on this YouTube video – Hadestown was all anyone was talking about.  So, like any good internet user, I did some searching. 

I now have read the Wikipedia synopsis and listened to quite a few of the songs.  And, I would have to say that Orpheus and Hadestown put some things into perspective for me.  Like any good story, they took me deeper into life and reminded me of truth.

Hadestown does not follow the original myth exactly, but it does still have that shocking ending.  Instead of the hopeful reunion of Orpheus and Eurydice, it ends with a gasp and a separation as Orpheus turns at the last moment and dooms Eurydice back to Hades.

In the song, Road to Hell (Reprise), the cast slowly sings:

It’s an old song

It’s an old tale from way back when

It’s an old song

And that is how it ends

That’s how it goes.

Don’t ask why, brother, don’t ask how

He could have come so close

The song was written long ago

And that is how it goes

It’s a sad song

It’s a sad tale

It’s a tragedy

It’s a sad song

But we sing it anyway

Cause here’s the thing

To know how it ends

And still begin to sing it again

As if it might turn out this time

I learned that from a friend of mine:

See, Orpheus was a poor boy

But he had a gift to give

He could make you see how the world could be

In spite of the way that it is

Ooh.  What a line.  He could make you see how the world could be in spite of the way it is. 

Our world can be so beautiful.  But, sometimes, what we see around us is tragedy.  I’m not just talking about deaths from COVID-19 or the potential economic consequence of social distancing and government shut-downs.  I’m talking about broken relationships, broken homes, devasting natural disasters, uncertainty, fear, confusion, etc. 

But what if, my friends, there is more to the world than what we see?  Is this sadness all there is?

To quote some other fictional stories:

What if Samwise Gamgee was right when he said: 

“Gandalf!  I thought you were dead!  But then I thought I was dead myself.  Is everything sad going to come untrue?  What’s happened to the world?”  

(Tolkien, The Return of the King)

What if Emily was right? 

“It had always seemed to Emily, ever since she could remember, that she was very, very near to a world of wonderful beauty.  Between it and herself hung only a thin curtain; she could never draw the curtain aside – but sometimes, just for a moment, a wind fluttered it and then it was as if she caught a glimpse of the enchanting realm beyond – only a glimpse – and heard a note of unearthly music.”

(LM Montgomery, Emily of New Moon)

I believe the fictional stories of Orpheus & Eurydice, Sam, and Emily all strike a chord in me because they are a hint of a Greater Story.

In that Story, a powerful God created a perfect world.  Being a gentleman, He allowed his creatures to choose to follow Him or not.  When they chose to reject Him and rebel, the world became broken.  That brokenness showed up in a myriad of ways (broken relationships, natural disasters, horrible diseases).  However, this God refused to watch His creatures suffer without doing something about it.  He ENTERED His created world, took on His creatures’ form and consequences for their own rebellion, and made a way for all the sad things to be made untrue.  Simply by re-submitting to His Lordship and accepting His gift, His creatures could be restored to relationship with Him!  This God ultimately defeated death so that death was no longer the end! Yet, this God did not completely destroy all evil right away.  He knew that some of His creatures (who themselves were evil) would choose Him in time.  So, currently, His followers are left waiting to be united with the God of infinite beauty and kindness.  While they wait, they sing His songs, in the hope that others may choose to follow Him as well.

If this story is true, fictional Sam’s wish is granted – sadness will be defeated.

If this story is true, fictional Emily has sensed what is REAL – beauty beyond this world that she one day gets to join.

If this story is true, fictional Orpheus could bring people hope by singing  - not of a world he wished was true, but of world where each story can have an happy ending.

My friends, I believe with all my heart that this Great Story is not fictional at all.  It is found in the Bible and gives us HOPE in the midst of tragedy and uncertainty.  The hero of this story is not some narcissistic Greek god, but the Son of God:  Jesus Christ. 

The very last song of Hadestown is called “We Raise Our Cups”

“…some birds sing when the sun shines bright – our praise is not for them.

But the one who sings in the dead of night – we raise our cups to them.

Some flowers bloom where the green grass grows – our praise is not for them.

But the ones who bloom in the bitter snow – we raise our cups to them.”

It’s hard to sing in the dead of night and the bitter snow...unless you have hope.

Orpheus, for all his beautiful singing, failed to save Eurydice and was left to live life without her.

It doesn’t matter how many times we sing this song or watch Hadestown…Orpheus will still turn back.

But in the Greater Story, Jesus takes on the cross and wins back those He loves!

If you know Jesus as your Savior – may you be like Orpheus, singing with a song more beautiful than any earthly stain of music – so that other people seek to know the Great Story.

If you don’t know Jesus as your Savior – may I implore you to read His story and see if it’s true?  I’d love to talk to you about the hope it can bring you.

Because it’s not a myth about a failing hero.

It’s a story about forgiveness and love.

And it’s TRUE.