The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Luke 14:7-14
7 When he noticed how the guests chose the places of honor, he told them a parable. 8 “When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit down at the place of honor, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited by your host; 9 and the host who invited both of you may come and say to you, ‘Give this person your place,’ and then in disgrace you would start to take the lowest place. 10 But when you are invited, go and sit down at the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher’; then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at the table with you. 11 For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
12 He said also to the one who had invited him, “When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. 13 But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. 14 And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

(Start with bell ringing)

“And if you wish to receive of the ancient city an impression with which the modern one can no longer furnish you, climb–on the morning of some grand festival, beneath the rising sun of Easter or of Pentecost–climb upon some elevated point, whence you command the entire capital; and be present at the wakening of the chimes. Behold, at a signal given from heaven, for it is the sun which gives it, all those churches quiver simultaneously. First come scattered strokes, running from one church to another, as when musicians give warning that they are about to begin. Then, all at once, behold!–for it seems at times, as though the ear also possessed a sight of its own,–behold, rising from each bell tower, something like a column of sound, a cloud of harmony. First, the vibration of each bell mounts straight upwards, pure and, so to speak, isolated from the others, into the splendid morning sky; then, little by little, as they swell they melt together, mingle, are lost in each other, and amalgamate in a magnificent concert. It is no longer anything but a mass of sonorous vibrations incessantly sent forth from the numerous belfries; floats, undulates, bounds, whirls over the city, and prolongs far beyond the horizon the deafening circle of its oscillations. -Victor Hugo, The Hunchback of Notre Dom
(Bell ringing)

I really enjoy Victor Hugo’s writings and the religious themes he explores. He most famous book is Les Misérables, but the Hunchback of Notre Dom is also a masterpiece. And though it’s a masterpiece, I for the life of me, don’t understand why Disney thought this was a good film to adapt. But they did and it is a very powerful film exploring religious themes. We watched one of the songs in between the scripture readings. And it’s literally a prayer, a very sacred prayer where one of society’s losers, outcasts asks G-d for help.
The plot of the story is told as a parable of legend by a gypsy. And it is the story of an evil Church and government leader who is forced to raise a child who is disabled. And the story is set in the 1500’s and thankfully we’ve come a long way in how we understand and treat people with disabilities or who are different than us. But if we actually go back to the Bible we can see that G-d has cared and respected these people all along- that they’re not “other” but beloved children of G-d. We see this throughout the Old and New Testament. But in our story not only is Quasimodo’s caretaker cruel, there is also a particularly heart breaking scene where he is abused and beaten and tied up and has rotten veggies and fruit thrown at him and so he doesn’t trust the outsiders. The only one he trusts is a kind gypsy woman who treats him with respect and she is the only who sings the song we heard before.

Now as I mentioned before, the original source material is much more disturbing than the Disney version. And in the original story both Esmerelda and Quasimodo die. And a few years ago musical version and adaptation came out and it started at La Jolla Playhouse- which had the Disney songs as well as more music and the original plot. Now you know me, I am very very big theater dork. And one of my favorite theater companies is Deaf West Theater right here in Los Angeles, they put on productions that are a mix between Deaf and Hearing Actors. And one of the actors that has been part of their company for the last like 17 years is Michael Arden. And he recently directed their Broadway Production of Spring Awakening, he just directed Once on this Island on Broadway and was nominated for a Tony. But he got his start as an actor, and very talented actor. And he originated this role in the new musical production of The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

And what’s interesting is that in the original book not only is Quasimodo physically different, also because he rings bells and they are so loud- he is now deaf, the man who plays the music for the city of Paris can no longer hear it, but only feels the vibrations. And Michael Arden incorporated some sign language into his performance. And I want us to watch the opening and closing scene of the music adaptation. And what you will notice is that it’s church music. That they are signing words you might recognize like Kyre Elison- which is Latin for Jesus have Mercy. And there are players but behind them is a church style choir, and the story is set in the Church, the sanctuary of Notre Dame. And in the first number we will see how the actor Michael Arden transforms into Quasimodo.

CONGREGATION:
And the saints regarded Frollo from their stone facade

CHORUS:
KYRIE ELEISON

CONGREGATION:
And he felt their gaze as if it were the eyes of God

FROLLO: (Spoken)
Oh Lord, you’ve sent me a test. This child is my cross to bare.
I may not have saved my brother, but I will save this…thing.
(Sung)
See this lonesome creature from whom lesser men would flee
I will keep and care for him and teach him at my knee to think like me

CONGREGATION:(Spoken)
And Frollo gave the child a name.
A cruel name that means half-formed

FROLLO:
Quasimodo!

CONGREGATION:
Now here is a riddle to guess if you can
Sing the Bells of Notre Dame
What makes a monster and what makes a man?
Sing the Bells, Bells, Bells,
Bells, Bells, Bells, Bells, Bells
Bells of Notre Dame

I think as a Church, we do a pretty good job of respecting people who different needs. I think we do make space for them at the head of the table. We have a great cart full of items to make worship accessible. We partner with Tierra del Sol multiple days a week, we work on treating them as adults and as equals- and not refereeing to them as kids. We have hired through the Tierra del Sol job program and Daniel is a wonderful addition to our team, he works so hard to clean the church on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

One of my fond memories is before Covid, Allan and Janna joined our Church as full members. And Allen and Janna had special needs. And shortly after they became members we had a Sunday where we were installing and ordaining Elders. And the way it works in the Presbyterian Church is that only people who have already been installed as Elders are supposed to come up and lay on hands. Well as I invited people who had already served as Elders to come up and lay on hands. And Allen pushed Janna forward and there was no way I was going to say, no go back to your seats. It would be the opposite of Jesus’ teachings. Allan’s and Janna’s deaths were hard, when Covid swept through their care home. But I will forever be changed by them coming up and laying on hands. And I will forever be thankful for the many lessons they taught me in the short time I had the honor of being their pastor. So as a whole, I think we do pretty good ensuring the respect for people with disabilities- as a society we still have a long way to go but we as a Church are passionate about being part of that change.

Church should be the great equalizer. Kathy Black reminds us; “A theology of interdependence honors the value of all individuals, not by what they do, but by who they are, recognizing that each and every person contributes to the community by being, not by doing. Interdependence acknowledges not only our dependence on God and one another, but also God’s dependence on us to be agents of God’s healing compassion in the world. It recognizes that all living organisms in the universe are connected and vying for life. Some of these have negative effects on others, and that is the reality in which we live.” A Healing Homiletic: Preaching and Disability by Kathy Black
Where are some other areas we could grow in this department? I think one area would be, sometimes we have this attitude about members who have been here longer than visitors or people who have more recently began attending- and we don’t always treat their ideas, feelings or calls from G-d equally. Or we make them explain or justify their ideas or ways of doing things to people who have been here longer.

Perhaps we think Church is a Sunday activity and that we bless the preschool, and Tierra del Sol and the Nesting Church instead of seeing them as fellow travelers, as equals in this space- not as people we need to teach but perhaps have things to teach us. Perhaps we think, that we are holier because of how we vote or what we’ve done professionally. How can we treat this Church as a great equalizer- how might we improve on that. How might we become more loving and hospitable?
I want to show you the ending of the play- where people humble themselves and also take on the forms of Quasimodo. As they acknowledge his humanity, that sometimes what society tells us is superior is rather a hinderance.
(Start when he strokes the soldgers hair…)

[Congregation]
The world is cruel
The world is ugly
But there are times
And there are people
When the world is not
And at its cruelest
It’s still the only world we’ve got
Light and dark
Foul and fair

[Quasimodo]
Out there

[Choir]
Olim deus accelere
Hoc saeculum splendidum

[Congregation/Chorus]
Someday
Life will be kinder
Love will be blinder
Some new afternoon
Godspeed this bright millennium
Hope lives on
Wish upon the moon
Let it come one day

[Choir]
Olim deus accelere
Hoc saeculum splendidum

[Congregation/Chorus]
Someday
Life will be kinder
Love will be blinder
Some new afternoon
Godspeed this bright millennium
Hope lives on
Wish upon the moon
Let it come one day
Accelere fiat venire olim

[Quasimodo]
Someday—

[Congregation/Chorus]
Soon

[Clopin]
Morning in Paris
A new day appears
Sing the bells of Notre Dame
Ending the tale
Of your poor balladeers
Sing the bells of Notre Dame

[Congregation]
And we wish we could leave you a moral
Like a trinket you hold in your palm
But here is a riddle to guess if you can
Sing the bells of Notre Dame

What makes a monster
And what makes a man

[All]
Sing the bells, bells, bells, bells
Bells, bells, bells, bells
Bells, bells

[Clopin,Pheobus, Esmeralda, Quasimodo, Frollo]
Whatever their pitch you
Can feel them bewitch you
The rich and the ritual knells

[All]
Of the bells of Notre Dame

(End of Clip)

Perhaps you are like me and didn’t understand the Latin the congregation/chorus was signing at the end:

Olim deus accelere
Hoc saeculum splendidum
Accelere fiat venire olim

Once upon a time, God hastened this splendid age
Let it be hastened to come once

7 When he noticed how the guests chose the places of honor, he told them a parable. 8 “When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit down at the place of honor, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited by your host; 9 and the host who invited both of you may come and say to you, ‘Give this person your place,’ and then in disgrace you would start to take the lowest place. 10 But when you are invited, go and sit down at the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher’; then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at the table with you. 11 For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

12 He said also to the one who had invited him, “When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. 13 But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. 14 And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” The Teachings of our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.