The Mysteries

So this is going to seem a little bit overdue to everyone else, but I didn't get to attend the weekend thing for a choir trip, so here is my post about The Mysteries!

Although most of the movie was a drama, I found it very interesting how they included absolutely obvious comedy in it also. Even some of God's lines were funny, which just proves to show that most people believe that God has some kind of sense of humor. But despite all the humor (which really helps you interested in a five and a half hour play) one of my favorite parts of the play was a dramatic one. The Abraham story. Magnificently told. It made me really wonder if I could do such a thing, if I had the kind of faith and capability to take my own son's life for God. I am pretty sure I would write it off as insanity of myself if I ever even thought God would ask such a thing of me. And that got me thinking.

How could Abrahama even consider doing such a thing? Was this easy for him? Wouldn't he also rather think that he is just going insane than take his own son's life? Did he even think of that?

Right when I am asking all of these questions, all of them are answered. Abraham had just flipped his son over, and began raising the axe or hatchet over his head. It paused and showed a slight close up of Abraham. His expression made me think "He is insane. That's it. He's gone completely nuts." Tears were streaming down his eyes, but he wasn't crying. I think the only way that he could do what he thought was right was to trick himself maybe. If he thought he was insane, then it would easier to do God's bidding. Let's be honest, that is the same with all of us, right? Who really WANTS to do the right thing? Do you want to sit and talk with the smelly kid? Or (especially as a college student) give 10 percent to help others? I don't know, I am just trying to provide an example that we can relate to.

As a closing statement, let me really help you understand what kind of effect this part of the movie had on me. I was eating pizza at this particular part of the movie, and after having stuffed my mouth with meatlover's pizza, I was of course vehemently chewing. As soon as I saw Abraham's face, though... I put the pizza down, stopped chewing, and lost any kind of awareness as to what was going on around me. Everything I mentioned in my previous paragraph ran through my head in less than a second.

I attribute this profound moment to both the playwright understanding how to arrange this moment to really slap the audience across the face, and the actor who utilized every opportunity to make the audience empathize with him.

So anyway, that is why the moment in the Abraham story is my favorite part of The Mysteries.