To See The Face of God

by Ralph Dalusung

17 January 2013
Discussed Text: Levinas, "Secrecy and Freedom," Ethics and Infinity


'm sure many of the people who will read this (if there will be any) have already watched one of the most popular movies out in theaters at the moment - Les Miserables. I'm sure some will find my decision to use the film/musical slightly corny or uninspired, but I would be lying to myself if I said the film didn't pull me out of my seat and entice me to ponder on some of our recent lessons. The funny thing is, the movie didn't "move me" until one of the last lines which went, "To love another person is to see the face of God." Just like that, a fast-rewind of the movie clicked in my mind and I began to see just how that line encompassed the movie. In fact, it encompasses a lot more than just the movie.

In class recently, we've discussed the idea of totality vs. infinity. We described God as "an infinite substance, omniscient and all powerful". God is Infinite, and thus we mortals cannot fully grasp nor comprehend Him or His nature. In fact, it's somewhat popularly known among many Christians that if we were to witness God in His "full glory", we would die. The Finite cannot contain the Infinite. How then are we supposed to see the face of God? How do we finite beings deal with the Infinite?

In Les Miserables, Jean Valjean's life is a testament to how loving the Other can enable one to see the face of God. As an escaped criminal on parole, Jean Valjean returned an old Bishop's kindness by stealing the silver valuables in the Church. When he was caught, the Bishop still saved his life and even let him have keep the silver valuables. He only asked that Jean use the silver to "become a better man". Jean, being a disillusioned slave and prisoner for 19 years, was so moved by the gesture that he promised to change his ways from then on. In contrast to the other people, the Bishop didn't see him as a poor criminal. Instead, he chose to see Jean as what he really was - a human being. And, being such, he had the capacity to do good.
In the same way, Jean chose not to see Fantine as a prostitute but as a desperate and loving mother. He chose to see Cosette not as a burden but as his own daughter. Even with his enemy, Javert, he chose not to see him as the man who had dealt him so much pain but as a man simply set on doing his job. In fact, there were a number of times wherein Jean could have exacted revenge on Javert, but he chose not to. In all these, he chose to love. He chose not to judge them for what they may have seemed, but to see that they were human beings with their own desires, own dreams and own motivations that he probably may never ever grasp fully.

We can contrast this to Javert who never stopped seeing Jean as an escaped criminal even when Jean had built a new life for himself. He stubbornly clung to his beliefs that Jean broke the law and that he deserved to die. In other words, he succumbed to totality. He was so consumed by this that when Jean spared his life once more, he could not connect Jean's kindness to Jean's identity as a human being. He couldn't cope with Jean's "ungraspability" as a human being and ended up taking his life.

The movie/musical illustrates how respecting the Other as one that we cannot fully grasp, one that we cannot contain in a labelled box, and accepting the Other's "otherness" without prejudice is to bask in the infinite that we, as Creatura, can partly receive from one another. To allow ourselves to reach out to the Other to caress, accepting all of the Other's unfathomable being, and not attempting to simply grasp, leads us to look at the Other as one whom we can love.

Les Miserables means "the miserable ones" or "the victims". In the movie, we see who les miserables are: from the poor and the starving to the even the wealthier people like Javert. The poor were les miserables because they were looked upon as trash and not human beings. The wealthy people like Javert were restless and unsatisfied with their lives as they were the ones who viewed things in black and white, or rich and poor. Jean was the one who chose not to totalize anyone and to instead do good for the Other no matter who the Other was.

Beyond the book, there are also "miserable ones" or "victims". The indigenous people from Casiguran were victimized by APECO as their livelihood and their identity as a people were disregarded in the name of economic growth. Many of the poor are viewed upon as paying the consequence for their own laziness and inadequacies rather than as victims of various other things. These victims were disregarded, ignored, judged and abandoned to suffering.

The best part of looking at the Other as one we can never fully grasp, or one that is infinite to us the same we that we may be infinite to the Other, is that we will always be surprised. Life will always hold more meaning for us, and thus accepting the Other for all that the Other is will lead us to show the Other acts of love. Thus, these acts will hold meaning in themselves and we as human beings in need of purpose will find something that can satisfy that need. So, to love another person is to see God, who is infinite, through that person. To choose to break the barriers of prejudices and to simply love the Other as a human being is to see infinity through the Other.