Finding God in Unusual Places; Shakespeare in the Park

This time of year is wonderful! I personally love it when you can walk outside late at night or early in the morning, and not worry about freezing your toes off. There is just something about warm late nights that brings a certain satisfaction to me this time of year. I absolutely love it! I feel that there are many reasons that summer is the best season. You have baseball games, amusement parks, swimming, camping, and many other activities that open up in availability this time of year.

One of those activities that I have learned to love is something that happens this time of year locally. In German Village (Columbus, OH) you are able to see Shakespeare in the Park, performed by Actors Theater. (Although they are not limited to Shakespeare, they do many forms of theater.) My wife and I began going on the weekends of last year to watch these fantastic performances in the perfect setting, an outdoor theater in the park, surrounded by a historic part of town. To be honest I was unsure if I would like this or not. I have had some experience with theater overseas in England, but beyond that, my experience was limited to reading the plays for homework assignments in college.

I found myself very apprehensive the first time I experienced Shakespeare in the Park last year. I have always wanted to be "artsy" in someway. I actually remember looking through my wardrobe trying to find "artsy" clothing that would mesh in with the theater crowd. My apprehension came from the fact that I could be seen as an outsider. It was very possible that I would stick out like a sore thumb, and that people could tell that I do not belong with the theater crowd. (Is this pathetic?)

We arrived at German Village and found the best spot available for the show. As the wife and I unfolded our chairs, I scoped out the crowd. The crowd was as I expected. Diversity and an artistic spirit was very much present. I wondered if my plaid shirt, boot cut jeans, and sandals was enough to be considered apart of the scene. As I finally sat down, I took more time to really study the people there. There was a little girl (about the age of 9?) that had her own copy of "measure for measure". I could over hear her enthusiasm about the upcoming performance. The mother had mentioned to another person that she had most of the play memorized word for word! Are you kidding? This girl was for real. I felt that I was being shown up by a theater guru that wasn't even half my age.

I also noticed the blanket people. You see there are two tiers of the crowd. There was the chair people, which we were apart of. I was happy to be a chair person. But then there were the blanket people. There seemed to be a whole new level of "artsy-ness" to the blanket people. Many of them sat cross-legged and they had picnic baskets and wine with glasses and all. As I surveyed my new environment, I felt more an more out of my league. There was this nagging feeling that I didn't belong. I was certainly ready for the show to finally begin.

My apprehension soon fell to the way-side. The opening music came on, the actors began their first scene. All of the sudden it hit me. These guys were really good at what they do. Understand this, I have seen some of the most famous plays and performances in the most famous theaters in England. I certainly had something to compare the acting and the setting to. I was overwhelmed with the creativity and talent that I witnessed that night. It is like when you go to the movies and you go in thinking about life and all the problems that you are experiencing. But then the opening credits roll and you find yourself caught in the story, and all of those prior thoughts disappear with the opening sequence.

As intermission came, I leaned over to Meghan shared my thoughts on the experience. Meghan shared my enthusiasm about what we were apart of. We talked about how the acting was top-notch and how it was amazing that there were just a handful of actors and actresses playing all of the parts.

Here is the funny thing about that night. I went into the evening with heavy apprehension about a whole lot of silly things. But as the night progressed, as I witnessed great acting and narrative execution, I simply had forgotten about any apprehension that I might have had. I got caught up in the whole experience in itself.

Something occurred to me that night. You see, I felt very much on the "outside" of the theater crowd. I felt the need to bust out my most "artsy" clothing just to be seen as perhaps an "insider". I even felt uneasy about being a part of the chair crowd, and I allowed a 9 year old Shakespeare fanatic make me feel even more insecure. But after all said and done, these insecurities faded away as I experienced something special. When there is an outpouring of creativity and skill, does it not make everything else seem trivial. As the show ended, I realized that I came into the night very much insecure about where I was relative to the theater crowd.

But as we folded our chairs that night to pack up and head home, it occurred to me that I was leaving as someone that was part of the experience that night. I was wowed and amazed at the performance as anyone else was that night, including the fanatic 9 year old. I learned a great lesson that night. I walked away that evening feeling that it only takes a shared experience to level the playing field. What people do and how they do it carries the potential to allow anyone to join in a feel like they belong.

Isn't this the message of the first century church. Under that culture, diversity was something that was very prevalent. There were even different religions that came together to see what it meant to follow this Christ in their world. The meshing of all of the cultures, religions, and even genders really gives us a picture of what it would have meant to be a part of the first century church. But read these words as recorded in Acts 2:42-47;

"They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."

I could just imagine the apprehension of an "outsider" coming into the picture in those days. Did you have to dress differently to feel that you were apart of what was happening? Did you have to memorize, word for word, the ancient scriptures to be included with this special experience? Would people look down on you if they felt that you didn't belong? Then I look at these verses and realize something. Shared experiences led to a level playing field then too. Any apprehensions disappeared in an experience of togetherness that one felt as you witnessed the works of the Spirit in peoples lives. I wonder how long it took for one's apprehensions to fade away. Was it after someone shared with you the teachings of the greatest commands? How about the third time you would share a meal together? Or perhaps it would be the time when you fell sick and others sold there possessions to make sure there were finances to take care of your needs? Either way, I feel that if you were an "outsider", It didn't take long for you to feel other wise.

May we begin to realize that church has something great to offer. As my experience with Shakespeare in the Park proved to be a lesson learned on what it means to "belong", let us look to the first century church to recapture what it means to to be a church in the 21st century, with an open invitation to belong.

-dj