Chen
Hongguo's "Babette's Feast" (Babette's Feast) takes place in a remote and poor village on the east coast of Denmark in the 19th century. A pastor took his two daughters and a group of Puritan villagers, leading a rigorous and plain life. They dress in a simple dress, and eat only boiled and dried fish with batter each meal. For them, the whole meaning of life lies in the yearning for a sweet heaven, and the days on earth seem to be just a short journey that must be endured. For the home of faith, worldly pleasures should be given up.
However, life is not unpredictable. There will always be some intoxicating emotions that slightly stir the tranquil soul. After all, these two daughters are so radiant and have extraordinary temperaments. A young and unrestrained military officer fell in love with his eldest daughter, but finally left in agony because he could not bear the hard and cruel life of poverty. He resolutely believes that he needs to find a brilliant image in the world of profession and prestige. Another singer from Paris, France overheard the voice of his little daughter's nature. He was fascinated by it and devoted himself to giving her vocal lessons, trying to make her singing shine on the Paris stage. However, when the singer's affectionate singing disturbed the little daughter's affection, she realized in time that she had to abandon such feelings. In the end, the singer could only leave the village
sadly ... More than ten years have passed. The old priest has already passed away, and the two sisters have also entered middle age. They serve the villagers as always, but the rigid faith life does not bring harmony between believers. When they worship on the Sabbath, even though they still organize the fellowship in an orderly manner, the sacred music can no longer bring inner peace. People are full of complaints, estrangement and suspicion. In this situation, the kind sisters can do nothing.
In the blink of an eye, more than thirty years have passed since the hazy years of love. One stormy night, a woman named Barbie suddenly broke into their lives. Barbie's husband and son were lost in the French Civil War. In order to escape persecution, she smuggled into this fishing village with the help of her cousin. The singer introduced her to Paris. Barbie begged as long as she stayed, and she could work for them without any compensation. The two sisters took her in softly, and Barbie worked for them for twelve years. She had no complaints about the simple and crude diet. She was careful about her calculations and silently undertook housework, injecting vitality into the deadly country life.
One day, Barbie received a letter from Paris. It turned out that she had the "only connection" with Paris. A lottery ticket that a friend helped her fill out every year won the jackpot and won 10,000 francs. At this time, the centenary anniversary of the old priest’s birthday is approaching. In order to repay the kindness, Barbie begs to prepare a rich French dinner for them and the faithful. A few days later, Barbie returned, and what followed was a ship of various ingredients specially shipped from France: different brands of high-end wine, vegetables, vegetables and fungi, ham and seafood, quail turtles, and all kinds of exquisite tableware. And huge ice cubes. Seeing this battle, the sisters felt restless in their sleep and food, for fear that they would hinder the path to heaven. But they were so kind, so they had to cry and explain to the old church members that they were unwilling to brush Barbie’s painstaking efforts and could not refuse the banquet, but for that firm belief, they agreed not to comment on the food and drinks during the meal. The good or bad, because the tongue is used to praise and thank, and can not indulge in the temptation of the mouth.
The time for the banquet came, and the officer who had pursued his sister many years ago and his aunt were also not invited to commemorate the priest. He is now a royal general. The gorgeously decorated dining table presents a luxury that has never been seen in the village. However, every time they tasted delicious food, the believers suppressed themselves and deliberately turned off the topic to tell those beliefs and memories. Only the well-informed general constantly praised the fine wines and exquisite cuisine. He even tasted that the finale, quail, was made by a female chef in a famous restaurant in Paris. It turns out that Barbie is the once smashing chef.
Although everyone is so restrained, the warm food seems to be beginning to melt people's long-frozen hearts. Some people began to whisper "Hallelujah", and some people used the memory of the old pastor to reflect on their own faults and express their apologies, instead of accusing each other like the previous dull gatherings. It was at this time that the satiated general stood up and made an important speech. He said:
Kindness and truth have met, justice and bliss will also kiss each other. Defective and short-sighted humans believe that they must make choices in this life and tremble with the risks they take. We do know fear. But it is not the case. Our choice is not important. At a certain moment, when we open our eyes, we will realize that kindness is infinite. We just need to wait with faith and receive with gratitude. Kindness does not attach any conditions. All our choices, together with what we have rejected, have been given to us. Yes, we even found what we rejected, because kindness meets truth, justice and bliss kiss each other. (Hong Guo's Note: I am grateful to retranslate this piece of praise for reviving the soul. The original text is as follows, for you to share: Mercy and truth have met together, righteousness and bliss shall kiss one another. Man, in his weakness and shortsightedness believes he must make choices in this life. He trembles at the risks he takes. We do know fear. But no. Our choice is of no importance. There comes a time when you r eyes are opened, and we come to realize the mercy is infinite. We need only await it with confidence and receive it with gratitude. Mercy imposes no conditions. Everything we have chosen has been granted to us. And everything we rejected has also be granted. Yes, we even get back what we rejected, for mercy and truth are met together,
Barbie's feast bears good fruits. At the candlelight meeting after the meal, everyone listened to the sound of the holy piano and singing, and understood how the light of heaven illuminates the people on the earth, and how people will respond positively to the beautiful grace on the earth. When the old people held hands and sang songs of faith around the well in the center of the yard, they finally knew that eternity was approaching, because they were experiencing the moment with their hearts and were absorbing the source of the living water that the Holy Spirit sprinkled in every corner of their lives. Only by facing the light can we get out of the night, and only by embracing the warmth can we get rid of the cold.
The story of grace reached an amazing climax at the end of the movie. The feast was gone, and the two kind sisters thought it was time for Barbie to say goodbye to them, but Barbie calmly told them that she would not return to Paris anymore. She had already spent all the 10,000 francs she had won on the feast. . When the sisters apologized for her generous spending and worried about her poverty for the rest of her life, she smiled frankly that artists are never poor. Barbie brought a breath of grace to this group of devout people, Yang Philip therefore concluded, "Barbie's feast, a treasure that is hard to find for a thousand years, is like this for a group of people who have not done anything at all. Grace is used in its usual form. The way came to that small fishing village: free, no strings attached, and the other party treats you.” ("How Strange Grace", p.25) The sisters once closed the door to grace. After the feast, they realized that the arrival of grace was so easy. Such abundance, as long as we can incorporate life into the love and sunshine of grace.
Asceticism is not necessarily what God likes, because everything God has created is so beautiful. We have no reason to refuse the joy of life. "Natural desire is not a supernatural enemy." As Augustine said, God is a generous gifter, and the world is a place of joy. These natural joyful gifts are like the rings a bridegroom prepares for the bride. No bride would say that the ring is enough, so No need to look at the groom. Will not. The ring is a token of the groom, bringing out the true message, that is, the vow of love. In the same way, we can only see the source of light through the fresh vitality of this world, through all the beauty and normal desires. The world of heaven and today's world were originally inseparable.
Barbie symbolizes a true balance. She not only allows us to face the “innate desire, which is actually a signpost pointing to the supernatural, not a roadblock” (Philip Yang, Rumors of Another World, p. 43), but also reminds us not to indulge in These desires themselves regard desire and pleasure as the purpose of life, and forget the source of grace full of love and light. Barbie used all of her to bring a magnificent feast to the boring sisters and villagers, but she also refused the life of indulging in feast without hesitation. She did not miss the luxury of Paris in the least. As she said, artists are never poor. This is because the artist can discover the beauty of God's creation. The sister who has the voice of Tian Lai did not choose to go to the glorious Paris to be a singing idol chased by millions of people, so the singer will envy and say in the letter: "You have chosen the right path. What is fame? It is waiting for us all. Tomb... I will hear your singing again in the Garden of Eden, where you will become a great artist. It is God’s will.” Similarly, the general who once thought that he would never return to this kind of life is gaining After the dignity of the world, he realized that his soul will be with the person he loves for life. He confided to his lover that this evening he finally knew that in this beautiful world of ours, everything is possible, not as he used to think that some things will never be possible. Grace is so strange.
Barbie’s balance is a wonderful balance: all of her life service is witnessing the words in the Lord’s Prayer—the heavenly Father gives us “our daily food and drink today”, and life should be by The composition of gratitude and taste allows us to discover the infinite charm contained in it. Only from this can we know the humble and noble position of man in the universe.
Thanks to Mr. Yu Xingzhong for recommending this video for me. I sincerely hope that he can be filled with the Holy Spirit soon and feel the world of grace given by God, so that Barbie’s feast will truly come to his life; thanks to Yang Philip’s work It gave me full enlightenment and allowed me to enjoy another Barbie feast in my life.
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