Film Friday The film Maria tells the story of the last week of the life of opera singer Maria Callas. After years of fame and adulation Maria is now alone with her two faithful servants, she is unwell and reliant upon drugs which cause her to hallucinate. She now looks back upon the key moments of her life, her voice now failing, after it had brought her so much success and exaltation.
Maria was hugely talented, and appreciated for it, but I found myself once again wondering at the dangers of fame. People love you for a while, but then that fades as we fade. Maria in this film is full of sorrow and insecurity now that she is unable to conjure the success she once had.
In Matthew chapter 4 Jesus was offered success during his time in the wilderness, the devil promised him that he could have the power and glory of the world if he were to betray his mission and worship the wrong things. We can often try and fill the void inside with things that just make the void bigger. In Matthew 4 we find Jesus deliberately drawn to the desert so that he can focus on his father and be filled with the Holy Spirit. In Hosea chapter 2 verse 14 God promises to draw his people into desert places so that he can speak tenderly to them.
We live in an instant fix world. Everything right there in the palm of our hand, and yet at the same time we can find ourselves feeling lonely and empty, robbed of that which really matters.
I will never abandon you, I will never leave you, Jesus promised. He is the one who can bring what we long for, he is the one who knows what it is to be thirsty and hungry and yearning for something more.
Our loneliness and struggles may continue, but Jesus understands, and day after day, night after night, we can bring our longings to him.
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