Have you ever watched a film expecting nothing more than a quiet evening on the sofa, only to find yourself still thinking about it days later? That was The Staircase for me.
Inspired by the story of the remarkable staircase at the Loretto Chapel in Santa Fe, the sisters discover a rather significant problem. Their beautiful chapel is finished... but there is no way to reach the choir loft. It's a bit like building a house and then realising you've forgotten the stairs. Not ideal!
At first, they react much as we probably would. There's frustration, confusion and plenty of wondering whose fault it is. Surely somebody should have noticed!
It's very human. First we blame everyone else, then we eventually recognise that perhaps we have some responsibility too.
The Sisters then stop looking backwards, turn towards God and do what Christians have done for centuries when faced with the seemingly impossible: they pray, they trust and they wait.
Then a mysterious carpenter arrives. He quietly builds an extraordinary spiral staircase and disappears before anyone can properly thank him.
Whether we see it as miracle, mystery or legend, there's something beautiful in the message. We would love God to hand us the complete blueprint for our lives, preferably with the difficult bits clearly marked! Instead, He often gives us enough for just the next step.
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding." (Proverbs 3:5)
Faith isn't about seeing the whole staircase. Sometimes it's simply trusting God enough to take the next step.
But there's another part of the film that stayed with me.
The young Apache boy, Rolling Thunder, is treated with suspicion and contempt by the Revered Mother. Not because he is different, but because she judges him by the actions and reputation of others from his tribe and those who came before him.
His story has effectively been written before anyone has taken the time to know him.
Uncomfortable though as it might be to admit, we can do the same.
We see someone's background, family, nationality, appearance, beliefs or their past and think, "Oh, they're one of those." We fill in the gaps before we've heard their story.
Jesus continually challenged this.
Others saw a Samaritan; Jesus saw a person. People saw a tax collector; Jesus saw a disciple. Those at the foot of the cross saw a criminal by Jesus’ side, but Jesus saw someone worthy of grace.
Jesus tells us:
"Do not judge, or you too will be judged." (Matthew 7:1)
When life doesn't go according to plan, instead of immediately asking "Whose fault is this?", perhaps we might ask "Lord, what are you teaching me?"
And when we meet someone whose story, background or experience is different from ours, perhaps we should resist writing their story for them and take the time to discover who they really are.
Perhaps The Staircase leaves us with two simple challenges:
- Trust God when you cannot see the whole staircase.
- Don’t judge someone simply because you don’t understand the journey they’ve travelled.
May God give us humility instead of pride, faith instead of fear, trust for the journey ahead, and eyes that see others through the love and grace of Christ.
Have a blessed week.
Ash