Spamalot – What Is Your Quest
- by Jonathan Whitaker
"What is your quest?”...”To seek the Grail!"
In my attempt to treat my wife to an evening of culture, I recently took her to see a local production of Spamalot. For those of you not acquainted with the finer works of the Broadway stage, Spamalot is a theatrical adaptation of the film Monty Python and the Holy Grail. If you are a fan of the movie, you won't be disappointed. The play is exactly what you'd expect. It has all of your favorite characters and scenes, but they are now set to music. A song from Life of Brian even makes the bill.
I am sure, for those of you who have not seen the musical, it is a safe bet you have at least seen the film. The rest of you, seriously, get Netflix and join the human race. Regardless of which camp you fall into, you should understand one important point about the plot: King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table are on a quest from God to find the Holy Grail. The Grail, just so we are all on equal footing, is the cup that Jesus drank from at the last supper (Matt. 26:27).
In the play as in the film, when King Arthur is given this quest, God appears in the clouds in all of His kingly regalia, complete with flowing white beard. As any of us would do in this same situation, the knights commence groveling and averting their eyes (Matt 17:1-13). That's when God gives King Arthur his purpose: to find the Grail. Arthur is to use his quest to set an example in dark times.
The irony was not lost on me that -- much like God does for King Arthur in the play -- Jesus set each one of us on a quest as He ascended into the heavens. That quest is to make disciples of the nations and baptize them in His name (Mark 16:15-19). And we, like the Knights of the Round Table, often find ourselves on many "holy" misadventures that distract us from the quest to which we were charged.
Take King Arthur for example. Here is a man who was the leader of the band, the man who received the primary instruction from God, yet he often found himself far from the path on which he started. Shortly after consulting a blind oracle, King Arthur found himself lost in a dark forest embroiled in an epic struggle with the Knights Who Say Ni. After matching wits with the fearsome Knights of Ni, Arthur uses all of his skill to produce a shrubbery, which appeases the Knights. Now, I don't mean to suggest that Arthur was not devoted to the task of finding the Grail, but his efforts, noble as they may have been, didn't get him any closer to his goal.
Like Arthur and the Knights of Ni, Christ followers devoted to the Great Commission of Jesus often find themselves engaged in Godly side quests that don't get them closer to their charge of winning souls. What do I mean? Christians do a lot of good for a lot of people. We give money to the poor, we work in food pantries, we lead Bible studies, and we are generally good citizens; all good things. However, as noble as those quests are, what they aren't is the quest that Christ charged us with: to make disciples of the nations, teaching them to obey all He commanded and baptizing them in His name.
So, what can we do about it? First, keep fighting the side quests! Give to the poor; lead a Bible study; slay the Black Knight; defeat the Killer Rabbit of Caerbannog with the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch. But when you do, remember that all of those good works need to serve the Gospel. Take the time to tell people that Christ died in their place when you are out on your side quests. You will have to be brave, like Arthur and his Knights (except Sir Robin). The Gospel is offensive and its enemies are many. However, you need not fear your enemies, because God promises to go with you on your quest (Matt 28:20, Ps 23). Arm yourself with the Word of God, because like Excalibur, it cuts right to the marrow of those whom God has called.
Let me encourage each of you: God has called you by name. You are on a quest. Be brave like Sir Lancelot when he took Swamp castle, so his steed Concord would not have died in vain. In our case, be brave and obey Christ to tell others about the gospel, because Jesus died that we might live.
In my attempt to treat my wife to an evening of culture, I recently took her to see a local production of Spamalot. For those of you not acquainted with the finer works of the Broadway stage, Spamalot is a theatrical adaptation of the film Monty Python and the Holy Grail. If you are a fan of the movie, you won't be disappointed. The play is exactly what you'd expect. It has all of your favorite characters and scenes, but they are now set to music. A song from Life of Brian even makes the bill.
I am sure, for those of you who have not seen the musical, it is a safe bet you have at least seen the film. The rest of you, seriously, get Netflix and join the human race. Regardless of which camp you fall into, you should understand one important point about the plot: King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table are on a quest from God to find the Holy Grail. The Grail, just so we are all on equal footing, is the cup that Jesus drank from at the last supper (Matt. 26:27).
In the play as in the film, when King Arthur is given this quest, God appears in the clouds in all of His kingly regalia, complete with flowing white beard. As any of us would do in this same situation, the knights commence groveling and averting their eyes (Matt 17:1-13). That's when God gives King Arthur his purpose: to find the Grail. Arthur is to use his quest to set an example in dark times.
The irony was not lost on me that -- much like God does for King Arthur in the play -- Jesus set each one of us on a quest as He ascended into the heavens. That quest is to make disciples of the nations and baptize them in His name (Mark 16:15-19). And we, like the Knights of the Round Table, often find ourselves on many "holy" misadventures that distract us from the quest to which we were charged.
Take King Arthur for example. Here is a man who was the leader of the band, the man who received the primary instruction from God, yet he often found himself far from the path on which he started. Shortly after consulting a blind oracle, King Arthur found himself lost in a dark forest embroiled in an epic struggle with the Knights Who Say Ni. After matching wits with the fearsome Knights of Ni, Arthur uses all of his skill to produce a shrubbery, which appeases the Knights. Now, I don't mean to suggest that Arthur was not devoted to the task of finding the Grail, but his efforts, noble as they may have been, didn't get him any closer to his goal.
Like Arthur and the Knights of Ni, Christ followers devoted to the Great Commission of Jesus often find themselves engaged in Godly side quests that don't get them closer to their charge of winning souls. What do I mean? Christians do a lot of good for a lot of people. We give money to the poor, we work in food pantries, we lead Bible studies, and we are generally good citizens; all good things. However, as noble as those quests are, what they aren't is the quest that Christ charged us with: to make disciples of the nations, teaching them to obey all He commanded and baptizing them in His name.
So, what can we do about it? First, keep fighting the side quests! Give to the poor; lead a Bible study; slay the Black Knight; defeat the Killer Rabbit of Caerbannog with the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch. But when you do, remember that all of those good works need to serve the Gospel. Take the time to tell people that Christ died in their place when you are out on your side quests. You will have to be brave, like Arthur and his Knights (except Sir Robin). The Gospel is offensive and its enemies are many. However, you need not fear your enemies, because God promises to go with you on your quest (Matt 28:20, Ps 23). Arm yourself with the Word of God, because like Excalibur, it cuts right to the marrow of those whom God has called.
Let me encourage each of you: God has called you by name. You are on a quest. Be brave like Sir Lancelot when he took Swamp castle, so his steed Concord would not have died in vain. In our case, be brave and obey Christ to tell others about the gospel, because Jesus died that we might live.
