If not for the musical The Man of La Mancha, I might never have read Cervantes’ classic novel Don Quixote. But because I did, I learned something important about knights and quests that seem impossible.
In the story, a confused, elderly Don Quixote thinks himself a knight and goes on a quest in late 16th century Spain.
Or is he confused? As he sings in the musical:
"Hear me now
Oh thou bleak and unbearable world,
Thou art base and debauched as can be;
And a knight with his banners all bravely unfurled
Now hurls down his gauntlet to thee!
Hear me, heathens and wizards
And serpents of sin!
All your dastardly doings are past,
For a holy endeavor is now to begin
And virtue shall triumph at last!
I learned I needed to broaden my concepts of what it means to be a knight. It's not about the armor, the jousting, or the swords. It’s about the quest—and the kind of people who go on quests.
We meet some true knights in this week’s Acts passage. Peter and the other Apostles are dragged before Israel’s leaders. They are chastised because, even though ordered not to, they dared to tell everyone about the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. This is actually a contest between good knights and evil men. Weapons are brandished—spiritual weapons. It's not the confused tilting at windmills of Don Quixote. But make no mistake about it: When Peter responds to the Chief Priest, a gauntlet is hurled down!
These Apostles are on a quest. They are "armed" with the Holy Spirit, and no amount of priestly command or threat is going to keep them from going "onward to glory!" There’s another Man of La Mancha song, “The Impossible Dream,” which perfectly captures the quest of these Jesus followers:
"To dream the impossible dream
To fight the unbeatable foe
To bear with unbearable sorrow
To run where the brave dare not go
To right the unrightable wrong
To love pure and chaste from afar
To try when your arms are too weary
To reach the unreachable star
“This is my quest, to follow that star
No matter how hopeless, no matter how far
To fight for the right, without question or pause
To be willing to march into Hell, for a Heavenly cause
“And the world will be better for this:
That one man, scorned and covered with scars,
Still strove, with his last ounce of courage,
To reach the unreachable star!"
Does it seem impossible to dream big dreams, to stand against seemingly unbeatable foes, to bear one another’s sorrows, to right wrongs, to love purely, to keep trying and to never lose faith?
It’s not.
Jesus, scorned and covered with scars, marched into Hell for a Heavenly cause—the Heavenly cause—and returned triumphant. We can now reach what was once unreachable. Now, we are the knights engaged in the Heavenly endeavor.
This is our quest.
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ART: Picasso’s Don Quixote and the controversy surrounding it:
A fascinating summary and review of the Don Quixote novel:
Josh Groban sings The Impossible Dream:
Ricky Comeaux sings Man of La Mancha:
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DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast meets Friday on Zoom** and in person at Our Breakfast Place. Join us at 8:00 am for some good food, great scripture, and each other’s company.
No gauntlets will be hurled, down or otherwise.
Blessings,
Steve
**Zoom link (Zoom allows you to mute the camera and the microphone if you don’t wish to be seen or heard.)
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89947678414
SCRIPTURES FOR SUNDAY AND THE COMING WEEK
Find them here:
Print them here:
Acts 5:27-32
Psalm 118:14-29 or Psalm 150
Revelation 1:4-8
John 20:19-31
Second Sunday of Easter (April 27, 2025)
