I feel grieved over
the untimely death of Philip Seymour Hoffman in a way that I have not
felt over the death of other stars in recent years. The 46-year-old
actor par excellence was found dead in his Manhattan apartment with a
needle in his arm on February 2, 2014. He had apparently died of a
drug overdose.
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| Philip Seymour Hoffman, 1967-2014 |
Why does this bother
me so much more than the equally untimely death of his fellow actor,
Paul Walker, who died at the age of 40 only a couple of months
before? I've meditated on this and come to the conclusion that my
feelings are multifaceted; therefore, isolating any one factor as the
cause is reductionist. That said, analyzing the many reasons for my
grief has led me to a deeper understanding of God's common grace to
humankind.
What are the
different reasons for my reaction? For one Hoffman appears to have
died in desperate slavery to addiction, which he thought he had
previously mastered. Rather than judging him, I wish I could have
been there in his last desperate moments to try to show him love and
compassion that might turn his heart from slavery to liberty.
Additionally, he was young. The closer to I come to my forties, the
younger I realize it is. He was a father to three young children,
whom he shared with his girlfriend. The mere thought of leaving my
children fatherless rends my soul. My heart breaks for all of these
reasons; however, there is another factor, which deserves some
biblical reflection--he was an actor of the highest quality. I don't
mean to disparage the career of Paul Walker, but, for all Walker's
success, his skill as an artist in the realm of acting was easily
overshadowed by that of Hoffman. I'm neither a critic nor an actor,
but, in my mind, there is no comparison between the two. It is the
difference between my theological writing and John Calvin's.
All other things
being equal (and they probably are not in this case), why should the
acting ability of the deceased have any effect on how I respond to
their deaths? Herein lies the theological reflection. This is not
about the sins of two men, nor is it about whether they knew Jesus as
Lord and Savior. I can't answer those questions and do not care to
try. It is about God's grace.
Christian
theologians differentiate between two types of grace. The first is
God's saving grace, by which God justifies the sinner who places his
faith in Jesus Christ as Lord. It is this grace that saves the
wretched sinner from the wrath of God that he deserves. When the
preacher says, "We are saved by grace alone," this is what
what means. Sola Gratia. This salvific grace, also called particular
grace, applies only to those who come to Jesus in faith. (Ephesians
2:5,8)
The second kind of
grace is common grace. It is "common" in that it is God's
favor shown to all human beings, despite the fact that no one
deserves God's kindness. (Ps. 145:9; Matt. 5:45) This is not the kind
of grace that leads to salvation, nor is it relegated to the
faithful. It is for everyone. Common grace means that God shows
kindness to everyone, whether they know Jesus or not. What is this
kindness that he shows indiscriminately to humankind? He has given
humanity innovation, technology, medication, friendship, families,
wealth, and He has restrained the worst of human evil. He has
withheld his righteous anger toward fallen humanity in an act of
cosmic patience. In addition to all of this, he has given us the
arts--poetry, painting, drawing, printing, acting, singing, dancing,
etc... God bestowed upon man the concept and ability of
self-expression in aesthetically pleasing ways to bring joy to the
soul.
God bestowed this
upon Philip Seymour Hoffman to an unusual degree. Losing Hoffman to
an ugly addiction and even uglier death is the robbery of humankind.
The same sin that stripped joy from the Garden of Eden has stripped
the twenty-first century of a great actor. It is no wonder that God
hates sin. It wrecks his created beauty.
The snuffing out of
God's grace, which was bestowed to us through Hoffman's gift, drives
me to the hope and expectation of the endless age we will spend in
the New Heavens and the New Earth. It will be a sacred and unending
age in which God's gracious gifts of joy-inducing creativity will not
be destroyed by cancerous sin. Death will not win.
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I pray for grace and
peace upon Hoffman's family.
