Law, Gospel, Hamlet, and Claudius

After our daughter reads a Shakespeare play in her literature studies we often pick up a movie version of the play and watch it together, sort of as a celebration of a job well done, sort of as a way to see the play produced rather than just reading it.  Last night as we were watching Hamlet together I was struck by the struggle of both Hamlet and Claudius.  

Claudius has killed his brother, married his brother's wife, and taken the throne.  He is dogged by a guilty conscience.  Seeking refuge in drunkenness, debauchery, and sending his detractors to foreign countries to be killed there is not proving to be adequate.  The situation comes to a head for him when he is confronted by a dramatic depiction of his murder of his brother.  We find him praying for forgiveness.  He knows that it is his sin which consigned Jesus to death, and that Jesus died in his behalf so he might live.

Enter Hamlet, who overhears his uncle/stepfather praying.  Hamlet has bound himself by an oath that he will kill Claudius and avenge his father's death.  But upon hearing Claudius pray Hamlet does not go through with his plan to kill him.  After all, does it make sense to dispatch Claudius from his earthly turmoils and send him to heavenly bliss?  Is this appropriate vengeance?

I think both Hamlet and Claudius are significant in their portrayal of the sinful human conscience.  Hamlet binds himself by an oath which will bring harm on someone else and will not actually do anything for himself.  He knows that mortal life is not everything there is.  He knows it is a terrible thing to kill someone.  Yet this is exactly what he agrees to do.  By breaking his oath or by fulfilling his oath he will bring grief.  Claudius knows the gravity of his situation.  He knows how wrong he is.  Yet even after his prayer and confession he immediately returns to his evil.  He realizes he is willfully walking back into his sinful pattern.  But this is just what we do.

What's the solution?  Well, Hamlet is a tragedy after all, so there isn't a solution in the play.  Sadly that seems to be where most of us leave it, where most of us leave ourselves, most of the time.  We confess the promises of Christ, we confess the full and free forgiveness of sin to everyone who repents of sin, then we immediately act as if there is no hope and we return into our sin.  The Bible, unlike Shakespeare, gives us a future promise.  We see in the resurrection of Christ the hope of salvation.  We see that all who believe will be raised into the resurrection of life.  At some time all our sin will be stripped away from us forever.  In the meantime we see our sin brings grief to God's spirit and we turn to our Lord in repentance, though we know we will grieve him again.

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Dave Spotts
blogging at http://capnsaltyslongvoyage.blogspot.com and http://alex-kirk.blogspot.com