“The guilty get no sleep in the last slow hours of morning.”
Neil Finn

Recently I watched the film Serpico (1973). The movie stars Al Pacino and was based upon Peter Mass’ biography of New York Police Department officer Frank Serpico, who exposed police corruption on the force.

Over and over throughout the film, we are reminded that Serpico is a music lover: We see him listening to opera, singing as he travels down the highway and turning to a melody for consolation amidst terrible frustration and isolation.

This wasn’t an artistic liberty—music really was that important to Serpico. Prior to filming, Al Pacino asked Serpico to come and stay with him at his home. During that stay Pacino asked the then-retired cop, “Why did you step forward?” Serpico replied, “Well, Al, I don’t know. I guess I would have to say it would be because…if I didn’t, who would I be when I listened to a piece of music?”

What an interesting response—and what a true thing to say!

Good art has a way of unveiling us. It disarms our defenses and sneaks in the back door of our soul. Whatever is inside you—whether it is injustice or love—can be exposed when you let good art in.

Serpico knew that he couldn’t continue to be comfortable having his soul laid bare and open by music while also continuing to contribute to injustice. It was going to have to be one or the other.

In the end, Frank Serpico did a good thing and he did it courageously, but God calls us to a higher standard than that. Jesus Christ is our model for a good life and a clean soul. We can’t live up to that, but in the gospel, God gives us the clean soul we need to truly enjoy art. In the gospel, we are more than forgiven for our every injustice—we are also compelled toward actively pursuing even greater justice. Thanks to the gospel, we don’t need to fear letting a great song, film or book touch our hearts.