Easter Reflection - 'The Passion of the Christ
'Unmissable Passion' - Wednesday's Echo.
A deeply moving film - not only for Christians but for others too. On Friday one person spoke with ten enquirers about Christian things at the Odeon. There are stories of many coming to faith. More leaflets have been ordered to hand out at the Odeon.
Some schoolboys went to see the film. Their teacher happened to be there. 'Hallo miss'. They won't be quiet, she though - knowing them. They were.
It has been the highest grossing five day opening in America of any film.
Some of the criticism of it has been that it is anti-Semitic.
The film is not unique in this. The gospels themselves have been accused of being this.
We must beware political correctness. We must not change history because it does not suit.
We must be aware of the fact though that the gospels have been wrongly used for anti-Semitism. We must listen more carefully to them.
Robert Ebert, a film critic writes: "The Jews who seem to desire Jesus' death are in the priesthood, and have political as well as theological reasons for acting; like today's Catholic bishops who were slow to condemn abusive priests, Protestant TV preachers who confuse religion with politics, or Muslim clerics who are silent on terrorism, they have an investment in their positions and authority. The other Jews seen in the film are viewed positively; Simon helps Jesus to carry the cross, Veronica brings a cloth to wipe his face, Jews in the crowd cry out against his torture."
So, it is only leadership that is shown wanting, not the Jews as a whole. In the film's scenes showing Jesus being condemned to death, we see the roles that both Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor, and Caiaphas, the Jewish high priest, play. Both want to keep the situation under control. Pilate becomes very understandable. In Pilate we see how easily and 'rationally' we can make evil decisions. Frightening!
As in the Gospels, it is in the end a collaboration between Jew and Gentile that leads to Christ's death, compounded by the violence of the Gentile soldiers.
Personally, I have no difficulty in the focus on the Fourteen Stations of the Cross - traditional Roman Catholic points of meditation. Some are not in the Gospels e.g. Veronica wiping Jesus' face. A film always has to elaborate on a text - it has to - so why not use the traditional elaborations. And indeed most are there in the gospels.
Some of the items are from The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ - visions of Anne Catherine Emmerich (1774 to 1824) concerning the totality of horrific sufferings of Jesus Christ. These include Pilate's wife bringing Mary the towels and the two Mary's wiping away the blood, and the details of the nails long and sharp. This does concern me, so far as devotion has been allowed to stand in the place of historical research. Another place where this comes through is in John the disciple calling Mary, mother' throughout, anticipating later misplaced devotion of Mary. The answer to all this is to read the gospels afresh.
There are some nice theological reflections. Where Jesus is tempted in Gethsemane, a snake appears, reminding us of the Garden of Eden story - and Christ crushes it under foot (cp. Gen. 3.15)
It surely puts paid to the idea that Jesus could have survived all that he went through and only swooned on the cross, emerging on Easter Day. It also helps us know that Jesus was not a blue eyed Victorian boy, as so often depicted. A real Middle eastern man.
I thought the portrayal of Pilate was exceptionally good. He comes across as very human, trying to do the best all round in a difficult situation, bearing in mind also Caesar's expectations of him. He shows how evil can be done very rationally and calmly - all the more frightening for that.
What about the violence? Paul wrote: We preach Christ crucified: a stumbling-block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 1 Corinthians 1:23,24
The Cross, a very violent event, is at the heart of our faith. So violent that the Romans themselves banned it in the 4th century. The barbarity of it all was familiar to the writers of the Gospels, and they would have assumed that in writing them. So the fact that the film is less reticent than the Gospels is perhaps a good thing as we are so shielded from barbarity, and need to know, when we see violence on the news, that Christ was and is there.
I personally found the violence not as moving in itself as in 'Saving Private Ryan', perhaps because that great story teller Stephen Speilberg knows when to stop and when to merely hint. Mel Gibson sometimes rather numbs us.
I also wonder whether Mel Gibson has rather overdone it historically. Can anyone survive that level of violence? Has he not begun to see the sufferings as an end in themselves, the inspiration themselves. But the Bible does not just give us the example of Jesus suffering. It is in the end his whole life of love and his death on behalf of us all that counts. Gratuitous suffering never did anyone any good. And though Christ prays, 'Father forgive', it is hard to hear those words - there is a tendency to induce guilt. But we should hear those words.
However, the overwhelming though I came away from was, I am called to follow this Christ. I am unworthy of it - yet he calls me. This is different to guilt.
Andrew Goddard of my theological College, Wycliffe Hall in Oxford, has commented. that the African American spiritual asks: "Were you there when they crucified my Lord?" After watching you feel you can answer "yes" and, in the song's words, "it causes me to tremble". A dramatically different response from Always Look On The Bright Side of Life.
Or I could simply refer you to Hebrews 12: 1,2.