The Passion: the Movie

Unlike many, I did not see the “Passion of the Christ” when it was popular last year. I decided to wait until Good Friday.

After the Maundy Thursday service at St. Paul’s we held a vigil throughout the night. When it was my hour to spend in the church (3:00) I decided to something different, I brought my laptop and watched the first hour of the movie I had heard so much about. The next day, after the early morning "scriptural" Stations of the Cross, I returned to St. Paul’s and watched thirty more minutes of this very moving film. Once again after my 10:00 AM service in Old Fort I returned to St. Paul’s and finished watching. The family then watched it together that evening.

Certainly nothing can be a true representation and nothing but Scripture can truly present the Word, yet this is close: very close.

Yes, it is an uncomfortable experience, the Scripture tells us as much. The beating and blood is, in my opinion, probably quite close to the reality of the situation, as is the crucifixion. I was particularly moved by the flash back scenes, especially the one where Mary recalls Jesus as a child.

No, not all is from the Gospels, there is a reference to Veronica, the woman who in great charity wipes the Lord’s face. This is an odd choice as the Lord meeting the Women of Jerusalem is left out; and that is scriptural. But what I do want to emphasize is the icon that this movie is, it shows a very harsh reality of the death of Christ and forces us to no longer sugar coat the event.

As I’ve implied above, an icon is only a dim mirror and not to be made into something it is not. What we should take from it is the vast amount of suffering the Lord did for us that Good day. It is a gut wrenching emotional reaction. This is not a movie about rational discourse nor signs and wonders, it is simply a most probable reflection on the last 12 hours of the Lord’s Passion.

Bear the gore, flinch at the flogging and watch this film today. If you can not get a hold of it before Easter Sunday, then wait until next Lent, for the impact can only fully be realized in the context of the Church year.

D+