the basic message #E284
9/7/04
As usual, I find myself marching to the beat of a different drummer. My wife bought "The Passion of the Christ" on DVD this past week, and we were anxious to finally see the hit film. I would guess that we're probably the last folks in the world that have seen the movie, and quite frankly I don't see what all of the fuss was about. I was much more impressed with Mel Gibson's gutsy move to spend millions of his own money making the film prior to finding out he was going to walk away with a bundle of cash. You might recall that all of the industry "experts" had been judge, jury and executioner for poor old Mel. "His career is ruined", one opined. "He'll never get a fraction of his investment back", another pontificated. As usual with "experts", they were very wrong. Mr. Gibson's career is just fine, thank you, and his investment has been returned at least ten-fold.
"The Passion" chronicles the last 12 hours of the life of Jesus Christ, which apparently is all most Christians seem to be interested in. The graphic violence has been called "over the top", and I tend to agree. Was Jesus abused? Yes. Whether the soldiers administering the flogging were as pumped-up and overjoyed as the movie suggests is more a matter of opinion than fact.. I also have some serious doubts about Gibson's "artistic license" taken throughout the movie. The various appearances of Satan, the mopping of Jesus blood by the two Mary's and several other touches pushed the boundaries on what should and shouldn't have appeared. If everyone viewing the film had read the Gospel accounts of the betrayal and ultimate crucifixion of Christ, that would be okay, but of the millions that saw the movie, I'd guess only a small percentage really know the true Biblical account. So what's the problem? It's really pretty simple- the Gospel according to Mel might well become a more repeated version than the true story. But all of this simply causes me mild heartburn- there's nothing here that I'd get in a shouting match over. But wait, there's more......
If I've heard it said once, I've heard it said a hundred times that after people view the movie, they realize that "Jesus suffered for my sins". Yes, he did, but to relegate Jesus to the man who took horrendous physical abuse alone is to minimize what Jesus really means to Christians. Think about something for just a moment: has anyone in history been so tortured? I think it's very clear that there have been thousands of people who suffered equal if not worse torture than Jesus did. "But Jesus was innocent", some will quickly protest. What were the Jews at Auschwitz guilty of? They suffered all sorts of abuse, but since they died without a specific "purpose" they will simply be remembered as people being in the wrong place at the wrong time under the wrong dictator. What did "The Passion" tell you about Jesus other than the fact that he suffered tremendous physical pain? The real tragedy in this "epic" was the total omission of who Jesus was and is.
The execution of Jesus Christ, to me, was simply the culmination of events that had to occur to fulfill Holy Scripture. When I think of Jesus, my first thought is of his wise and humble teachings. To go to the cross without resistance is his final lesson to me, saying, "John, what I taught you is good and true, and I'm willing to die for it". Perhaps the American mentality is geared to violence. Maybe the crucifixion is the only thing that really gets our attention. What about the Beatitudes? Remember those? You can find them in Matthew 5, where Jesus tells us, among other things, that "Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy", and Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven". Perhaps these two teachings from the Sermon on the Mount aren't popular with Americans right now. I don't think the average American wants to think about showing mercy as we continue our "war on terrorism". If we could simply realize that we will be blessed if we're persecuted for doing the will of Jesus Christ, we might not be so worried about our earthly enemies. I find it tragically funny that most Americans viewing "The Passion of the Christ" will leave the theater impressed that Jesus didn't place much value on his human life, yet we are a people that puts such a high value on preserving our life and "our way of life" over everything, including sound Christian teachings. If we are the true believers we profess to be, we must acknowledge that life after death will be far better than anything here on earth. Most Christians will agree with this, yet cling to life as if there is no eternity in Heaven. Quite the contradiction, I'd say.
The teachings of Jesus are as practical as they are theologically pure.
Matthew 5:23
"Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift."
Jesus, always the practical one, reminds us that "worship" has little value if we don't actively practice what he's teaching us. If every Christian church in America would take this passage literally, as Jesus expected, most churches would empty our very quickly this week. What is Jesus really saying here? I think it's simple: "Why do you show up every week to "worship" me when your hearts aren't right? Put down your hymn book and go visit, or at least call someone you're having a problem with. Patch things up and set things right." Is this rocket science? Need more? Okay.....
Matthew 5:38-39
"You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.' But I tell you, Do not resist and evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also."
We profess an undying love for the bloody man hanging on the cross in "The Passion", yet he asks us to turn the other cheek and we reject that as being impractical. "But John, if we don't stand up for ourselves, people will run over us." If Jesus Christ had adhered to that philosophy, he would have died in a retirement home rather than on the cross. After all, he was "in the right" like we believe we are, right? Do I struggle with the "turn the other cheek" principle? Of course- it's simply not our instinct to take any sort of abuse. Does it work? Overall, I think it works well. Consider road rage in America for just a moment. It starts out simple enough: someone wants to lay claim to a piece of concrete or asphalt that measures about 6 feet by 18 feet. Another driver comes along that also wants that same piece of roadway, and the battle begins. Being "cut off" in traffic to many macho drivers is like a slap in the face. Road rage in America used to be a male dominated sport, but these days the women are just as likely to participate. It's all about asserting our "rights" to the piece of road we inhabit at the moment. We have to stand up for our rights, and we feel totally justified in doing that. May I ask a simple question? If you knew ahead of time that cutting off the driver that cut you off would result in you being shot by that driver, would you still want to play that game? If your answer is no, then you understand the concept of turning the other cheek. See how well it works? I think we can all agree that whenever we want to "maintain our rights" we often alienate someone who wants the same thing.
The Gospel of Matthew alone holds a wealth of valuable teachings from Jesus Christ, but if your main focus from the life of Christ is his bloody death, you probably won't be interested in the other 2 years and 51 weeks he spent preparing himself (and us) for that death.