Soapbox

Too much Passion

I have received an invitation to attend a showing of “The Passion of the Christ” the Mel Gibson film that is causing such a stir. I have heard that it is going to inflame anti-semetism; I have heard that it is a moving message that will bring the viewer closer to God. I have read many different views and seen selected clips, and currently, I don’t want to see the movie.

Each person has a different relationship with God, and those relationships follow different paths to draw them into their holy place. I understand that. Some people achieve a connection through prayer, some via music. Ascetics used to get closer to God through personal punishment: hair shirts and scourging, etc. For them self-mortification produces a sort of divine ectacy. To each his own.

Though I understand that for some people it makes the passion more real, I personally don’t need to see birds eating eyeballs out of living people or nailed whips tearing apart skin to feel the love of God. But, that’s just me.

I remember how Gibson seemed to revel in showing graphic torture and maiming in his movie “Braveheart”. Yech. There are times when blood and guts may be historically acurate, but doesn’t add anything to a movie. Surely it would have been possible to make a frank and moving presentation of the passion story without having gobbets of flesh flying around on screen!

The pain and torture of the crucifixion are facts that do not need to be examined with a microscope to be understood. It is easy for us to understand how people can be brutal: what is harder to understand is how they can love in spite of it. Surely love is as true as pain.

We know that Christ suffered. In those days, people suffered horribly all the time! Tragically, Christ’s suffering was not that unique. What was unique, what made him The Christ was the love, and redemption through love. It sounds like that has been largely left out of the movie. We have enough blood and brutality in life and in movies every day: what we need more of is love.

Making the movie was, I’m sure, a labor of love for Gibson, and some aspects of it are intriguing to me. Overall, however, it sounds like he simply went too far. One critic has subtitled this movie “The Jesus Chain-saw Massacre”! Whatever the religous message intended, it appears the movie is primarily focused on the brutality of crucifixion. For me, the passion is about love. For God so loved the world, remember? Such simple words, but we forget.

In the end, the only way to know for sure would be go see it. If I’m wrong, it would probably be a very memorable experience. Unfortunately, if I’m right, it would be memorable too- in my nightmares.

I suppose it comes down to the fact that I’m just not the kind of person who is uplifted by another person’s agony; not even Christ’s.