[I penned this a year ago. But given that it's Passion week, I thought it relevant.]The Passion of the Christ
I was one of the millions of evangelicals who flocked to see Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ on opening weekend (I actually wound up seeing it twice on separate occasions).Its release has caused quite a stir—what would compel Gibson, an accomplished actor, to pour millions of his own dollars into a project that would offend so many?The crucifixion is hardly a palatable subject, yet Gibson has gone on record to defend his controversial undertaking.
I am not one to jump on the bandwagon, even though the Christian community has openly embraced the film.The whole idea of portraying the crucifixion a la Hollywood, (much less Gibson) is a bit off-setting for something so personal as my faith.
Going into the film, I didn’t know what to expect.I had read that believers were walking away from this film greatly moved, some even to tears.How would I react?The thought lingered as I watched the film.What would seeing the graphic portrayal of my Savior’s death do for my faith?
For Gibson’s efforts, the film has been noted as “the gospel according to Mel.”But truly, creative liberties aside, this is a film about the gospel of salvation.It is the Scripture story of what I believe and profess faith in—a man named Christ, who without blame, came to die for the sins of man.He rose again, demonstrating victory over the cross.It is utterly incomprehensible, and arguably foolish that God would choose to save the world in this way and it bears little significance for those perishing.As I sat through the film, I wondered if any pagan movie goer could come to grips with such a plot.And then I wondered how many believers live in the abundance that is theirs because of what Christ did.
It’s difficult to emerge from the film as a believer without becoming keenly aware of the price of your salvation.The film leaves you with little cause to treat lightly the act committed on the cross.The body broken and the blood shed become more than ritual sayings.They become ingrained images, as if you were firsthand witness.
My take on the film now is that it’s less of a matter of liking or disliking the film—the question is more of a “so what?”What does this film do for your faith? I can tell you what it did for mine.This film made me more keenly aware of the grounds for which the gospel is foolishness to those perishing.Yet it is our embracing of this act that sparks wonder about this Christ.Do we live like this is real?
We have been committed this ministry of reconciliation to bring others to the full knowledge of Jesus as Lord—as if the Lord Himself were making his appeal through us.We are the jars of clay in which God has chosen to reveal His glory.We preach Christ crucified, and for that, we are labeled fools.Yet God indeed chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise.
I got a chance to chat with a former co-worker of mine (and non-believer) about the film.I tried to explain as honestly as I could my take on the film.We moved to talking about her friend who is a devout Buddhist.When I informed her that I disagree with the Buddhist take on reincarnation, she replied, half-laughing, “Yeah, I know—you believe Mel Gibson.”
Odd as that sounded, I had to agree.