Writing From the Edge: Passion of the Christ
My older children and I stayed up last night to watch The Passion for the first time … so, what a surprise to check Karen’s blog this morning and find this post. Excellent comments–especially in regards to how a believer should respond to being “bought with a price.” (It isn’t quite what one might think.)
On the film itself, I wasn’t sure what to expect, after reading everything from glowing accolades to critical shreddings. Yes, there was much of Mel Gibson’s Catholicism and quite a bit of emphasis on Mary (which actually didn’t bother me), and little embellishments that probably weren’t necessary … but it was very effective as a forcibly visual reminder of the Messiah’s sufferings on our behalf. As I was watching, I found myself wondering, How could He bear it? How could God the Father bear watching His Son be mocked, spit upon, beaten, reviled, and finally executed in the most excruciating way known to mankind at the time? And how could Yeshua (I love how they used the Hebrew form of His name) ask forgiveness for those who did all this to Him? Only one answer came to me: Love. It was His great love for us, and His determination to sacrifice Himself for all our offense against the Creator of the Universe.
That alone was enough to move me to tears … and to give me a fresh determination of my own to “walk worthy of [my] calling.”
This was such a good reminder for me. We ended up not “doing Easter” on Sunday because the kids were sick and I just couldn’t get past the Easter Hype (much of it created by a certain maternal relation who did not take the news well that I wasn’t going to have her over for a big holiday meal).
Anyway, separate it from the “stuff” – the meal and candy and presents (that maternal relation again), and this is exactly what you have. We celebrated the Real Easter on Monday – partly because of your post. I knew I couldn’t let the event slide by with only a quick mumbled “Happy Easter” to Steve. Thank YOU for helping me see that need. 🙂