The Passion of the Christ movie
I came away from watching the movie “Passion” identifying more with Mary the mother of Jesus, than with Him or the hypocritical religious types, the Roman torturers, mocking crowds, or helpless disciples.
I’m not sure if this was because I’m a mother of sons or if it was a deflection, a dodge from the full message because it is just not de regeiur to be devastated in public. We Americans like to be under control so when emotions well up we quickly, unbeknownst to even ourselves, stifle them. This film was about human frailty becoming a vessel for God’s passion for mankind.
I liked the relationship it showed of Jesus to his mother. He drew strength from her in that very visible and tangible way moms interact with their children. That earthy, lifelong bond that is understood by all but the most depraved torturers ( like those who took great pleasure in flaying Jesus’ body). Probably they got that way, like Captain Hook in Peter Pan, for lack of a mommy. Jesus’ relationship with his father in Heaven was only seen as it affected Jesus, at times he doubted his father’s plan but in the end yielded to it in a sublime trust we are asked to emulate.
If the very realistic and drawn out torment of Jesus didn’t get to you, then I bet the mother of Jesus mopping up his spilled blood did. It would take a mom or a dad to do that, one that had lost all concern for what others thought of them. One who was passionate about their child. Sometimes it is only our kids that awaken that passion in us. Most can relate to the impulse to do anything for our kids. That’s it…that’s what the Father was demonstrating through Jesus. The passionate love a parent has for a child, with it, a person can conquer death. Without it a person may be incapable of giving love or compassion.
When Mary went to Jesus as he carried his Cross he gained strength and explained “See I’m making all things New!”
The lost boys and girls who tormented Jesus, like those in Never Neverland were caught in eternal torment of selfishness themselves. They had not matured to a point where they could put others first.
Parenthood when it’s done right has a way of causing your own priorities to take a back seat. That is why parents often come apart when they lose a child. It goes against nature.
For Jesus and Mary and all of us, life requires a sublime trust in God’s plan.
Chris Noonan Funnell 2/28/04
