horrific beauty

"We have made the bitterness of the cross, the revelation of God in the cross of Jesus Christ, tolerable to ourselves by learning to understand it as a theological necessity for the process of salvation. As a result, the cross loses its arbitrary and incomprehensible character."*

The Passion of the Christ created no little disturbance when it was released just under a year ago. Even today this movie is garnering much discussion (granted that it is now moving from more theological themes to artistic integrity and visioning). I believe that there is much we can learn from ourselves in our response to the film as we reflect in light of Multmann's comment above. Immediately there arose discussions about the historicity of the film - whether or not Mr. Gibson got the facts straight. Then there were questions about the theological placement of Mary in salvation. On the political level there was the question of how much the Jewish people were being "blamed" for the event.

In the midst of all of the question-and-answer time I hope that we were able to be shook by such a forceful reflection on Christ's passion. And while there are many who were so bothered by the physical brutality (which, of course, was a harsh reality), I would hope that our faith drove us further into his spiritual suffering - a far greater scandalous horror than anything else he experienced. Notice that the only time he verbalized his suffering was to express his spiritual anguish, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

We are so easily caught up with ourselves which is why we find it so difficult to see past the physical. This is an ongoing result of the Fall, which clouds our vision until the day when the veil is removed. I was onced challenged with the notion that a physical emphasis of the passion is only a product of an idolatry of self. I must say that I am compelled to agree.

Although I make it a point not to discuss this film with anyone who has not seen it, I will say that while internalizing Christ's suffering in such a visually stunning way was simultaneously the most horrific and beautiful experience I have ever dwelt upon. And while this is just a movie, it seems to spark something to those who seek. . .


*J. Moltmann, The Crucified God