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Did Jesus Actually Die of a Broken Heart?
The Dolorous Passion of Sister Catherine Emmerlich
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'The Passion'
Richard Ho Lung - DIARY OF A GHETTO PRIEST
THE MOST difficult act is that of forgiveness. As we observe Lent, we are being blessed by a stupendous movie, 'The Passion of the Christ'. In it we see the terrible cost of sin and the consequences it has on Jesus. As Jesus asks, "Which is easier to say, 'Your sins are forgiven', or to say, 'Rise and walk'"? He implies that the performance of a miracle is nowhere as difficult as the forgiveness of sins. In fact, it is the Lord's greatest act greater than any miracle, or all of them put together when He dies upon the cross racked and torn, scorned and whipped, and cries out even as hatred is mounted against Him by His enemies, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do."
His ability to love His enemies, to bless those who persecute Him, and to pray for those who hate Him, shows that Jesus is truly God. The result is the redemption of mankind from sin. Rather than being condemned for our rejection of Christ crucified, He forgives and opens doors so that all of us sinners can win salvation.
VIOLENCE IN 'THE PASSION'
The violence of 'The Passion of the Christ' is 'as it was' as John Paul II our Pope has said. The terrible hatred and envy and resentment led to men inflicting wounds on our Saviour despite His innocence. Whenever I sin, I wound Christ the bloodiest way. Yet He forgives me and calls me back to repentance and to service of His kingdom, unworthy as I am. The hatred and violence caused by sin is my guilt, my wickedness, yet Christ continues to love and to forgive. 'Seventy times seven' is Christ's mandate to the disciples: forgive, forgive, forgive. It is painful; it is difficult. But all of us sinners, despite our evil, are forgiven over and over again by the Lord. We are also called to forgive one another.
Mel Gibson states that "My new hope is that 'The Passion of the Christ' will help many more people recognise the power of His love and let Him help them to save their own lives." He also adds, "I wanted the effort to be a testament to the infinite love of Jesus the Christ, which has saved, and continues to save, many the world over."
Divisions, war, and alienation result in the inability to love, to share, to dialogue, and to forgive. A cold war gets us nowhere. The only option we have is to love one another. Divorce, separation, and cruel feelings toward one another break up the family of God and the world community. It begins on a micro level, as happens between husband and wife, children and parents or friends. Compassion for one another, in recognition of the fact that all of us are sinners, all of us hurt one another, all of us are insensitive and selfish, makes us understand that indeed without forgiveness the human family cannot be, and the children of God cannot become one body through reconciliation and understanding.
Who is right and who is wrong? Who started the problem? Who created the misunderstanding? Who should speak to whom first? Both were wrong but how wrong was each? The alienation and separation can create such feelings of animosity, suspicion, bad talk, that two good people will never have any friendship again. The good that could be done in partnership is nullified. "The house divided cannot stand," says Christ. Often small matters become major matters, which is certainly the work of the devil.
RESULTS OF PEACEFUL RESISTANCE
What is the result of this peaceful resistance? Bloodshed and torture. The realism of Mel Gibson's film is often despised by modern art, which would prefer to evade the horror of sin, cruelty, suffering and death. They would prefer to get lost in abstraction, surrealism, mythology and symbolism. Some Christians would prefer to remove the cross from churches, and the humiliation of His death from the reality of Christ and our way of life as Christians. Yet He told us, "Unless you take up the cross daily and follow me, you cannot be my disciple." Suffering, intense suffering, which is done out of love, is what often brings about a resolution to so many conflicts.
The movie, I believe, is beautiful in a savage way. It is real and frightening but it brings home the horrendous result of sin which cannot be resolved except by sacrifice. Insofar as a Greek or Shake-spearean tragedy can be called beautiful, likewise the disclosure of Christ's Passion in its truth may be said to be beautiful. In his passage on the Man of Sorrows Isaiah says, "He had no form or comeliness that we should look at Him, and no beauty that we should desire Him. He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces He was despised, and we esteemed Him not."
Certainly, 'The Passion of the Christ' has provoked great debate as being too violent and even anti-Semitic. Definitely, it has brought tears to the eyes of many. And it has confounded the Hollywood crowd who have lost out on $250 million profit the film is expected to gross.
Truth is what the film is all about. Reality is what it is all about. And, there is a greater reality that God's death on the cross on behalf of sinful humanity, gained eternal life for us who faithfully follow Him.
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Father Ho Lung is Founder and leader of the Missionaries of the Poor.
Read the following review: I agree with the author, though I think it was left out that the movie, The Passion of Christ, is an object of art which was made as an act of worship, art that is impossible to understand unless one has the indwelling of Christ. It is clear that Gibson is a grateful Christian.
I prepared myself for it by thinking on what it is that I see when I read the passion. I am privileged to read it through to my parish every Good Friday, and while I would not have made the scourging and whipping so gory, the rest of it looked very much like I have long seen it in my imagination. What Gibson did was take it another step so that I understand Isaiah 53.14, "Yet many shall be astonished when they see him--yes, even far-off foreign nations, and their kings; they shall stand dumbfounded, speechless in his presence. For they shall see and understand what they had not been told before. They shall see my Servant beaten and bloodied, so disfigured one would scarcely know it was a person standing there. So shall he cleanse many nations." (Living Bible) -Eric
Received from Jody Dean, one of the Dallas CBS news anchors.
All...
There've been a ton of emails and forwards floating around recently from those who've had the privilege of seeing Mel Gibson's "The Passion Of The Christ" prior to its actual release. I thought I'd give you my reaction after seeing it last night.
The screening was on the first night of "Elevate!", a weekend-long seminar for young people at Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano. There were about 2,000 people there, and the movie was shown after several speakers had taken the podium. It started around 9 and finished around 11...so I reckon the film is about two hours in length. Frankly, I lost complete track of time - so I can't be sure.
I want you to know that I started in broadcasting when I was 13-years-old. I've been in the business of writing, performing, production, and broadcasting, for a long time. I've been a part of movies, radio, television, stage, and other productions - so I know how things are done. I know about soundtracks, special effects, make-up, and screenplays. I think I've seen just about every kind of movie or TV show ever made - from extremely inspirational to extremely gory. I read a lot, too - and have covered stories and scenes that still make me wince. I also have a vivid imagination, and have the ability to picture things as they must have happened - or to anticipate things as they will be portrayed. I've also seen an enormous amount of footage from Gibson's film, so I thought I knew what was coming.
But there is nothing in my existence - nothing I could have read, seen, heard, night.
This is not a movie that anyone will "like.? I don't think it's a movie anyone will "love.? It certainly doesn't "entertain.? There isn't even the sense that one has just watched a movie. What it is, is an experience - on a level of primary emotion that is scarcely comprehensible. Every shred of human preconception or predisposition is utterly stripped away. No one will eat popcorn during this film. Some may not eat for days after they've seen it. Quite honestly, I wanted to vomit. It hits that hard.
I can see why some people are worried about how the film portrays the Jews. They should be worried. No, it's not anti-Semitic. What it is, is entirely shattering. There are no "winners." No one comes off looking "good" - except Jesus. Even His own mother hesitates. As depicted, the Jewish leaders of Jesus' day merely do what any of us would have done - and still do. They protected their perceived "place" - their sense of safety and security, and the satisfaction of their own "rightness". But everyone falters. Caiphus judges. Peter denies. Judas betrays. Simon the Cyrene balks. Mark runs away. Pilate equivocates. The crowd mocks. The soldiers laugh. Longinus still stabs with his pilus. The centurion still carries out his orders. And as Jesus fixes them all with a glance, they still turn away. The Jews, the Romans, Jesus' friends - they all fall. Everyone, except the Principal Figure. Heaven sheds a single, mighty tear - and as blood and water spew from His side, the complacency of all creation is eternally shattered.
The film grabs you in the first five seconds, and never lets go. The brutality, humiliation, and gore is almost inconceivable - and still probably doesn't go far enough. The scourging alone seems to never end and you cringe at the sound and splatter of every blow - no matter how steely your nerves. Even those who have known combat or prison
will have trouble, no matter their experience - because this Man was not conscripted. He went willingly, laying down His entirety for all. It is one thing for a soldier to die for his countrymen. It's something else entirely to think of even a common man dying for those who hate and
wish to kill him. But this is no common man. This is the King of the Universe. The idea that anyone could or would have gone through such punishment is unthinkable - but this Man was completely innocent, completely holy - and paying the price for others. He screams as He is laid upon the cross, "Father, they don't know. They don't know..."
What Gibson has done is to use all of his considerable skill to portray the most dramatic moment of the most dramatic events since the dawn of time. There is no escape. It's a punch to the gut that puts you on the canvas, and you don't get up. You are simply confronted by the horror
of what was done - what had to be done - and why. Throughout the entire film, I found myself apologizing.
What you've heard about how audiences have reacted is true. There was no sound after the film's conclusion. No noise at all. No one got up. No one moved. The only sound one could hear was sobbing. In all my years of public life, I have never heard anything like that.
I told many of you that Gibson had reportedly re-shot the ending to include more "hope" through the Resurrection? That's not true. The Resurrection scene is perhaps the shortest in the entire movie - and yet it packs a punch that can't be quantified. It is perfect. There is no way to negotiate the meaning out of it. It simply asks, "Now, what will you do?"
I'll leave the details to you, in the hope that you will see the film - but one thing above all stands out, and I have to tell you about it. It comes from the end of Jesus' temptations in the wilderness - where the Bible says Satan left him "until a more opportune time.? I imagine Satan never quit tempting Christ, but this film captures beyond words the most opportune time. At every step of the way, Satan is there at Jesus' side - imploring Him to quit, reasoning with Him to give up, and seducing Him to surrender. For the first time, one gets a heart-stopping idea of the sense of madness that must have enveloped Jesus - a sense of the evil that was at His very elbow. The physical punishment is relentless - but it's the sense of psychological torture that is most overwhelming. He should have quit. He should have opened His mouth. He should have called 10,000 angels. No one would have blamed Him. What we deserve
is obvious. But He couldn't do that. He wouldn't do that. He didn't do that. He doesn't do that. It was not and is not His character. He was obedient, all the way to the cross - and you feel the real meaning of that phrase in a place the human heart usually doesn't dare to go You understand that we are called to that same level of obedience. Jesus'
humanity, so irresistibly on display, you understand that we have no excuse. There is no place to hide.
The truth is this: Is it just a "movie"? In a way, yes. But it
goes far beyond that, in a fashion I've never felt - in any forum.
We may think we "know.? We know nothing. We've gone
2,000 years - used to the idea of a pleasant story, and a sanitized Christ. We expect the ending, because we've heard it so many times. God forgive us. This film tears that all away. It's is as close as any of us will ever get to knowing, until we fully know. Paul understood "Be urgent, in and out of season."
Luke wrote that Jesus reveals Himself in the breaking of the bread. Exactly. "The Passion Of The Christ" shows that Bread being broken.
Go see this movie.
The Importance of 'The Passion of Christ' Transcends its Flaws
-Wed., February 25, 2004
"The Passion of the Christ" is a motion picture about Jesus in which the crucifixion comes as a relief. By the time he is nailed to the cross, Jesus of Nazareth (a haunted Jim Caviezel) has been so brutalized that he is an all but unrecognizable mass of torn flesh and blood.
His face is a mask of agony. Relentless beatings have swollen one eye shut. The crown of thorns has been imbedded in his temples. His broken body is in shreds first from caning, then butchered with barbed lashings.
Director Mel Gibson has offered what may be, if not the most violent movie of all time (and that argument can be made), surely the most visually graphic depiction of physical torture ever set to film. "The Passion of the Christ" could make some viewers physically ill. The very young and impressionable should not see it. For some others, parts of "The Passion of the Christ" will be unwatchable. Silent cries will beg for Jesus' suffering to end.
Gibson has been vilified by more than a few. He has been accused of anti-Semitism. Some detractors have charged wanton hubris, dismissing his passion play as a power play. A few critics have insisted that Gibson has gone too far, shown too much, left too little to the imagination.
Gibson has stood firm. Strong reaction is the point. Gibson has said that an accurate dramatization of the scourging and unimaginable pain Jesus endured is necessary to fully appreciate that Jesus, taking on all the sins of man, went through hell so that others could go to heaven.
Primarily because of the movie's supposed anti-Semitism, reams of reports have spilled forth in which Gibson has denied that "The Passion" convicts Jews of deicide. Gibson gave so many advance screenings to select audiences -- including one that elicited a reported endorsement from Pope John Paul II -- that a casual observer could be forgiven for thinking "The Passion" was released months ago instead of today.
A (very) foreign-language film, "The Passion" is spoken in Aramaic and Latin, with English subtitles. Nothing is lost in the translation, particularly the truth that "The Passion" in no way condemns an entire people.
What "The Passion" clarifies is that, far from there being heroes and villains, everybody was doing their jobs. The principals were completing pre-ordained tasks so that God's great plan for man could be accomplished. Judas, Pontius Pilate, King Herod, the disciple Peter, the Jewish high priest Caiaphas and Jesus' mother, Mary (a miraculous Maia Morgenstern), and others all had roles to play. They did so at the direction not of Mel Gibson, but of The Almighty.
The same goes for Satan (Rosalinda Celentano), who appears in "The Passion" as a background figure of blackened hood and ashen face, looking like Death in Ingmar Bergman's "The Seventh Seal." Satan and his demon spawn try to confuse and plant seeds of doubt and hopelessness, but "The Passion" has tender moments of kindness and even humor. It ends on notes of triumph and hope.
"The Passion" has it conventions, such as rabble with bad teeth and a Barabbas -- the prisoner whom the throng demanded to be released instead of Jesus -- who seems to have taken hygiene lessons from The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
What should disturb people more is the smell of hypocrisy that hangs over "The Passion" like a foul cloud. If a film like "The Passion" does not receive an NC-17 rating (which prohibits admission for anyone under 17) from the Motion Picture Association of America, what movie possibly could? Answer: Anything with a lot of nudity and sex, such as director Bernardo Bertolluci's current "The Dreamers." It makes no sense.
At Tuesday night's advance showings of "The Passion," packed auditoriums sat fixed and still, save for shocking moments that forced gasps. No one left as the story unfolded. At the end, people remained in their seats. Coming through loud and clear was the sound of silence, people struck mute in their conviction that Mel Gibson has given them a powerful and overwhelming masterpiece of faith.
"The Passion of the Christ" may not be a great movie, but it is an important one.
© 2004 Muskegon Chronicle. Used with permission
let us know your impression of The Passion of Christ
eric@holytrinitynewrochelle.org
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