Just got back from The Passion of the Christ. Expected to see a few more blog entries in blogdom about it, but maybe it’s already been talked about too much. Sat next to a woman who said, “You can sit here, be a part of our family. I mean, we are all one big family anyway…” Powerful film. Powerful images. Enjoyed the flashbacks to Jesus’ earlier life. Enjoyed some of the obvious Catholic influences (particularly Veronica [correct name, right?] wiping Jesus’ face = stations of the cross). I also enjoyed the “in-between” scenes. What did happen from the time that Jesus was arrested in the Garden to being put on trial? Did he have an encounter with Judas? Who saw him?
But the film raised more questions than anything for me.
I loved Pilate and all his questions about truth. What is truth? Good question…
What exactly WAS the role of Mary Magdalene in the life of Jesus; the Da Vinci Code aside (although I do want to read it still). I loved how they placed Mary Magdalene as the woman from John 8. Were Jesus and Mary close friends? Was it possibly one of those situations where they were like, “You know…it’s pretty obvious we like each other, but our paths are just not headed in the same direction, so we may just have to be friends….” Does it really matter? Is it going to destroy Jesus’ divinity if we allow our imagination to think that there may have been some “connection” between Jesus and Mary?
And what about the soldier whose ear was cut off…? I have honestly never thought about him before. He couldn’t get up after Jesus healed him. Here he was, coming to take care of this rebellious hoodlum Jesus, and then he ends up encountering the power of the Lord Jesus Christ. Can’t really slap the handcuffs on him after that…Scripture tells us that one Roman soldier came to the realization of who Jesus really was…but could there have been more? The movie seemed to allude to that fact.
Any movie that can create questions, and begin dialogue, is a winner in my book. Thanks Mel.