The Passion . . .

Today is Good Friday in the UK, the day in which we remember the public crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth.  Well, that's part of the day anyway.  There are the chocolate eggs of course, and those cute Easter bunnies . . .

For me, I wanted to get some kind of hold on the religious significance, so I decided to take a drive into the local market town and see the street Passion play the local churches had organised.  Call me indoctrinated and brainwashed if you like, but my church upbringing sort of demanded I do it, rather than take yet another trip to the supermarket shops, which is what most other days might turn up.  It's an interesting thing when you think about it, and I suppose most people wouldn't give a damn, but how could a man who did nothing but good end up being in a terrible situation like that?  He was obviously a little too dangerous for his own good, I suspect.  The possibility that someone might be conveniently done away with because of mere popularity is right out of conspiracy theory, and outlandish on the one hand, but maybe just a little thought provoking.

The Bible makes it clear that the religious leaders of the day wanted Jesus out of the way very quickly.  And it was certainly not because of the trumped up charges of blasphemy they finally snared him with.  It was, I think, because he was a formidable man in all departments.  The gentle Jesus - meek and mild, was really anything but - as far as they were concerned.  He was a real threat to their authority . . . a true man of the people.

On this day of course, it all goes painfully downhill for Jesus - a battered, ripped individual who hardly reflects the future glory he has described to his disciples.  I suppose if you want to know the whys and wherefores of why he finished up on that cross at all you would probably be well advised to see a good clergyman or pastor, rather than listen to some simpleton blogger . . . but it occurs to me, many of the people charged with the communication of such a deep word have let years and an ever changing culture blur the vital imagery of a man with a message - and what motivated him in the first place.

The scale of his physical suffering is not that difficult to describe, but maybe more of a problem to fully imagine. The Bible uses very succinct phrases in various passages to illustrate the severity of his injuries, and consequently the barbarism of treatment by his Roman captors.  Mel Gibson's - 'The Passion' shows this abuse all graphically, and if Scripture is to be believed very accurately.  His film is a horror movie at it's base level, using the Old Testament Biblical template of Jesus being 'marred more than any man' as a primary basis for two hours of relentless and cruelest torture, culminating in a bloody death on a wooden cross.

This morning's presentation was certainly not as graphic as Gibson's but truly a noble one, as the image above will hopefully show.  The area here is usually used as a car park, with all the noise and hustle and bustle that goes with it.  But for a brief few minutes it was a silent representation of a time and far away hill called 'The Skull'.  There were no idling engines to be heard at all, just the weird sound of a chill wind running a rumble over the few microphones that had been set up across the square as the actor lowered his head and 'died'.  Oh yes, there was plenty of respect, for sure, but I knew within the hour the noise of rattling exhausts would be crawling back to reclaim the ground and carry eager shoppers to their weekly 'fix'.  People were still wandering and shopping, even as the marching Roman centurions demanded they move aside to let them pass.  And why you ask, should we care?  None of this 'God' crap is scientifically provable when it comes right down to it.  But to me, that's half the beauty, and maybe the fun too.  Whether we believe God exists or not, I don't think He's going to tell us anytime soon.  The Bible says those who seek Him diligently - will find Him.  It kind of throws down a fat gauntlet to the few people with half a mind to even look.  And as for the rest of us . . .

I know some people think believing in all this stuff is just a crutch for the weak minded.  Well, maybe so.  No divine entity has popped up yet to tell me otherwise.  I know one thing though, arguing about it can only have me dancing inside the territory of those who have forgotten what the Passion is all about, those who think that they're right and everyone else is wrong.  Well friends, we might all be wrong - and all right.  One thing will remain constant . . . truth will always be truth, no matter what anyone thinks . . .