The Passion

As we quickly approach the final week of Lent we come to Palm Sunday…the triumphal re-entry of Christ into Jerusalem…and then we rush to Easter Sunday, to the celebration of the Resurrection. Seems to me that too often we at the very least try to sanitize the story, removing all the disturbing images, and we sometimes intentionally disregard the pain and suffering of Jesus because we know the outcome. That’s just a ploy of satan that cheapens Christ’s sacrifice and God’s grace…it minimizes the value God has placed on our souls and our response to God. If the offering was of little value, then our response can be minimal. But if the sacrifice was unimaginable, our response needs to be more deliberate. The sheer magnitude of Christ’s love for us negates any flippant response. So the question, I think, becomes how do we fully grasp the price Christ paid on the cross for our sins? I am not sure I have an answer that will fit every person, but for me it is an annual viewing of The Passion of the Christ. This year, the youth are going to watch it with me and I pray they are impacted by it's violence and brutality. I know it’s Hollywood, but I think it is the most realistic portrayal of Jesus’ final hours we have to choose from. It washes away the sanitized thoughts we have of his death and soaks them in a dose of (what might be) reality. Say what you want about Mel Gibson or Jim Caviezel, God has used them with this film. I would commend it to you, especially as we move toward Good Friday.