the passion of the christ

This is Ash Wednesday and tonight, for the first time in my life, I am going to attend an Ash Wednesday service. My church choir is singing for tonight's evening service and I have no doubt that we will be provided with ample opportunity to partake of the traditional imposition of the ashes.

I have to admit, I am a little nervous about this. One of my strongest memories associated with Ash Wednesday is seeing my junior high school French teacher on Ash Wednesday with the ashen cross on his forehead. He was Episcopalian. I remember thinking then, as I do now, that it seemed an awfully sad and despondent gesture, and one that I do not fully comprehend.

The basis of my religious understanding has always centered on grace and joy. Being raised Episcopalian in an progressive and -- dare I say it -- liberal family, my understanding of the miracle of my religion has always been that we don't have to worry or be sad or despondent any more because that is the gift Christ gave us. By his death, we are spared the horror of a life mired in unforgiven sin. This is not to say that we should not repent our sins; by all means, we still have to understand that human beings are imperfect and ask forgiveness for our most egregious misdeeds, yet I was always thought that the miracle of grace was that if you did ask, you would be forgiven.

Now, this is getting a bit more dogmatic than I had intended, but it serves my point. Not having been brought up in the "shock and awe" vein of Christianity, I have more than a little trouble with Christians who dwell on the horrors of Christ's Passion, rather than the miracle of his resurrection. Isn't the latter what the whole religion is supposed to be about? I understand the concept that Jesus the man was forced to suffer for our sakes, but isn't the greater lesson that he overcame that suffering through the Father, and that therefore so can we?

This whole train of thought has been sparked by the controversy surrounding Mel Gibson's movie, "The Passion of the Christ." I have not seen the film, so I am speaking strictly from secondhand knowledge, but from the reviews I have heard, I am saddened and disappointed at the direction the film seems to take.

From his previous movies like "Braveheart" and "The Patriot," I was hoping that the film's biggest flaw would be a sickly sweet heart-wrenching ending that would leave the audience with a Hallmark card uplift about Christianity and life in general. I hoped he was aiming at converting his countless audiences. My hopes were sadly misplaced. According to what I have read and heard, the film focuses mainly on the atrocities that Jesus the man was forced to suffer before his death in slasher-film style technicolor blood and gore. The entire last hour of the film is apparently dedicated to gory beatings and torture leading up to the crucifixion and death. Not one review I have seen has mentioned anything about what happens after his death.

The reviewer for NPR and the L.A. Times said that while the film is not intentionally anti-Semitic, it is nevertheless a divisive film, highlighting the differences between the major religions, rather than the things we can claim in common. This truly bothers me to my very core. I am eternally grateful for having been brought up in a family that, in more cases than not, taught me to have an open mind, an open heart, and a respect for all people regardless of their race, religion, sex, orientation, or any of the other divisive categories our culture has dreamed up. I find it morally and ethically upsetting when I am forced to realize that there are people, perhaps a majority, that for one reason or another, do not share my same philosophy.

Maybe it is the passion and naivete of youth that is the fuel for this rant, but I feel very strongly that the season of Lent that is begun today, Ash Wednesday, is a season more for reflection and thought than for torturous sadness. If you believe in Christian doctrine, Christ died for our sins. That isn't the miracle. Lots of people died back then. Lots of them were beaten and tortured and horribly executed by crucifixion for crimes that may or may not have been theirs. The miracle is that Christ conquered death. He rose. That's the point that we, as Christians, should dwell on, in my opinion.

I feel very sad for Mr. Gibson that his life's work, his vision -- and I truly believe that this film is a culmination of his own personal and professional ambitions conceived and executed in pure reverence to his subject -- has turned into such a controversial statement. And yet, I am even more sad that his vision did not include the most powerful aspect of the religion he and I share: the inclusive nature of our God and the fact that Jesus' sacrifice was for all people, not merely Christians.

The movie Chocolate is a lighthearted look at a local instance of religious exclusion, and at the end, the young priest is given his first chance to truly address his congregation with his own voice. He says something along the lines of this: "I believe our goodness should not be measured by what we deny, by what we give up, or by who we exclude, but by what we embrace, what we enjoy, and whom we include." That about sums it up for me.