Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time C. February 22, 2004. Our Lady of Grace 7:30, 11:30, 6PM. I Samuel 26: 2, 7-9, 12-13, 22-23. I Corinthians 15: 45-49. Luke 6: 27-38.

When I was a young priest in North St. Paul I brought a group of children to the Jewish Temple of Aaron. The rabbi showed us all around the synagogue. Many things were new and strange to us, especially the tabernacle like tent in front of the synagogue where the holy scrolls of the bible are kept. We finally sat down and the rabbi asked if the children had any questions. A young hand shot up immediately. Without any hesitation one of the children asked, “Who killed Jesus anyway, you people or the Romans?” The child wasn’t asking if some people who lived a long time ago had killed Jesus. He said, “You people.” “You people now.” I was surprised and very embarrassed. The rabbi said, “Son, where did you hear that questions before?”

There has been much talk about Mel Gibson’s movie “The Passion” lately. I am going to see it tomorrow night before most of you have a chance. To be honest, I have mixed feeling about the movie. I know that there were great waves of anti-Jewish persecution after passion plays in Europe during the Middle Ages, but that is not the reason that I have mixed feelings about this movie. I am concerned about the image Jesus has for me as a mature adult and as a priest of the Catholic Church. I know that Jesus suffered and died for you and for me. I know that I need to appreciate the fact that he endured great pain, abuse and death for the whole human race. I do not believe that that pain and abuse is the message of the gospels. I am always amazed that all four gospels show so much restraint in telling us the story of the passion and death of Christ. They could have gone into great detail in describing what Jesus suffered, but they did not. They simply told the story about his humiliation, his scourging, and his death on a cross – not even mentioning the fact that he was hung on the cross with nails. In fact, the details don’t seem to be important to the gospels. What is important is that Jesus died freely and with great love in a way that involved much suffering. The love of Jesus is what is most important, not the details of his suffering. He died not so much as a torn and mutilated man, but as the loving Lord of the universe and the king of the Jews.

The inspired word of God in the Bible is more concerned about the words of Jesus and his love for the world than about the details of his passion. The gospel wants us to know that Jesus willingly died a very cruel death for us. The story is a love story. The fact that Jesus died for us when we were still sinners makes it a love story about how we are to treat our enemies. As Jesus hung on the Cross, as it is recalled in the gospel of Luke, he cried out, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” Today’s gospel gives us the teaching of Jesus about those who offend, persecute or crucify us. Jesus said, “Love you enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless them who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. To the person who strikes you on one cheek, offer the other one as well, and from the person who takes your cloak, do not withhold you tunic. …. If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them…..love your enemies and do good to them…and you will be children of the Most High. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful… Forgive and you will be forgiven.”

As some of us prepare to see Mel Gibson’s movies on the passion of Jesus, what should we keep in mind?

The first thing to remember is that the gospel story of the Passion of Christ is a story about love – a love that shows its great depth by the death of Jesus on the Cross. Jesus died on the Cross to show us God’s love. Deep love always involves suffering, even to the point of laying down ones life for those we love. The gospel gives few details about the suffering of Jesus, only the simply-told facts. The mystics of the middle ages were fond of filling in the gruesome details as seen in their prayer. They lived in an age that both saw and inflicted much violence. We also live in an age that loves violence, often to the extreme. There is no doubt that Jesus was treated with great violence on the way to his crucifixion. Which approach helps us to better understand the message of Jesus about salvation through love and forgiveness, the simple passion narratives of the four gospels or the movie version with all the details?

A few days ago I saw the movie Miracle. It is the story of the United States hockey team’s unexpected victory over the Russian team in the 1980 Winter Olympics. The movie is filled with discipline, hard work and suffering too. Anyone who plays sports seriously knows that it isn’t a cake walk – broken bones, burses and cuts are a part of the game. While sport injuries are a long way from the suffering Jesus they are still the reason most of us watch serious sports rather than play them. The wonderful part of the movie Miracle is that it about a team with a wonderfully empowering leader. In the Catholic tradition – the same tradition that we inherited from the Jewish people – Jesus does not stand alone. Even on the Cross Jesus is dying in union with the Church, as his Mother and the Beloved Disciple stand at the foot of the Cross suffering with him. The Catholic Tradition never separates the passion and suffering of Jesus from the passion and suffering of the Church. Even though Jesus is the essential key to salvation, the whole Church shares in the suffering and mission of Jesus as the body of Christ. If Jesus did the whole thing alone then we would not need the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, and we would not need the season of Lent. Lent begins this Wednesday. Lent is the time when we share in the discipline and suffering of Christ so that we might also share in his saving love for the world. My question is this: Does a movie that is so intensely focused on the suffering of Jesus and so little focused on his resurrection and not at all on Pentecost tell the story of Jesus accurately and completely in a context that helps us grow in the ancient Catholic faith we received from the apostles?

I invite you to the season of Lent which begins on Wednesday. If you see the movie the Passion, I hope that it is helpful to you in discovering the role of love and forgiveness in Christ’s saving mission to the world. For the gift of Lent and our participation in the passion of Jesus Chris during Lent and always we give God thanks and praise.