Movie of the Week: The Passion of the Christ
Clip: 20:00 – 21:55
Old Testament: Psalm 2
New Testament: Matthew 8:18-22
Practice: Prayer
Music: “Jesus Paid it All” by FFH; “How Can it Be?” by Lauren Daigle; “People Get Ready” by The Impressions
While The Passion of the Christ is certainly the most intense film of the Jesus movies we’ve studied – and probably the most intense Jesus film ever made, the flashbacks along the way provide a little bit of a break for the viewer, and none more than this clip of Jesus with Mary. The clip does a couple of things: it gives us an emotional break from the intense passion scene, it reminds us of the depths of emotions Jesus was going through as he must have had these flashbacks to his beloved family, and it furthers the picture of Jesus as a man. It wasn’t as if he was emotionally disconnected from what was happening. It was more than simply physical pain he was enduring, but his emotions, psyche, and spirit were under assault
As we continue to prepare our hearts and minds for Good Friday and Easter, take this time to look back at your own memories. There must be a “happy place” you like to retreat to in times of distress. The smile and good-naturedness of Jesus in this clip stand out drastically against the brutality of the crucifixion. Use this dark hour to remind yourselves of some good times, perhaps with family or friends. Maybe Christmas morning as a child, a birthday party, or a family vacation. We all have those memories emblazed in our minds – our memories are truly a gift from God.
Those memories often emerge in our minds when we need an escape from a difficult time. Those memories are of “the way things are supposed to be,” and they are most powerful when we are in the midst of things clearly “not the way they are supposed to be.” N.T. Wright resonates with this sentiment.
“We dream the dream of justice. We glimpse, for a moment, a world at one, a world put to rights, a world where things work out, where societies function fairly and efficiently, where we not only know what we ought to do but actually do it. And then we wake up and come back to reality. But what are we hearing when we’re dreaming that dream?”[1]
Our
memories are echoes or glimpses of a world to come. Take a moment and thank God
for your best memories, and pray that God can use those memories to inspire you
toward helping make the world “the way it’s supposed to be,” and remembering
the cost it took to be made right.
[1] NT Wright, Simply Christian, (San Francisco: Harper One, 2006), 3.