At several points in the film, "The Passion of the Christ," the camera fills the screen with Jesus' face, his blood-soaked head twisted to the side, one eye swollen shut by the fierce blows. His back is so beaten that it looks like spaghetti marinara.
Are the grim details of Jesus' suffering the only way to understand the Passion? Luke mentions the beatings in on verse (Luke 22:63), and the crucifixion is cited in a simple declaration: They crucified him." (Luke 23:33).
Paul suggests another way to interpret the Passion in the famous text of Philippians 2:5-11. Jesus empties himself; he took the form of a servant and became obedient even to death on a cross. Paul identifies Jesus as the man who knew suffering, but he does not portray Jesus as a mere hapless victim of those who inflict suffering.
Jesus emptied himself of all divine prerogatives; his torturers sought to empty him of all human dignity. But it's because Jesus stayed focused and self-emptied that they could apprehend him. Though he suffered, he did not relinquish his dignity. Jesus was in the form of God; their brutal treatment left him deformed. But he freely took the form of a servant, and it was his choice to be physically broken.
Paul and Luke do not minimize the bitter rejection that Jesus faced or the excruciating suffering he endured. But they assure us that there is more here than meets the eye. Jesus' sacrifice was the price he paid for being faithful to his calling.
Luke's Gospel sees the compassion and mercy of Christ as the hallmark of his calling, and these qualities are prominently displayed in the Passion narrative -- particularly in Jesus' healing of the high priest's servant; h is compassionate look at Peter after the cowardly betrayal; his kind words to the penitent thief; his final words of forgiveness. Jesus, the bringer of healing and peace, now dies in peace. He does all this because he is faithful to his calling. Let us not overlook the suffering Jesus experienced throughout his entire ministry because he was faithful to his calling.
The sobering details of Jesus' Passion point out how easy it is for any of us to sacrifice genuine integrity. Judas is not the only one who ever betrayed a friend, nor is Peter alone in protecting himself at the expense of another.
We know how easy it is for people in positions of authority to sacrifice an individual for what they consider the best interest of the group. When Dwight D. Eisenhower was campaigning for president in Wisconsin in 1952, his advisers told him not to deny that Gen. George C. Marshall was a communist -- because the people in Wisconsin believed Sen. Joseph McCarthy had branded him one. Eisenhower sad that he felt cheap and low that he had betrayed the one man who had helped make his career.
We should not underestimate the force of the crowd mentality. It's very easy to join and lose our sense of justice in the process, or to be so frightened by it that we fail to stand by those who might become its victims. There is enough culpability in the Passion narrative to go around.
Let us enter into the Passion of the Christ in a way that will move us beyond guilt and shame to genuine conversion and transformation. Let us recognize our own strengths or limitations in the characters of the story and note how Jesus calls them to greater fidelity. Let us identify with Jesus. He willingly set aside privilege for the sake of others. He remained true to his calling, despite the terrible cost exacted.
The Very Rev. John D. Payne is the emeritus rector of All Saints' Episcopal Church in Wichita Falls.