The Passion, and all the meaning it carries

Yesterday I went to a workshop sponsored by local Christian and Jewish congregations that focused on The Passion. In the end, the focus was less on the film and more on the story of the Passion and all it means to Jews and Christians. Presentations were made by two preachers and two rabbis and then we broke up into smaller groups. There was an extremely large turnout, so the smaller groups were a bit too big to have a discussion in depth. Points of interest about the presentations:

One rabbi said that he refuses to help Christian churches lead a seder dinner because the ones he would help with would always make Christological references to the symbols of the dinner. This surprised me - I have done many seder dinners in my local church, at college and at the Lutheran church I attended in MN, and NEVER have I heard Christological references made. The story of the seder dinner is about the Passover, and it was never made to mean anything more. This rabbi also remarked that we are two religions separated by a common text.

Another rabbi suggested that we consider the one symbol that Jews and Christians share - that of the egg. During the passover dinner, you use a hard-boiled egg, and of course, eggs are hunted for at Easter. Eggs represent hope and new beginnings for both religions.

A Catholic priest glossed over why the Passion is important to the Christian faith and why the cross is such a relevant symbol to us as Christians.

A Methodist preacher discussed the historical inaccuracies of the Gospel and how Pontius Pilate the man was very different from his presentation in the Gospels. In the Gospels, Pilate is very reticent to kill Jesus, entrusting the people with his fate. However, historical writings portray Pilate as a man very sure of himself and quick to punish.

In the breakout sessions, the Jews in our group shared their experiences of hate, of anti-semitism. It pained me to hear stories of children's hate - of people feeling their heads for horns, of children calling others "Christkiller". The Jews I heard mentioned their fear of The Passion sparking violence against Jews by Christians. It was pointed out by one of our discussion leaders that we as Christians believe that we are responsible for Christ's death, in that He did it to save us. This seemed new to the Jews in the room, who have been blamed by others for Christ's death. They said that Easter was the worst time, because kids would come back from their Good Friday services and abuse could be expected.

I can't put two and a half hours into a blog entry very well, but these were the ideas and thoughts that most struck me. As far as this movie goes, I don't want to see it in the theatre. I haven't seen any Jesus film in the theatre yet, and I'm going to keep it that way. If the critics like it, I may rent it. Really, I just don't know what to think about it. I thought that the film was controversial because of the line Caiaphus supposedly says, "It is we who have done this". Really, the whole idea of the Passion is what makes Jews uncomfortable beacuse of the abuse and acts of hatred they associate with it. Well, I can only speak for what I heard.

I am glad I was able to participate in such a dialogue, although I didn't speak at all in the small sessions. It was very educational, and somewhat paining at the same time. I can only hope that the dialogue continues.