|
What is it about The Passion of the Christ that stirs people so deeply?
After all, it is just a movie, isn't it? Yet, Mel Gibson's portrait of Christ
and His sufferings, for many, has awakened emotions people never knew they
had; it resurrects longings many thought were dead.
The power of this movie is that it speaks to the very DNA of our spiritual
identity as Christians. It does not matter whether we are Lutherans or Catholics,
Baptists or Pentecostals, something fundamental about ourselves is being
unearthed from antiquity and restored to our souls.
Let me explain.
Connecting
to Our Heritage
There is a reason why societies memorialize those who, through their sacrifice
or courage, were instrumental in shaping their cultural identity. To forget
the legacy of one's forefathers is to actually lose some essence of who
we are as a unique people. Thus, we honor our founders and heroes by creating
memorials to them. We erect statues, name airports and cities after them
and even have national holidays in remembrance of their sacrifices and accomplishments.
Yet, the power of our memorials goes beyond the tribute they offer to the
past; they actually connect us to our heritage. For what we truly memorialize,
we internalize and make a living part of our souls. Thus, each time a succeeding
generation honors a national hero, as they appreciate what made their leaders
great, the essence of those values is transferred to them.
The
Importance of Remembering the Sacrifice
As our technology advances, our ability to memorialize has taken modern
expressions. For African Americans, the book and movie Roots helped
define the uniqueness of the black journey in America. While the movie touched
and taught people in general, for those of African American descent, it
went much deeper: for many, it was a summary season that connected them
with the genesis of their own souls. The movie communicated more than information;
it brought with it impartation from the generations of Africans who suffered
and died in slavery. It said: Here is the great price our forebears paid.
We owe it to them to prosper in this land of our affliction.
Roots was not just a movie; it became a memorial.
The Jewish people also have their unique memorials. Established in a number
of different cities around the world are Holocaust museums, which are memorials
to Jewish suffering. For those of us who are Gentiles, we visit, we are
touched and we come away with a better understanding and love for the Jewish
people. Seeing the history of their persecution helps us appreciate the
passion Jews have for their homeland, Israel. Yet, the images of mass open
graves and ovens, of people standing in lines before gas chambers, penetrate
much deeper into the soul of a Jew. They see the sufferings of the Holocaust
generation and it adds something to their soul, a mandate which rises in
their hearts: Never again; never forget!
Such is the nature of memorials: they compel us to remember the sacrifice;
they command us to never forget.
Don't Just
Remember His Life, Remember The Cost
Yet, strangely, Christians have not had a memorial dedicated to the sufferings
of Christ. Our "Passion plays" and gospel movies are carefully scripted
to inspire, but not to offend. We memorialize His life, but not the passions
of His death. We know theologically of His sufferings, but we have not truly
seen them. In fact, because we know the outcome of the story, even before
the scourging and crucifixion scenes are over, our focus shifts ahead to
His resurrection.
But in failing to linger, in refusing to gaze steadfastly upon the sorrow
and assimilate its staggering cost, we unconsciously cheapen His sacrifice.
As we detach ourselves from the price, its impact in us is proportionally
diminished.
Just as memorializing the Holocaust continues to serve, even to this day,
in defining modern Israel, so The Passion of the Christ brings Christians
face-to-face with the cost of our redemption. It cuts us deeply. We, too,
are wounded as we see the degree of His wounding; we also are broken by
the depth of His brokenness. Sobs can be heard in the theater. Why are we
crying? Didn't we know the story? Yes. We knew the facts, but not the ongoing
torture, the abandonment and rejection, the injustice or unspeakable pain.
The cost is being transferred to us.
From
Knowledge to Heart-Deep
The movie rescues Christ's sacrifice from the realm of cerebral information
and secures its power in the holy place of our hearts. Yes, the movie wounds
us, but it also heals us by letting us see the demonstration of Christ's
love for us.
Must we have the violent images? Yes, the unrelenting torture and the merciless
cruelty are the backdrop of darkness that contrasts the brightness of Christ's
sacrifice for mankind. To leave them out or minimize the account is to subtract
from the totality of His gift.
The word holocaust, legitimately used by Jews to describe their sufferings
in Nazi death camps, means "a sacrificial offering entirely consumed." It
is a biblical term. Christ's sacrifice was exactly this -- a sacrifice entirely
consumed for us.
The Power of
His Sacrifice Restores Our Souls
The critics rage, not merely because they are angry, but because they are
afraid. The truth of Christ's love is too powerful to allow back into the
mainstream of secular life. For years a vocal, but small minority has sought
to remove all but the memory of God from society, but even the memory of
what Christ did for us is powerful enough to transform the world.
For many Christians, The Passion of the Christ is not just another
movie; it is a memorial to His suffering for our sins. In seeing, we remember;
and the power of His sacrifice restores our souls.
by Francis Frangipane
Web: http://www.frangipane.org/
Email:
comments@frangipane.org
_________________________
A Special Note from Francis Frangipane and Staff:
Dear Friends,
Remember, March 27th is the cutoff date to register for our online school,
In Christ's Image Training. Each of the four tracks of our Level One training
focuses on the essentials of appropriating the character of Jesus Christ.
You will receive forty-eight email messages and forty audio teachings: layer
upon layer of truths that are freighted with anointing to change your life.
www.icitc.org
IN CHRIST'S IMAGE TRAINING:
Registration Form Link
We have heard from a number of you that there has been a problem locating
the link to the training center
REGISTRATION form. We would like to apologize
for any difficulties you may have encountered.
Here is a list of pages from our website which will provide more information
about our training center:
A big thank-you to all of you who have shown interest in the In Christ's
Image Training.
--
The staff of Francis Frangipane
|
|
"The House of the Lord"
By Francis Frangipane
$10.00 Book
|
| This book pleads God's
case for a Christ-like church, united in prayer and mission, as the
only hope for our cities. Lauded by leaders for its visionary and practical
approach to uniting the church.
Feel free to
order online
OR by phone (1-8.6.6-881-0477)
http://www.elijahshopper.com/detail.aspx?ID=465
|
 |
"The Days of His Presence"
By Francis Frangipane
$10.00 Book |
A great shaking is occurring
in the church and unscriptural divisions are all crumbling like houses
of clay in an earthquake; God is rumbling through Christianity! What
remains will be our devotion to Christ.
The Days of His Presence is a trumpet call. It not only heralds
the return of the Lord but the return of His glory to the church at
the end of the age. Under-girded by both the Word of God and a vision
the Lord gave Francis in 1971, this book will do two things: transform
your view of the last days, and help prepare you to receive the fullness
of Christ in the day of His glory!
Feel free to
order online
OR by phone (1-8.6.6-881-0477)
http://www.elijahshopper.com/detail.aspx?ID=459
|
To donate by regular
mail, use this address:
Elijah List Ministries (Now a Non-Profit
Ministry)
528 Ellsworth SW
Albany, OR 97321
or call: 1-8.6.6-881-0477 or 1-541-917-0484
If you donate $15 or more to Elijah List Ministries, we will send you our current tape of the Month NO_CHARGE, as a token of our appreciation.
Any amount over $15 will be tax deductible.
Permission is granted (and
you are also encouraged) to reprint these articles in hard copy form, as
well as sending them to your own email lists and posting them on your own
websites. We ask only that you keep Elijah List website, email contact info,
and author contact information intact. Thank you and blessings, Steve Shultz,
Publisher, The Elijah List
http://www.elijahlist.com
Subscribe to The Elijah List here.
http://www.elijahlist.com/elijahlist_subscription.htm
or to
unsubscribe
Cliquez ici pour souscrire � la Liste Elie en fran�ais
ElijahElie@qwest.com
Puede suscribirse a La lista de Elias en espa�ol al mandar un mensaje de
correo electr�nico a:
lalistadeelias@myexcel.com
|
 Audio
Set
"The Coming
Revolution"
with Rick Joyner and Steve Thompson
$20.00 4-cassette series
More New Resources...
 Book
Bill Johnson
"When Heaven
Invades Earth"
$13.99
 Book
Joy Parrott
"Parables in
the Night Seasons"
$12.00
More Top Sellers...
 Visit
our Online Web
Store
Asia-Pacific
Tape
Distribution
South
African Tape
Distribution
Tape/CD
Duplication
Service for Ministries
Healing
Room
Directory
Words/Prophecy
Archive
Find
a Prophetic
Conference
Near You!
Receive
the Elijah List
Newsletter in Plain
Text
Saint Patrick - The Man Who Raised the Dead
By Kathie Walters
(Mar 16, 2004)
"Remembering Saint Patrick" - The Truth about This
Great Man of God
by John Doan
(Mar 16, 2004)
"DISTINCTIONS
THAT MAKE A DIFFERENCE"... a chapter from the book, "The Secret of the Stairs"
Available at the Elijah List
(Mar 14, 2004)
"My Promotion
is Coming into 'Pits and Prisons'.... Get Ready!"
by Bill Yount
(Mar 14, 2004)
Please forward
this to your friends and your own lists. Please also keep the author and Elijah
List info intact. Others may freely subscribe or unsubscribe to THE ELIJAH LIST
by sending an email to:
subscriptions@elijahlist.com
or by going to
www.elijahlist.com.
|
The
House of the Lord
The
Power of One Christ-Like Life
