The Passion of the Christ vs. Jesus Christ Superstar: Retelling the Story—Then and Now

The best thing about having lived so long is that you experience a lot of things that you later get the chance to compare to one another.

My husband and I attended a fabulous production of Jesus Christ Superstar last night at the Muny (http://www.muny.com), the country’s largest and oldest outdoor musical theatre according to their advertisements. Even with 11,000 seats it was a sold-out performance night after night. And from the looks of the crowd, even though it is a thirty-five year old “rock opera” from a bygone era, Superstar still appeals to a lot of people from all walks of life.

I find this heartening, as recent years have seen many attacks on theatrical presentations that were “Christian” in nature. Take for instance the recent film, The Passion of the Christ. Mel Gibson’s cinematic masterpiece of the last twelve hours of Christ’s life before his crucifixion brought out a maelstrom of naysayers and cries of “Bigotry! Anti-Semitism!” before it hit the movie theatres.

But the storylines of both Passion and Superstar are similar—they both follow Jesus’ actions from the time he enters Jerusalem up to and including his crucifixion. They both show how the chief priests conspired to trump up charges against Jesus in order to force the hand of the Roman governor Pontius Pilate into condemning him to death on the cross.

Searching my memories, I don’t recall any hullabaloo about anti-Semitism in the storyline of Superstar when it first hit the stage and screen. But I do recall my mother (and others) saying that it wasn’t proper to sing about Jesus using electric guitars and other modern musical instruments. (I smile when I think back on these statements, since we attend a contemporary service on Sundays that utilizes just these sort of “non-religious” instruments.)

But has thirty-five years really made a difference in the Passion Week story of Christ? Or is it those who harbor anti-Christian beliefs have come up with a new way to thwart the public’s interest in learning about the Gospel by using the “politically correct” tactics of claiming prejudice and race hatred?

I do wonder sometimes why these same “PC” folks haven’t gone all out and attempted to censor the New Testament, since it is the source material for both Passion and Superstar—and numerous other films, plays, musicals, books and articles. Maybe we won’t have long to wait… It could be what’s next on their agenda.

One thing you can’t miss about Superstar is that in spite of its great musical score, catchy lyrics and strong roles for talented singer-actors, it doesn’t have a “happy ending” like most musicals. It simply ends with Christ hanging on the cross. Could it be that creators Andrew Lloyd Weber and Tim Rice left off the Resurrection scene with an ulterior motive in mind? Did they mean to leave the “ultimate ending” of Jesus’ story up to the individual audience member to decide for him or herself? I’m not sure.

Mel Gibson at least was persuaded to make a brief mention of the stone rolling away from the tomb on that first Easter morning in his film. I feel that it really helps to complete Passion by not ending on such a down note like Superstar does. Gibson’s retelling hints that there is more to the Gospels than just Christ’s crucifixion and death—there is also resurrection, rebirth and forgiveness of sin for all who believe.

I guess when it comes down to it, no matter how the Gospel is packaged by the mass entertainment industry Jesus’ purpose still comes through. And Christ's story of forgiveness and life eternal still mesmerizes and attracts large crowds who hunger to hear its life-giving message again and again.

When Bad Things Happen…

Some days you wake up and know that something bad is going to happen.

Other days you wake up and are taken completely by surprised by current events.

September 11, 2001 was one of those days. This second week in July is turning out to be another one.

My oldest child is still in Europe and I hear that bombs exploded in the London Underground. Thankfully she’s not in London today, but she will be next week when she flies home. Another terrorist-styled attack on a train system similar to last year’s horrible Madrid bombings… Not a comforting thing to hear about when your baby is half a world away.

And then I switch on the Weather Channel. Here comes Hurricane Dennis! My aunt and uncle and cousins all live on the Gulf Coast. Shades of Hurricane Ivan—and others—from last year’s record hurricane season. Tarps still cover many roofs from the damage inflicted by 2004’s seemingly endless march of storms. Not good news in the least.

The question that bothers many is “Why does God let bad things happen?”

My answer? I think the question should be rephrased: “Why does God let good things happen?”

We seldom take note when good things happen—sunshine for our company picnic, a miracle recovery for a sick loved one, a flattering book review—but we sure do seem to dwell on things when they go wrong.

“Why another terrorist attack, Lord? What did we do to deserve this?”

“Why another hurricane, God? Haven’t we suffered enough?”

If God allows good things to happen to us—like sunshine, healing and good book reviews—then he must allow the opposite as well.

If God didn’t allow the natural consequences of our sins to happen, essentially we would have no free will. We’d be zombies. Mindless automatons, controlled from above, puppets on strings creatures. So unless we want God to move our finger to scratch our nose, then we have to accept the fact that we have free will, like it or not.

In a way, it’s an honor to have free will. We’re the only part of God’s creation that has it. Animals follow instinct. They can’t make choices or decide between two or more possibilities. Only human beings can do that.

And only human beings sin… And sin is what brought “bad things” into the world to begin with—death, illness, crime, murder, violent weather.

So the answer to “Why does God let bad things happen?” is a simple one. It has to be because God loves us and respects us enough to allow us to make bad decisions.

Thankfully, He also loves us enough to send us his Son, Jesus Christ, to make atonement for our sins. (John 3:16) That’s Good News we can use everyday—even when we wake up to not so nice news reports.