Last Temptation of Christ

Thoughts on "The Last Temptation of Christ"

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1987 Message of Fr. Vazken Movsesian,parish priest of St. Andrew Armenian Church, Cupertino, from the Nakhagoch Newsletter.
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In early August, as the movie "The Last Temptation of Christ" was
about to be released, our community experienced one of our
greatest losses. A young, innocent girl was taken away from us by
cancer. The following article was written just prior to
the release of the movie and in the aftermath of the suffering and
pain that came with the tragedy of losing a dear and lovely child
of God. I offer it here for our readers as a priest's struggle
with a cross and as a meditation on the Cross which
we will celebrate September 11.
Early Sunday morning I was awakened by the call of a
parishioner. Her daughter, 25, who was suffering from cancer was
breathing her last at the hospital. As I raced on to Santa Teresa
Hospital many thoughts raced through my head, as they
usually do at these moments.
At the hospital, a young, frail and tired girl looked at me
with a last look of hope. She squeezed my hand to acknowledge my
presence. The nurses asked me to leave the ICU ward as they
placed more tubes into her nostrils. I came back into
the room but now she was unconscious. The hand that only a few
minutes ago had shown signs of life was now limp and cold. I
offered some prayers and read scripture into her ear, not certain
whether or not she heard. A few moments later it did not
matter anymore. It was over. A young life, which had not
experienced much of that life, had ended.
And so begin the questions. Why? Why her? Why now? Why
cancer at all? An injustice had been played out. It wasn't
fair. The wrong person was robbed. The deeper questions begin to
surface: What is life all about? Did God take her life?
Does God hear our prayers? And for me, as a priest, the role and
purpose of my ministry is questioned. Is it fate? Is our destiny
written out for us? If so, then what is my ministry all about?
These are questions I have asked and continue to
ponder. Philosophies have been written about these questions. I
imagine today many a rational being questions the nature and
purpose of life. Many have rebelled against a seemingly silent
God. Some have turned against God in this questioning,
while for the most part, the questioning has been the vehicle by
which many have come to know God. It is a real-life temptation.
Living through the last-minutes of a human being's life
awakens your senses which have become so dull from mundane day to
day experiences. As you focus in on how delicate and fragile life
is, it becomes difficult to justify or be concerned
with trivialities.
Over the past few months, much controversy has revolved
around the film "The Last Temptation of Christ." The cries and
worries of Christians increase as does my intolerance for their
illogical and petty thinking. It is difficult for me to
sympathize with these protesters. I do plan to see it. Not
because of all the controversy, nor because I am a proponent of
First Amendment rights, nor because of the pre-opening hype by
Universal; rather, my reasons for wanting to see the film are
purely personal. The novel, by Kazantzakis, on which the film is
based was influential in my life and my decision to enter into the
priesthood. I am interested to see how this imaginative, yet
powerful story has been adapted to film.
We somehow very easily play into the traps of promoters. It
is comparable to the man who assissinates to gain publicity. We
know that that is his motive, yet we continue to broadcast the
news. We make him the hero he set out to be. In the
same manner, Universal seeks publicity for a movie. So why pay
for it? Allow a select few to preview it. Provide sketchy script
sheets to fuel the fires of controversy. Instant publicity! We
know we are falling into their trap, but we do it
anyway.
The story by Kazantzakis is researched well and thought out.
The crucified Messiah is given His last temptation on the cross.
He is given the opportunity to see life beyond the cross, to know
the joys of a family life, share memories with
friends and live to a ripe old age. He is given the opportunity
to have the same dreams as do all men and be as all men. Yet he
resists temptation, says no to all the trappings of this world and
opts to do His Father's will instead. I do not know
how faithful the screen play is to the Kazantzakis novel but the
story line is not offensive to me.
What some are objecting to is the portrayal of Jesus in an
irreverent manner--that possibly He may have felt human feelings.
In the movie, an actor playing Jesus Christ, is said to do all
manner of things that are unbefitting our image of a
saviour. He even has a sexual encounter with Mary Magdalene. Why
are human emotions and feelings equated with frailty and signs of
irreverence?
Underlying these protests is the fear of the freedom of
expression and thought, not for the novelist but for ourselves.
We are afraid to think and use the mind God has given us.
Religion has become more or less an accept/reject proposition.
"The Bible tells me so!" "My preacher says it, I believe it!" "I
accepted the Lord!" We want to order and receive our religion and
god as fast as we receive our Big Mac, with the same smiling
service and even some change back for our efforts.
Unfortunately, life is not that easy and neither are the answers
religion supplies.
Marx is correct in his assessment of religion being the opium
of the people, not because it is, but because people use it as
such. It is easier and quicker to grab that Big Mac than it is to
sit at a nice restaurant, wait, order, wait and be
served. But few would compare the quality of the meal. It is the
same with religion. It is easier to grab a religion because of
it's convenience value, but of what quality will it be? Will it
survive tests and temptation? Jesus' religion did.
There is no sin in thinking. Questions must be asked. It is
our one way of coming to terms with in inconsistencies in life.
Questioning is a means of spiritual growth. Jesus, in the
Gospels, does not force us to follow Him. He gives us
alternatives. He gives us food for thought. He allows us to
think, to question and make the decision to follow Him.
A young man dies on a cross. A young girl dies in my arms on
a bed in a cancer ward. A young man asks that the cup pass away.
A young girl asks for another cup of water. We must ask, why the
cross? I must ask, why cancer? Why her? These
questions do not alienate us from God, but grant us a closer
relationship. We struggle and suffer for those answers but the
solutions are there, and their enduring power is ever so
heightened when reached through struggle. Jesus is tempted with
life beyond the cross, we are tempted daily with life beyond our
crosses. The difference is that we succumb to temptation. We opt
for the better life. We want better houses, bigger cars. We chose
to pollute our environment with the threat of
unhealthy life. We continue to kill for the sake of peace. We do
not say no to the trappings of life.
With the problems and pains in this world, it seems trivial
and a waste of energy for so many Christians to be protesting a
movie. Are they truly scared that in questioning, some may lose
their faith? Rather than direct their protests toward
the idea of God living as man, perhaps some of that energy can be
spent in protesting man living as God. Where are the protests
when the shoot-em-up Rambo movies are released? Where are the
protesters when the environment is polluted? Where are
the cries of protest as we escalate military spending and allow
our homeless to rot in the streets? Yes, there are protesters,
but I doubt they are the same ones who protest this movie.
#The movie, "The Last Temptation of Christ" is a temptation f
or all of us. Some may resist, some may seek it. If it grants us
the opportunity to think then it has done enough. It has raised
us from the levels of acceptance to thought, which is the role and
true use of religion.
--Fr. Vazken
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c. 1987 Fr. Vazken Movsesian
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