Today we observe Good Friday, on which the believable events of the Easter myth took place. It takes no stretch of the imagination to believe that a person with a revolutionary message like Jesus’ would be executed. As for the rest, well return from the dead is a bit hard to swallow, Richard Nixon’s political comeback notwithstanding.
I spent a large part of last evening searching youtube for a good outtake from the film version of Jesus Christ Superstar. In my humble opinion Webber and Rice did a good job of exploring some of the issues raised by this fable, particularly the fate of poor Judas. It is the case, after all, that we can only assign real blame to him if he was not, as the story implies, a cosmic pawn in Jesus’ game. I had never seen the film version before. It turns out the whole thing is available on youtube, chopped into pieces, song by song. Unfortunately it is terribly dated. Jesus and his pals are portrayed as a bunch of roving hippies; and what’s with all the males, including the high priests, wearing clothes that bare their chests? (Except Jesus of course). So the film’s a no-go. Before I leave that subject, why is it the case that in every film about Jesus he’s portrayed as a sort of weakling blond guy, who appears more acted upon than actor? The guy was a Middle Eastern Jew and was a carpenter for at least 10 years. That was before the days of power tools folks. He should be portrayed as muscle bound, dark skinned, and dark haired and, god or man, someone with a little charisma and intestinal fortitude. I mean, the man drew large crowds and, if the story is to be believed, withstood torture and a grisly execution. Even the CIA couldn’t have broken him.
So, since Jesus let me down again, at least his filmed versions, I am falling back on an old stand-by, the very best movie ever made about crucifixion, The Life of Brian, in which we learn a few lessons about life:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1loyjm4SOa0[/youtube]
Now that’s true theology.
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