Roots in Ripon
7 March 2016
Chuck
Roots
Being Wrong
Every so often Isaura and I will
see an advertisement for a movie that looks promising. Such was the case
recently when a movie was released claiming to give the story of Jesus’ death
and resurrection from a secular perspective – that being the story of a Roman
who has his own strange encounter with the one that was known as “The Nazarene.”
Admittedly, I had reservations
about this movie, even though it came highly recommended because the producers
had also made “Heaven is for Real,” and “War Room,” both exceptionally well
done movies about the Christian faith. But in seeing the previews for this new
movie, “Risen,” I was skeptical. I can’t tell you why, other than it must have
been something in the previews that didn’t click with me.
On Saturday we had lunch with
friends in Tracy. On our way home Isaura saw a billboard advertising “Risen.”
She turned to me and said, “We are free this afternoon. Let’s go see ‘Risen’!” How
could I pass up a movie with my wife? So we headed for the AMC Theater in
Manteca for the matinee showing of “Risen.”
The movie began with a man
wandering in the wilderness. Flashbacks kept occurring to him which eventually
became the entire movie. The man was formerly a Roman tribune. A tribune was
one of six Roman officers in a legion, rotating with the other five tribunes in
commanding the legion during the year. A legion was a military unit ranging
from 3,000 to 6,000 men. Battle scenes with their horrific violence and gore
filled the screen, leaving Isaura covering her eyes until the scene was over.
I, on the other hand, was watching with a scrutinizing eye to see if the
portrayal of the battles, tactics, and uniforms were close to accurate. I’m
pleased to report that the producers did a good job.
Actor Joseph Fiennes played
Clavius, the fictional Roman tribune. His initial encounter with Jesus was when
he was reporting to Pontius Pilate following his most recent battle that day
with rebellious Jews. Though dirty and bloodied, Clavius is ordered by Pilate
to see to it that Jesus is indeed dead on the cross. He has no interest in
performing this duty, yet he is a faithful soldier and will obey his orders. He
finds Jesus and the two thieves hanging on their crosses. He has them properly dispatched
according to the manner of such barbarity. He encounters the grief of the
followers of Jesus, most notably Jesus’ mother, Mary. Just prior to Jesus being
unceremoniously dumped into the paupers’ grave, Josephus and Nicodemus arrive
to secure his body. The movie progresses with Clavius ordered to secure the
very dead Jesus in Josephus’ tomb all the while causing him to constantly
encounter the disciples and other Jesus followers. A interest in this crucified
man begins to take hold in Clavius’ heart.
The movie follows the spiritual
journey of this Roman warrior, Clavius, a believer in the Roman god, Mars, the
god of war and agriculture. He wrestles with his own understanding of praying
to Mars, juxtaposed to this idea of a risen Jewish savior. Finally, he leaves
his position as a Roman tribune and decides to follow the disciples who are
leaving Jerusalem to take the Gospel message to “Judea, Samaria, and to the ends
of the earth.”
A scene toward the end shows
Clavius sitting with the risen Jesus on a large rock overlooking the Sea of
Galilee. Jesus asks the Roman a poignant question: “What frightens you?”
Hesitatingly, Clavius replies, “Being Wrong.”
I was struck by the honesty in
this answer. Were all of Clavius’ beliefs, prayers and devotion to the Roman
god Mars, wrong? No one, after all, wants to believe in something that is
wrong. What’s the benefit in that? The hard part is admitting that you’ve been
wrong – embarrassed in admitting to having followed a false teaching or wrong
faith.
The challenge for many who have
embraced another belief, another faith, a different god, is giving up what they
have believed to be true, and then embracing something new in Jesus, acknowledging
that he is the one risen from the dead, the Savior of the world.
Over the years I have had many
conversations with folks who hold back from accepting Jesus as their Savior and
God simply because they cannot bring themselves to believe they were wrong “all
these years”! It is in this vein that I believe Clavius is struggling in
accepting that Jesus is truly risen from the dead, and therefore the true and
living God. After all, it was placed on the fictional character Clavius’
shoulders the responsibility of assuring Pilate that the Nazarene was dead,
buried, and his body being secured from the possibility of being stolen away by
the disciples.
But an encounter with Jesus,
fully alive, was transforming for the Roman. And that’s exactly what it was
intended to be.
See the movie.
And, let me ask you – have you
met this Jesus?
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