Claudia Procles

I spent Easter Sunday with my family and had a great time. As part of the holiday, we decided to watch The Passion of the Christ, which my parents had purchased on DVD. This was the second time I had seen the movie, and at first, I wasn’t even sure that I was glad to be watching it again. When the film was released last year, I waited a couple of months before making my way to the theaters to see it. I guess I was just trying to not be a part of the hype. But eventually I did want to see this tribute to my Hero. Then after finding out first hand that it was as gruesome, bloody, and intense as the reviews had said – I wasn’t sure that I wanted to put myself through it again.

I’m glad I did. I felt a little more free to glance away from the screen at the most graphic parts, and I even shielded my eyes completely at the one moment that was the worst for me. That, and the fact that I already knew what to expect, helped my stomach not to churn so much. And without my mind so numbed with emotional overload, I found that I was able to get more out of the movie…

The first thing, which I was afraid when I realized it, was that I could identify with those pharisees. I mean, I’ve got a pretty well rooted interpretation of scripture. So if Jesus came as an American today, saying the kinds of radical things that Jesus said back then, would I be a disciple or a pharisee? Jesus said some totally off-the-wall kind of stuff like, “Eat my flesh and drink my blood and you’ll live forever!” I mean, that’s not a direct quote or anything, but that’s how the pharisees heard it. And if some crazy dude showed up today saying stuff like that, wouldn’t I want to get rid of him so that he’d stop leading all my honest, well-meaning, but ignorant Christian brothers and sisters astray? I can only pray that God would help me to recognize his truth when I saw it. Like the disciples weren’t exactly a group of outstanding men, but somehow when Jesus called them, they saw that he was the real deal. I think it’s only God’s grace that could make me a disciple instead of a pharisee.

But some of the pharisees were painted as pretty diabolical, so I didn’t fully identify with them. I don’t think I could be so conniving and ruthless. So I spent a great deal of the movie trying to figure out who I did identify with the most and what my part in the story might have been. I suppose many Christians might try to identify with Jesus in the spirit of martyrdom, but Jesus’ outstanding character and wisdom is out of my reach. Peter is too impulsive, and that’s not like me. I’d like to think I could be James, but nothing he did in the film really resonated with me, and the same with Mary Magdalene. As I thought about it, I felt like I didn’t fit in any of those kinds of parts of the story because I’m a gentile, not a Jew. I feel like I’ve been adopted into God’s family by faith, but my culture is actually European. Pilate, and Abeneder (the general), and one of the soldiers in particular were all Romans in the movie who realized that Jesus was special. I could almost identify with them, except they didn’t do anything.

But finally, I found my part of the story when Claudia Procles brought the linens to Mary. Claudia Procles was Pilate’s wife. She knew that Jesus was holy, but it seemed she couldn’t help everyone understand it. She knew she had a part in the story, but wasn’t sure what it was. So she did what she could. I think she must have been sad, feeling like she couldn’t make any significant difference except to a couple people, and even at that it was only an expression of a desire to do more.

I also identified with the fact that she did what she did with cultural sensitivity. It’s a Jewish belief that when a body is buried every part of the body must be buried. I learned this a while ago while watching a documentary about terrorism in Jerusalem. Did you know that there is today a special organization called ZAKA which assists medical personnel at bombing or shooting sites by collecting all the blood and body parts for burial? So Claudia Procles knew that for Mary and Mary Magdalene it was important to collect the blood that Jesus spilled not just to clean up the scene, but to prepare for a proper burial.

She didn’t happen to live by that belief, but she felt that it was the best way that she, as an outsider, could express her desire to be a significant part of the story. She wanted to do something significant for them, in their language. I think what she did, as documented in extra-biblical sources, shows her acceptance of the sacrifice, respect for culture, and a desire to be someone who could do more.

Whew! Now that I’m all choked up… those are my musings this Easter. Who are you in the story?

Mrs. Lynde says acting is a sin

“Ruby, keep quiet. You’re spoiling the effect. Besides, this is hundreds of years before Mrs. Lynde was born.”

Although I’m not sure that the fact the Lady of Shalott predated Mrs. Lynde is a logical argument for its ethical superiority, still Anne was right. Ruby was spoiling the effect.

I’m reminded of this scene from one of my favorite movies because Easter is coming up this weekend. And as an actor at a church that likes to foster the talents of artists for the glory of God, I get to contribute to a cool event on Good Friday. At least for one scene, for part of the time, and possibly without even showing my face, I’ll be Jesus.

I had never wanted to play Jesus for any other production at any church that I can remember. But this year I put my name in the hat for this one small part ‘cause I felt I could contribute something meaningful. Like Miss of Green Gables, I want to create an effect. I think that it might impact someone to see and consider a scene acted out before them in a way that a sermon or homily couldn’t. Now I don’t think that’s an overly righteous or lofty goal. But as the day nears, I’m wondering how I’m gonna pull it off, how I’m gonna imitate Christ, and how that sits with my conscience.

I had no trouble playing Satan in my high school’s modern version of John Milton’s Paradise Lost. My parents and teachers seemed kind of concerned that I might somehow open myself up to evil spiritual influences or something, but I wasn’t really phased. It was probably in part because I wasn’t trained and didn’t know how to really take on a character. It was more like a dramatic reading then really acting.

But now I’m afraid that it would be too proud for me to assume that I can take on the mindset or character of the Son of God. I guess I feel like I’d be getting too close to something too holy. I think director Mel Gibson and lead actor Jim Caviezel felt the same as they created the Passion of the Christ. They went to mass and took communion every day. But I wonder, would that make me worthy enough to be Christ? Would it make me humble enough that God would forgive my atrocious impression of him? Or is that enough penance to atone for possible sacrilege? I don’t think so. But I also don’t think there’s anything I can do to be that holy.

I think God understands that I’m just me. I think he and I are both keenly aware that I’m not Christ. So I think he appreciates my attempt to create an effect. It’s meant to draw people closer to him, and it’s ‘cause I think he’s the greatest. I guess so long as we all keep in mind that I’m not, in fact, the Lamb of God, then I think it’s okay for me to be as real as I can be in my acting. It’s still just kind of scary.

So I’m not sure that Mrs. Lynde really knew what she was talking about. But Marilla was right when she said to Anne, “You need a little religion in your life as bad as you need fattening up.” It’s just that religion can be dangerous if you think it’ll make you holy enough for something, or if it’s a substitute for an actual relationship with Jesus, or if it’s so stuffy as to forbid a little action on the stage.

Papers and Politics

I'm not sure where this came from, but I thought it was pretty funny. I've been swamped at work these days so I know my posting has been sparse and dry. But I'll be moving out of the country in a month or so, which I'm sure will give me plenty of material and time to entertain and challenge you. So hang in there...

The Wall Street Journal is read by people who run the country.

The Washington Post is read by people who think they run the country.

The New York Times is read by people who think they should run the country and are very good at crossword puzzles.

USA Today is read by people who think they ought to run the country but don't really understand The New York Times. They do, however, like their statistics shown in pie charts.

The Los Angeles Times is read by people who wouldn't mind running the country, if they could find the time... and if they didn't have to leave Southern California to do it.

The Boston Globe is read by people whose parents used to run the country and did a far superior job of it, thank you very much.

The New York Daily News is read by people who aren't sure who running the country, but don't really care so long as they can get a seat on the train.

The New York Post is read by people who don't care at all who's running the country so long as they do something really scandelous, preferably while intoxicated.

The Miami Herald is read by people who are running another country but need the baseball scores.

The San Fransisco Chronicle is read by people who aren't sure there should be a country. And who ever is running it, they oppose all that they stand for, with the occasional exceptions that the leaders are handicapped minority feminist atheist dwarfs who also happen to be ilegal alians from any other country or galaxy provided, of course, that they are not republican.

And finally, The National Enquirer is read by people who are only running their errands and stuck in a long line at the grocery store.

Almost the Last

It’s 3:40pm. And it feels like it’s been 3:40pm for like seventeen minutes! I swear 3:38 was like a half hour ago. I know because I’ve checked my watch 30 times since then. This hour always seems to take three times longer than any other. I mean, the mornings usually go by pretty fast, and I like to take a late lunch. And the last hour of the day actually never seems to be long enough, as I usually end up scrambling to finish things and go home. But this three o’clock hour… I tell ya’! It’s not quite the golden hour of the workday, but maybe gold plated. Taunting me with the prospect of hopping in the car, cranking up the tunes, and going home to kick up my feet for the evening. But no, there’s still one more hour. This is that darn second-to-last hour of the day! That blasted not-quite-the-last hour! That dang next-to-last hour! If I were educated, I might even call it the penultimate hour.

Oh wait, I am educated. Okay, so this is the first time I’ve mentioned my favorite academic topic. Linguistics. My wife and I both have a degree in Linguistics. And we love to talk about morphology and semantics and syntax; and we’ll entertain ourselves analyzing what you say and how you say it til the cows come home. Speaking of cows, I even once wrote a paper on onomatopoeia for animal sounds in different languages. And just so you know, Dutch has a better word for moo than English, Spanish, or Japanese. I know, that’s pretty useless information. But actually my wife and I are hoping to use the disciplines we’ve learned for something much more useful. Our dream would be to work with a people group that doesn’t yet have a written language, to help them develop a system of writing, promote literacy in their ethno-linguistic community, and ultimately translate the Bible so that they can hear God speaking to them in their language.

Oh, and there’s that word ultimate again. In studying phonology I learned a really cool word, antepenultimate. That means third from the last. You’ve got to use these words when you’re talking about stress patterns. The stress patterns of English are actually pretty interesting. I think it’s cool to investigate the processes that are automatic in your mind when you create new words. I read a new word recently, problematization. It’s a little too long to be automatic, but if you just try to pronounce it a few different ways, somehow you’ll just know when you’ve got it right. It’s like your brain is just programmed with the patterns of English. Technically speaking the stress is on the penultimate syllable, and there’s secondary stress on the initial and antepenultimate syllables. Kind of like my day at work!

Capital of the World

Lots of cities have their own claim to fame. I live in San Jose, The Tech Capital of the World. I know that other cities nearby also have something that they do better or more than anyone else. Some are quirky, and some are cool. I like to find out what cities do best. For example, did you know that the Santa Clara Valley (the area of San Jose and it’s suburbs) used to be the prune capital of the world? But apparently we traded the wonderful regularity of prunes for the high stress of technology. Now Yuba City, California is the Prune Capital of the World.

But just a short drive south of this Silicon Valley there remains some of the world's best farmland, which still produces world-class quality/quantity of good stuff. Gilroy for example, is the Garlic Capital of the World. Watsonville is the Strawberry Capital of the World. And Castroville is the Artichoke Capital of the World. Living in California a blessing on the taste buds!

But this isn’t the only place with capitals. Here are a few others for your amusement: Homer, Alaska, I learned on a short visit, is the Halibut Fishing Capital of the World. Milwaukee is, of course, the Beer Capital of the World. And Chicago is, among other things, the Hobo Capital of the World.

Outside of the US, there are other famous “capitals.” Can you name the cities that are the Silk Capital of the World, the Pastry Capital of the World, or the Silver Capital of the world? Or can you tell me what the countries of Thailand or Zanzibar have more of than anyone else? (answers below)

It’s not all that impressive, but it’s a fun little mental list that I’ve been keeping. Now I need the help of everyone out there in internet land. Where do you live, and what is your city best at? Or have you visited obscure capitals in other places? Let us know your bits of geopolitical trivia.

Answers: Silk = Suzhou, China; Pastry = Vienna, Austria; Silver = Taxco, Mexico. Thailand = Ruby Capital; Zanzibar = Mango Capital.