The following article is reprinted from the March 2004 issue of Tri-State Voice.

Beyond Passion: Living a Crucified Life

I haven't seen the movie yet, but like many, I've eagerly awaited its release since hearing about it last January. I've watched the trailers a dozen or more times, read scores of articles and reviews, and followed the supposed "anti-Semitism" controversy. Our youth group nearly pre-purchased fifty tickets for opening night before our church agreed to a special screening opening weekend. I admit it: I'm awash in buzz and thrilled to see "Mel's Passion."

But while I applaud Mel Gibson's courage for making The Passion of the Christ and join the global Christian community in encouraging everybody to view it, it is sobering that an authentic artistic statement about the crucifixion would make front page news as "the greatest evangelistic tool of our time."

The evangelical fervor that surrounds the film begs a difficult question: Why does the world have to wait for a Hollywood epic to glimpse Christ's passion? Didn't He challenge those who would be disciples to take up our crosses daily? Didn't He charge us to model for unbelievers His incarnated love?

In other words, shouldn't Christ's passion be demonstrated tangibly everyday in our homes, communities, workplaces, and schools through our obedience of Him? Wouldn't, then, Mel's movie more appropriately serve as a reminder of His love and not a revelation of it?

Jesus gave the great commission and its corollary great commandment to actual human beings, not artistic renderings or other inanimate objects. But before this movie, how many evangelicals regarded Mel Gibson as a great evangelist or even as a "Christian actor"? He was more commonly known as a devout Catholic whose recent films contained Messianic overtones and spiritual subtexts. Now he is credited with creating the greatest evangelistic tool of our time?

That's because we're still stuck in a world where the term "evangelism" means the proclamation of a tidy Gospel presentation, followed by an altar call, sinner's prayer, and follow-up card.

Not so the Christ model. Contrary to conventional 21st century wisdom, Jesus chose to live among the people He would serve, learning their language, understanding their customs, practicing their traditions, and paying his cultural dues for thirty years before opening his mouth to preach. The almighty Maker of heaven and earth who measures the universe with a span clothed himself in the form of created man; chose to be born in a barn of an unmarried woman, at a time when unmarried pregnancy was a crime punishable by death; endured his childhood as a political refugee in Egypt; spent his adolescence and young adulthood in a Judean ghetto ("What good comes out of Nazareth?"); lived as a de facto slave to imperial Rome; and practiced blue collar work for thirty years before beginning his "ministry."

When he came of age as a rabbi, his preferred ministry practice was to meet people's needs before teaching them. He'd open blind eyes, treat 5,000 of his closest friends to dinner out of a little boy's lunch sack, disrupt funerals to revitalize the deceased, and restock the booze at a wedding in order to relate to people. Only then would he preach, and then by talking about ordinary things that ordinary people would understand: money, farming, taxes. He wouldn't manipulate his crowd numbers and chose to keep his immediate following small.

By most modern evangelical standards, Jesus would be voted least likely to succeed as an evangelist. History tells a different story, though, because for Him, evangelism wasn't something He did, it is who He is. Reaching people was His life. Relating to and serving them was his methodology. Loving them was His passion, and He invented ways to do it.

That's what the crucifixion represents, and what Mel's movie depicts: Christ's ultimate act of service. He laid down His life - His heavenly throne and all that went with it - to pay the supreme price for our sin because He loved us, even though we rejected Him.

St. Francis of Assisi once said his mission in life was to "share Christ and use words when necessary." We evangelicals have it in reverse. We tend to use words to share Christ while our actions preach something altogether different.

Mel's movie is indeed a triumph. Not just of great moviemaking or as a legitimate depiction of the crucifixion, but as an historical moment for evangelicalism. It sets a new bar for what can come from a crucified life, devoted to Christ, and passionate about serving others.

Mel earned the right to make this movie, and the respect of his would-be audience, because for the last 25 years, as an actor and director he has met audiences on their terms. After rediscovering his faith ten or so years ago, he continued nurturing his craft and making good movies. The spiritual truths contained in many have been well received because they avoided the preachy trap. His resulting credibility as an artist, combined with the courage of his convictions and $30 million of his own money, have produced a film about our loving Savior that the entire world has paused to notice.

That's a triumph worth celebrating. From an inspired, crucified life.

- Jeremy R. Del Rio, Esq., is the co-founder and executive director of Generation Xcel™ and the youth pastor of Abounding Grace Ministries. See www.GenerationXcel.com for more.

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Additional articles by Jeremy available online:

Why I Support the Billy Graham Crusade (and Pray You Do Too) (March 2005)
Things We Don't Talk About (February 2005)
X Factor: Redefining a Generation for Xmas (December 2004)
An Embarrassment of Riches: Economic Injustice and the Church (November 2004)
Wake Up from Slumber: Civic Hypocrisy and Voter Dysfunction (October 2004)
A Letter to My Son on Father's Day (June 2004)
Fight of the Fatherless (May 2004)
Let's Talk about Sex (April 2004)
Losing Races: A Dream Deferred (February 2004)
From Irrelevant to Revolutionary: A 21st Century Continental Congress (November 2003)
A Crisis of Zeroes: Engaging NYC Public Schools (September 2003)
WWJD (What Would Jay-Z Do): Engaging Youth Culture (August 2003)
The Joshua Paradox: Establishing a Meaningful Mentorship Model (July 2003)
Young People are NOT the Future: Embracing the YW8? (Why Wait?)™ Generation (June 2003)
Thanks to Heroes (September 2002)
A View from Ground Zero (September 2001)
By Any Means Necessary: Free Hot Dogs and Youth Evangelism (July 2001)
Ground Zero Photos (Photography)

Visit HERE for more Xcel Original Writings.