**Non-spoiler alert-I'm going to talk about the movie, Son of God. I can't possibly spoil it for you...the story remains the same. Tonight I watched the movie, Son of God. I don't know what to say; I'm still shaking and still so very moved. It is by far a movie that has affected me more than any other. I've seen lots of movies about Jesus, and I've loved them all; The Passion of Christ, The Ten Commandments, I've even seen and loved Jesus Christ Superstar and Godspell. But this one...this one topped them all. Maybe for me, it was the casting...all of the actors. True, the actor, Diogo Morgado, who played, Jesus, was super handsome, and has earned himself the hash tag title, #HotJesus, but that's not what I'm referring to. It was something so much more than that. He played the role to perfection...for me. He moved and looked at people just the way I have always imagined Jesus to do so. Every story and every reading that I've heard in all of my years about Jesus, from the weekly readings at mass to the messages I help pass on to the teens at Edge, to what I taught to the kindergarteners in CCD, came pouring out of this man's mouth the way I imagine Jesus to be...not old school harsh or boring...but with the most passionate expressions. I've seen it and heard it countless times...it's just that this particular movie had the biggest effect on me.

Was it my mood...or my hormones...or the fact that I was sitting in-between my mother and daughter (which was very special), but everything about the movie got to me. In one of the earliest scenes, Jesus came across Matthew, the tax collector, who was collecting money from the poorest of people. The crowds following Jesus were quick to scorn Matthew...but you should have seen the look in Matthew's eyes when he saw Jesus. I can't even describe it, but I think it was, shame. Yea, shame. He was so incredibly sorry that Jesus saw him robbing the poor. Matthew's eyes filled up with pools of tears...but it was as if I were looking into my own eyes when I've done something wrong. And all Jesus did, was to return the look with love in his own eyes as he outstretched his hand toward Matthew's. Oh, my God! Was it there that I began crying? Or was I already crying? I can't remember. But, they weren't Matthew's tears, they were mine...and Jesus wasn't looking at Matthew, He was looking at ME! That's how powerful the acting was.

The movie went on to show all of the well-known stories I've heard about; Jesus healing the lame, feeding the crowds with just a few fish, raising Lazarus from the dead, and giving permission to the crowds of men to stone the adulteress if they were without sin. They held fist sized stones aimed at the woman, who was bound. The stones were dry, covered in a thick dust, and held by the hands of many covered in sin. The filth that rose from the falling stones signified their understanding of what this one man was saying, and was so visually impacting to experience. I was moved in all of the past movies I watched about Jesus, but the key word being, watched. In, Son of God, I felt like I was part of the crowd, walking with Jesus. It was filming at its best. It portrayed the disciples' wonderment and growing love for Jesus, their fear of safety, and it of course, exposed Judas betraying Him and Peter denying Him. There was so much to pack into two hours...but I would have sat for much longer. The emotion was running on high throughout the entire movie that I never had time to properly recover from one scene before moving to the next. I'm going to quote myself from a different emotional movie with, "It was so good, I cried myself all the way through!"

As a viewer, I was walked through the trial with Jesus and saw how fear from both the high priest and Pontius Pilate led to His death. I felt the forty lashes He received as punishment, and felt the crown of thorns being pushed into His scalp. And then came His final walk, carrying His cross to Golgotha, the place of the skull. The cross was huge...I never knew how big it was. When Jesus fell, it was filmed in slow motion and the theater walls shook. The camera was on the ground and received the full impact of His fall...each time. When Jesus could no longer get up, and Simon of Cyrene was grabbed from the crowd to help, I wanted to jump from my seat to help. But instead, I sat...I sat and cried with shame.

At that point, I could hear Jesus telling me that it was okay. He was doing this for me because He loves me. He said that I, too, have a cross to carry. We all do. The cross of our sins is heavy, the cross of our hardships is heavy, and the cross of our walk in this life is heavy. But what I've learned in the past, and heard again tonight, is that He is helping me. Jesus is my Simon of Cyrene, and it's His love that helps me.

Jesus' resurrection was as beautiful as I've ever imagined it to be. Once again, I felt as if I were sitting with the disciples when He arrived. I was Thomas when he felt the holes in Jesus' hands, and I listened to Him explain about everlasting life. I was with all of them on the mountain after forty days when He ascended to Heaven.

Phew. What an experience! When the movie ended and the credits began rolling, no one moved. I won't spoil what song was playing, but I will tell you that the tears from the audience just kept coming. Somehow I managed to drive my mother home, but in complete silence. My daughter and I shared just a few words after that. What could I say? Just a few grunts. I must have been a sight when I came home from the movie because poor Officer Buckle paced about the kitchen while I continued to ponder the evening with swollen eyes nearly shut. "The movie was good?" he asked. "Good, good, can you iron a shirt for me?" That, of course, was his way of saying, "I'm sorry that you're so upset. Let's get you back on auto-pilot."

When I started typing this blog, I made the mistake of reading an online review. Big mistake...but not for me. The poor man thought the story of Jesus' walk of life was lame and told too many times...or not well enough. Wrong! This is my fifty-second time entering into the season of Lent, and what has my silver taught me? The story of Jesus' life and what He has done for ME and YOU gets better and better every year, makes more sense. And now, I'm able to experience it as if I'm walking with Jesus by the use of digital technology. Lame and too many times? Never! I rate movies not but what I see, but by what I feel. I think it's safe to say that I don't watch movies, I feel them. If a movie brings out my emotion and leaves me stuck...stuck and unable to stop thinking about it, then it's a job well done...no matter what other critics may say.

I encourage each of you to see, Son of God. What perfect planning it was that went in to the timing of the release...the beginning of Lent. The story of God's love, hope, and everlasting life will never grow old.

I saw the Son of God.

The Silver Side of Life