December 11, 2021
Welcome, God and All...
About nine months ago - during Lent - I wrote that I had found something different that was occupying my time. A different look at the ministry of Jesus; how he found those who would follow him closely as his disciples and ultimately, as his apostles.
Get used to different, he said to Simon Peter. That was never explicitly recorded in the Gospels. It didn't have to be; it was certainly implied in every parable and miracle. And in the process, this different take begged us all to dig deeper and see what an authentic Jesus might look like and how he might interact, thus bringing clarity and a better understanding of those words first passed on orally, then through several linguistic translations and finally into our current (and evolving) style of speech and mannerism.
Such has been the impact of Dallas Jenkins' inspired magnum opus, or great work, thus far: The Chosen. From the moment I watched that first episode about Mary Magdalene's backstory and her emotional and spiritual healing by Jesus, I knew I was hooked. I have watched all sixteen episodes multiple times and desperately want more, even as I know the general outline and outcome which must happen in order for the series' continuity and portrayal of Jesus and his contemporaries to be, in Jenkins' own words (and he says many at every opportunity), authentic.
The Chosen has received a lot of 'thumbs up' references from people in Church circles. Bishop Robert Barron (auxiliary) of Los Angeles has taken part in discussion roundtables with Jenkins and other religious leaders representing a cross-section of Judeo-Christianity. They're all appreciative of what they've seen thus far and are eagerly yet patiently awaiting more.
For me, the show has led to co-hosting a local discussion group. We ran through the first season in September and October, and will do the same for season two in January and February. As a Catholic minister, there are some specific challenges that have to be considered.
While receiving good publicity from many Catholic leaders in the United States, The Chosen has not been officially endorsed by the Church. Nor can it be. While the backstories have done much to create what authentic 1st Century history might look like, those can't be authenticated by either native historical sources or in the Gospels. Thus, we must consider them, even as realistic as they might be, as works of fiction. It's not unusual; stories like Ben Hur and the storyline of the motion picture Risen have a basis in historical fact but are not true stories in themselves.
Another challenge is unique to modern times: commercialization. Licensing and Marketing. The Chosen is what it is. Jenkins and others involved with the show's development want to keep bringing it to wider and wider audiences, and that in itself takes a great deal of creativity. Advertising, if you will, through providing messaging and branding through apparel, books, accessories, and sales of the program on recorded home media. I get easily caught up in the concept of being an ambassador for Christ in the form of a walking billboard; but not so good at living out the Gospels in the humble manner Jesus did. This in turn reminds me of the one scene in the Gospels where Jesus appears to 'lose his cool' and proceeds to throw out the merchants and moneychangers doing business just inside the Temple walls. I am very curious over how the creative staff will deal with that should it make its way into the screenplay.
There's a third challenge, and it has already sparked discussion and debate - sometimes heated. The challenge reminds me that all viewpoints (including my own as a Catholic) are missing something big. It's so big that it will take another reflection to address it as I should. That means I'll have another post, in the very near future, to put what I know together with what I've learned so far and try to make authentic sense of it. If you'd told a peasant teenager 2000+ years ago that she would be more a source of misunderstanding and division to Christians, would she still say 'yes' to God?
I attended the theatrical release of The Chosen's Christmas special episode, The Messengers this past week. It was my first venture into a theater building in two years; since before the COVID pandemic. I was indeed impressed; but not initially. I do not doubt the faith and desire of those who professionally praise the Lord through their musical ability; after all, that is a lot of what I do. But it was hard to get through the first fifteen minutes of several songs by different artists that (to me, anyway) sounded very much the same. One group, apparently identifying with the 25-and-under set, showed up in designer ripped-up jeans. They seemed to have missed the part of the psalms that tell us to worship the Lord "in holy attire". Or they thought that the word 'holy' was misspelled. But the show definitely got better as it rolled along. And...no, I'm not going to tell you what happened. You must know? Go and see. It came in at #4 at the box office last weekend, and its nine-day run (so far) is the largest gross receipt of any event in Fathom Events' history. Is Jesus happy about this? I hope so. But for those who can't get to a theater, it's been promised to be available to watch - for free - beginning tomorrow evening (December 12).
Until we meet again, may the God of peace be with you...
+the Phoenix
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