A powerful reminder in the midst of a stressful and busy week of the strength and comfort found in God.

This Road by Jars of Clay
All heavy laden acquainted with sorrow
May Christ in our marrow carry us home
From alabaster come blessings of laughter
A fragrance of passion and joy from the truth

Grant the unbroken tears ever flowing
From hearts of contrition only for You
May sin never hold true that love never broke through
For God's mercy holds us and we are His own

This road that we travel may it be the straight and narrow
God, give us peace and grace from You, all the day
Shelter with fire, our voices we raise still higher
God, give us peace and grace from You, all the day through

(tune played)
For the beauty of the earth,
For the glory of the skies;
For the love which from our birth,
Over and around us lies;
Lord of all, to Thee we raise
This, our hymn of grateful praise.

Well I finally went to go see Mel Gibson's "The Passion of Christ" last Saturday. Overall I was impressed with the movie. As far as I could tell, it was mostly biblically accurate. A lot of people are complaining about anti-semitism, but really I think it's just because focusing on that is easier than grappling with the issues of Christ's death. And many complain about the level of violence shown. I didn't think it was any more violent than his other movies. The truth is, it was accurate to, if not slightly less graphic than, the reality of crucifixion. What makes the violence so hard to watch is knowing who it is...

"The Passion" was such a moving film for me not just because of what was shown, but especially because of the subtler truths it didn't show. It reminded me that although the physical pain of his death was excruciating, he endured far worse spiritual and emotional pain as God turned his back on the sins of the world. And Christ went through that unthinkable rejection for me. And as much as I'd like to think of myself as a decently good person, I know that without Christ's sacrifice I couldn't possibly hope for eternal life. Though the movie focused on pain and death, it was a stark reminder for me of God's love and the life we are assured of through Christ if we only ask.

Your reaction to the movie?