The Passion of the Christ, Symbolically Speaking

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The 2004 release of Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ has renewed both diatribe and discussion on what is perhaps the core event of the second largest religion in the world today. In this article, written in the form of a dialogue, the Matsons take a look at that event from a symbolic or mystical perspective, to demonstrate the enduring truths that make Christ’s passion upon the cross such a compelling and enduring symbol.

Michael grew up as an evangelical Christian, but became disillusioned with the narrow dogma in his adult years. Alesia describes her relationship with Christianity as a “two-year flirtation,” but recognizes its gross and subtle influences on Western cultures. Once freed from the literalism of the teachings, both Michael and Alesia began to appreciate the symbolic truth and beauty in the wide variety of Christian traditions around the world.

Michael:

The thing I find most fascinating about The Passion of The Christ is Gibson’s focus on the brutality of the event. Protestant Christians focus almost entirely on the resurrection, hence the empty cross in all their sanctuaries; even Catholics, who use the crucifix rather than the empty cross, have joined with their Protestant cousins in focusing on the “saving of souls” rather than the experience Gibson so graphically displays in the movie.But when you move the whole concept of salvation from the literal world into the symbolic world, and dissect it that way (something we really don’t have time to get into here) it begs the question: Why? Why did Jesus allow himself to be so brutally killed? Why would anybody put themselves through that?

Alesia:

I’m not even going to get into the historical debate with this — I haven’t seen any documented, historical proof of the event (the gospels don’t count, they’re not histories), but the meaning of the crucifixion is much more important than its historical fact, anyway.

It’s certain Jesus, a mystic and master, didn’t have to allow himself to be so horrifically murdered — mystics who’ve lived in the Unitive Experience for any length of time could, if they so chose, extricate themselves from that kind of situation, and many did. My answer to “Why?” stems from a deep conviction I’ve held about the Jesus story since my own mystical experiences. Jesus came here, not to teach humanity compassion, but to awaken in us the experience of compassion.

I defy anyone with even an ounce of human feeling to examine the events surrounding the crucifixion and not feel something stir in their heart of hearts. You don’t have to be Christian or believe in the bible to notice this — when I was gathering data for the symbolic analysis of The Seven Last Words of Christ even I felt it, and recognized it for what it was: the breaking, the opening of my heart to the suffering of another human being.

That kind of symbolism has power that transcends its local, or merely literal origins. The development of compassion in the human race is a relatively recent event, evolutionarily speaking, and I see Christ and the Buddha, who lived just 500 years earlier, as the midwives of that paradigm-changing event.

Michael:

Even in a light reading of the gospels the symbol of Jesus as a selfless person emerges. He was homeless, penniless, totally dependent upon others for his room and board each night, and yet he spent his days giving. And I say “giving” because his miracles were not, in and of themselves, extraordinary. As Holland Hendrix, President, Union Theological Seminary, observed, in the first century miracle workers were all over the place, and came from every religion. Just performing miracles wouldn’t have set Jesus apart from a hundred others in Galilee.

What made him different was his selflessness, his compassion, and his willingness to become a symbol of compassion, even if it meant dying himself. I also find the symbolism represented by Rome, and the Roman method of execution to be striking. There cannot be a more vivid representation of polarity than a cross. The four ends of a cross never meet, never can meet. Their only connection is at the very center, where the cross bar is fastened to the upright: The very place the human heart, the center of compassion, rests when suspended from it. Savage brutality (Rome) meets depthless compassion. Rome is gone; compassion is burning ever brighter in humanity.

Alesia:

The symbolism of the cross itself endures too — Christianity may have co-opted one of its forms, but it is almost archetypal in its cross-cultural resonances. Consider: The horizontal bar, symbolic of the earthly plane, the plane or level at which we live in this world; the upright, vertical bar representing divine power, or God-force, trans-secting the earth plane. And as you [Michael] said, at the place where they meet? Sacred space. The human heart. Compassion. The symbolic resonances between the Christian cross and Solomon’s Seal (aka the Star of David, in Judaism) can’t be ignored — in the center, in the place where God and Humanity meet is compassion.

In guided 7 Mysteries meditations on the chakras, there’s a moment that sometimes comes during meditations on the fourth chakra where you get the sense of your own self being “transfixed” in that way — suspended from above at the seventh chakra, and below at the first, and at the fourth chakra. You are “hanging there,” suspended, vibrating in time to the harmonies between these three chakras. You just open, open, open to the beauty and the suffering in the world. You literally become that. It’s a powerful experience.

Next time, the series continues with a symbolic analysis of the Seven Last Words of Christ, a 7-path that is not analyzed in Alesia’s new book, 7 Mysteries: Contemplative Arts for the Modern Mystic. In this analysis, the path to transformation encoded in the (largely apocryphal) sayings of Christ on the cross is revealed and suggested meditations given.

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The Reverends Michael and Alesia Matson (double D.D.!) are co-founders of Church of the New Renaissance, a home for modern mystics and authors of many articles and books on mysticism, the contemplative arts, and recovering from fundamentalism. You can find out more about Alesia’s book, 7 Mysteries: Contemplative Arts for the Modern Mystic, by clicking here. [tags]mel gibson, the passion of the christ, religion, symbolic, cross, evangelical, christian, dogma, christianity, protestant, catholic, jesus, crucifixion, mystic, unitive, experience, compassion, 7 last words of christ, buddha, holland hendrix, union theological seminary, galilee, rome, roman, sacred, solomon’s seal, star of david, judaism, chakras, 7 mysteries, contemplative arts, modern mystic[/tags]