On The Great Bible Plot

The crucifixion and resurrection is the climax is in which all the promises God made in the Old Testament come to a head.  It's a bursting of God's love for His people.  Everything was leading up to that one great point on Calvary, where God Himself would overturn the eternal result of sin.

And of course, the resolution is the few recorded years after Christ's death and resurrection.  When the scattered flock is reunited under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Ever since the spread of Christianity, we've come up with plays and movies to retell this epic tale in our own words.  We've tried to hand down the mystery of the Gospel to an ever-changing future generation.  Each retelling of the story contains its own signature of the author, a trace of human expression in the divine story.  Each retelling also focuses on a few points that might be relevant to the current times.  For example, Mel Gibson's movie The Passion Of Christ focuses on the harsh tortures Jesus endured for our sins.

Wouldn't it be nice to see a production that was written by Jesus Himself?  One that took the major points of the New Testament, put them into a powerful one or two hours presentation, and didn't contain our own infallible interpretations? 

Hey, wait a minute.  I believe that does exist somewhere.  And you can generally see it every day, in just about any part of the world.  Go to your local parish, and ask them if you might watch The Mass.  But be prepared... the actors in this play are doing much more than acting.  And the audience is doing much more than watching.

The main character of the play is Jesus, played by your parish priest and chosen by God.  Not only does he reenact the most important part of Jesus' legacy, but he perpetuates it.  He presents the sacrifice in a REAL way so that the audience can REALLY participate in the events that took place 2000 years ago.  For that hour-long presentation, he not only plays Christ, but is also becoming Christ.  Christ acts through him!

And the audience doesn't just watch.  They take part in the eternal sacrifice.  They fully receive the benefits, as if they were standing there at the foot of the cross and Jesus were giving them his blessing.

Just think--this Sunday you'll live through the entire Gospel in about an hour.  The conflict, climax, and resolution will all take place in a production that had hit the world by storm and spread to the very furthest corners of earth in just a few hundred years... and is still alive today.  In all lands, in all languages, we Catholics unite to form the Body of Christ, and witness the act of justice and mercy that saved the human race.

Mind boggling, isn't it?