A Journey Of Faith – Page 31 – Peter Tan

The Passion

I cannot wait to watch The Passion of The Christ. This movie was co-written, directed and produced by Mel Gibson and ?adapted from a composite account of The Passion assembled from the four Biblical gospels of Mark, Matthew, Luke and John,? according to the background info of the official movie site. Additionally, the characters in the film speak in the languages they would actually have spoken during that time, namely Aramaic, Latin and Greek. I believe Gibson had taken great pains to recreate this movie as authentic to the times as he possibly could.

The Passion of The Christ is about the last twelve hours of Jesus? life. This movie is slated to be released on February 25, coinciding with Ash Wednesday. Even before the release, it is already mired in controversy. Jews and Christians feared that the graphical dramatisation that led to the crucifying of Christ would incite anti-Semitism because it portrayed the persecution of Jesus by the Jews.

Personally, whatever message this movie depicts, I will be watching it to learn more about the sufferings that Jesus went through, beginning from the Garden of Olives in Gethsemane right up to the moment of His death. This will help complement my Bible studies. Anne and Adel, my catechists, are currently helping me understand the deeper meanings of God?s Words.

My Life Blogged

Today is the last day of the Chinese Lunar Year. Another season is coming to an end. This blog was launched just before the last Chinese New Year. What began as an experiment in self-promotion and self-aggrandizement turned out to be a documentation of the most poignant chapter of my life.

I am still incredulous at how much things can change within one short year. As I began to read those early entries, a sense of trepidation pervaded. I pondered over my innocence during those months that was about to be rudely shattered. As I relived the events that were unfolding, a sense of helplessness permeated through me. I wished I could have done something more, something different, to change the course of events.

Perhaps, had I been more concerned with the cough that just refused to go away in Mum, I could have helped her avert the complications that ensued. All the ?ifs? and the all possibilities that I could have done but did not haunted my conscience, but it will not do any good now. It has come to pass.

Perhaps, it was God?s way of leading me into His realm. I had never prayed so fervently with such sincerity and desperation as the night He took Mum back. If things had happened differently, I would not have seen what I saw that night and I would have continued being an agnostic.

In some ways, I am glad that I had started this blog. I had chronicled Mum?s final journey and recorded those significant instances where otherwise it would have slowly faded, and then lost, in the muddled nooks and crannies of my memory. I am glad that I was able to appreciate Mum more and share the story of her magnanimity with friends and strangers when otherwise it would have stayed obscure and unknown.

I am appreciative of the effort and ingenuity of the folks at Movabletype who had made the archiving of those moments simple and fuss-free. They have made it possible for me to express my innermost and heartfelt feelings. It was a great avenue for me to release those grief and sorrows in a constructive way.

This blog has helped me grow and understand myself better. It is a reflection of who I am and what I will grow to become. I will continue to chronicle my journey through life here. This is where my life is put into words. This is me.

A Bible In The Mail

This came in the mail just now. I confided in Pauline that I was looking for a Bible for my Catechism and she immediately offered to send me one. This Reader’s Edition of The New Jerusalem Bible (NJB) is just perfect for my Bible studies. It is a revision of the Jerusalem Bible that was prepared by Roman Catholic scholars in Great Britain. Thank you Pauline, for this very beautiful copy of the Bible.

While Googling for more information on the NJB, I came across this little tidbit – J.R.R. Tolkien was one of the authors who worked on it. Yes! Tolkien of the Lord of the Rings fame.