I confess I’m not a big fan of movies about Jesus. Necessarily the film maker adopts a perspective or point of view to tell the story of Jesus, choosing what to leave in or what to take out. The Bible provides four perspectives, the four Gospels, on what it means to come to faith in Jesus and each of them add so much to our own spiritual journey. Take the Beatitudes for example. In St. Matthew the Beatitudes are like a Constitution that you can print on a poster and mount on the wall as a guide for behavior. When St. Luke reports on the Beatitudes he shifts the emphasis. For example, the Beatitudes are addressed personally to “You poor…” instead of “the poor…” Also, the Beatitudes in Luke are concrete, connected to people’s experience, what they are going through: not “the poor in spirit” but “you poor,” not “those who hunger for justice” but “you hungry.” In addition. Jesus appends “woes” to the “Blessings” — perhaps a reminder that the beatitudes impact not just individuals but an entire community which needs to create a unity between rich and poor, hungry and satisfied. We are so blessed to have both gospel accounts.
