The Catholic Weekly 17 May 2020

catholicweekly.com.au 21 17, May, 2020 VISTA WILL BE TAKING A SHORT BREAK ... But watch this page for more interesting news locally and from around the world The Chosen is robust theologically and cinematically. It is more than a series on the life of Christ. It is a promising and fulfilling epic of salva- tion history.” A big catch: Jesus (played by Jonathan Roumie at right) with Simon Peter (Shahar Isaac). PHOTO:THE CHOSEN /VIDANGEL STUDIOS ENTERTAINMENT over the scene make clear. While The Chosen admirably presents Jesus as a deep and enthralling teacher, it is his personal intervention in the lives of those he seeks out and saves that is given greatest at- tention. This emphasis on a person- al relationship with Jesus isn’t surprising for a show written by evangelicals, and it is sure- ly a major motivation behind the addition of fictional back- stories. Take the calling of St Peter, whose singular leadership is repeatedly acknowledged. While the Gospels don’t ex- plain Peter’s late-night fishing trip, in The Chosen it’s a des- perate last-ditch effort to pay off a massive tax debt. Moreover, Peter sets sail after having had an argument with his wife, who chastises his pride, self-reliance and lack of faith. It not only rings true to the biblical portrait of Peter as im- pulsive and impetuous but it’s a very relatable and familiar scene, with which many peo- ple would be familiar. When Peter falls to his knees and cries out for mercy, it has all the feeling of an evangelical conversion experience. You Must Become Like a Child Matthew 18:3 resounds throughout the series. En- counters with Jesus various- ly take people back to their childhood as a symbol of his restoring them to innocence. In his presence, his followers become their true selves. It is children who are Jesus’ first disciples in The Chosen . And when Mary Magdalene encounters Jesus, he shatters her false self by calling her by her birth name and reciting the prophecy taught by her father. When the Apostles are get- ting to know each other by discussing their former ca- reers, St James the Lesser says “only Jesus knows what I will become,” suggesting that fol- lowing Christ is a journey of maturation. The conversion of St Mat- thew, played by Paras Patel in an award-winning perfor- mance, is perhaps the best example. In the series he is Peter’s taxman, and he starts writing records at the behest of the Romans for the purposes of keeping tabs on Peter — re- cords that shrewd viewers know will become the first Gospel. His obsession with num- bers and attention to detail in his Gospel leads Patel to portray him as an obses- sive-compulsive germophobe who makes the most of the opportunities his intelligence, guilelessness and giftedness afford him. His conversion occurs im- mediately after a visit to his alienated parents and a con- versation with his Roman guard about their sense that he’s squandered his God-giv- en talent. As Matthew glimpses Je- sus exiting after healing the paralytic, Jesus glances back and gazes into Matthew’s eyes with a look that is as arresting as it is majestic. The only instance of this theme that gives me pause occurs in the calling of St Thomas. After telling his col- league he didn’t know what to think, she tells him not to. I winced. I understand the line is said to “doubting Thomas.” But Scripture doesn’t uphold children because of their un- thinking naiveté or gullibility. Rather, it’s their keen inter- est, wonder and humility that make them ready for the mys- teries of the Kingdom of God. Mary and Joseph My biggest complaint, un- surprisingly for an evangeli- cal show, is the portrayal of St Joseph and our Lady. Joseph seems a simpleton, with no discernible virtue or fatherli- ness, and Mary appears bohe- mian. I understand they came from humble backgrounds. But, as my wife observed, there’s a noticeable absence of regality. At the same time, I’m glad it hasn’t been suggested that they had other children. And, tomy eyes, there is a profound representation of Mary’s in- tercessory role in episode five. It begins with the events of Luke 2, with Mary and Joseph having lost Jesus. When they find him, Mary is not ignorant of his messianic mission, but she says “it is too early for all this,” looking up to heaven. Jesus replies, “If not now, when?” She says, “Just help us get through all this with you,” and, as the frame flashes to a close-up and the background noise goes silent, she adds, “Please.” This dialogue is interesting- ly inverted during the wed- ding in Cana. WhenMary asks Jesus to help with the wine, he replies “Mother [sic], my time has not yet come.” She replies, “If not now, when?” It brought me to tears as, once again we are given a close-up of Mary’s face and in silence she prayerfully pleads, “Please.” It’s all at least a hint of her integral and intercesso- ry role. Grace Catholics could also quib- ble with the view of grace. To be sure, we have neither the old-school Gnosticism nor the new-school social activ- ism of some evangelical sote- riology. The material, political and spiritual dimensions of salva- tion are nicely integrated, and the temporal is subordinated to the eternal. But the evan- gelical emphasis on a person- al relationship does seem to be tainted by bias against sac- ramentality. When Jesus tells the wom- an at the well that God will be worshipped “in spirit and in truth,” he interprets it to mean that the heart is all that mat- ters. One wishes the writers were more familiar with the biblical typology of the Tem- ple and Jesus’ Body at work in John’s Gospel. We need not worship in Jerusalem’s Tem- ple — not because warm feel- ings in our hearts suffice, but because the new Temple is Christ’s Body, which is given to us only in the Mass. Similarly, for all the ways in which the series shows itself influenced by the 20th-centu- ry recovery of the “Jewishness of Jesus” in biblical scholar- ship and the kind of conge- niality toward Judaism that arose after the Second World War and was encouraged by the Second Vatican Council in the declaration Nostra Aetate , there is lingering evangeli- cal anxiety about good works undermining divine grace in Judaism. And yet here, too, I must be thankful, for when my 9-year- old son, Rowan, heard the Pharisees intimate that it’s only when the people perfect- ly obey the Law that the Mes- siah will come, he immediate- ly interrupted: “Wait, there’s a problem here. It’s good to believe that you need to make everything good for the Mes- siah’s coming, but they are missing the key point: You can’t make everything good without the Messiah.” So far, it appears Jenkins and his team has succeeded in creating a “binge-worthy” TV show on Jesus that is at once believable and faithful. I’ve found it to be fairly friendly to Catholic sensibili- ties, while displaying the best of its evangelical heritage. Unlike so many portrayals of Scripture in film that prove superficial both in biblical understanding and artistic representation, The Chosen is robust theologically and cine- matically. It is more than a series on the life of Christ. It is a prom- ising and fulfilling epic of sal- vation. Dr James Merrick, a former Anglican priest who became a Catholic, lectures at Fran- ciscan University of Steuben- ville in the US. This article first appeared at ncregister. com