By James Wilson
2014 marks the
tenth anniversary of Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ, and of Mel
Gibson’s own passion. Although a sober Christian
for more than a decade before The Passion, Gibson’s rep was as a hard living
action figure until he made a film about Christ. The industry to which he brought billions of
dollars has never forgiven him for breaking the stereotype. His own outrageous behavior – fueled by
alcohol when he broke his own recovery justified the condemnation in the minds
of those who condemned him. This top box office draw before Passion has not
found employment with a major Hollywood studio since its release.
There
was his 2006 arrest for drunk driving when he shelled the arresting officer
with a torrent of anti-Semitic invective, and the tapes of abusive phone calls
to the girlfriend for whom he left his wife and other children. That he was reacting – as an alcoholic and
not as a rational man – to the relentless attacks he received from the Jewish
community over what they perceived as anti-Semitism in the Passion is no
excuse. (The film accurately depicts the
Roman occupiers as the executioners of Christ.)
That the tapes of the calls – in their entirety – show an ongoing
shakedown of a wealthy movie mogul by someone skilled at pushing the buttons of
an alcoholic way off the wagon does not lessen the fact Gibson has a violent
temper – when he is drinking. But it has
been ten years. He has held countless
meetings with Jewish leaders and groups attempting to reconcile; he has donated
millions to Jewish causes and concerns.
He has been sober again these past seven years. Is forgiveness and a second chance on the
horizon, or is his the unforgivable sin?
According
to Allison Hope Weiner, a print journalist who wrote some of the most vitriolic
material against him before she got to know him, it is past time to forgive.
I
met Gibson a few weeks prior to the Passion’s release. I was part of a focus group of about seventy
people – one of many groups invited to a screening of a rough cut of the film
in multiple cities – and Gibson showed up, took questions, and gave us a couple
hours of his time over and above the screening time for the film. I saw a visibly shy man who had already
absorbed massive amounts of criticism for a film no one had yet seen. Although we were all Christian leaders and
expected to be at least sympathetic to his efforts, he seemed fearful that we
too would open fire. I saw also a man
who believed – despite his clearly expressed faith in the Lord who had rescued
him from alcohol and self-destruction twelve years earlier – that he could
prevail over his personal crises on personal strength alone. That is a recipe for disaster, and especially
in a recovering addict.
But
I keep remembering that screening and picture a man so humble on the one hand
and so committed to making a film that glorified his Lord on the other that he
sought – and accepted – recommendations from the audience for improving
it. One strategic scene in particular
was seriously modified for the theatrical release as a result of our input;
there may have been others. At the same
time his grim determination to tough things out makes him more a slave to pride
than he is to alcohol. But which one of
us is free from that addictive demon?
His fall should serve as a lesson.
Mel
Gibson is an amazingly talented and committed man. I love films like Braveheart and Signs and
The Patriot – where he portrays strong but conflicted characters battling their
personal demons and seeking the face of God as the only and ultimate
solution. I loved Gallipoli and I hate
films like the Mad Max and Lethal Weapon franchises – because the latter are –
to me – all action and no struggle for truth and abundant life. If Mel Gibson is anti-Semitic in his heart
and not just a man who struck out blindly and stupidly in an alcoholic rage one
night I am Santa Claus. And if he is
anything but a flawed human being who wants to be better than he is and often
blows it, I am Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.
He is certainly not the Pharisee in Luke 18 who thanks God he is not
like other men and goes away self-satisfied and self-congratulated. He is more like the tax collector who cries
out for the mercy of the Lord and finds it in Jesus. And it has been ten years.
James A. Wilson is the author of Living
As Ambassadors of Relationships and The
Holy Spirit and the End Times – available at local bookstores or by
e-mailing him at
praynorthstate@charter.net
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