CENTURION
Palm Sunday
40th Day of Lent
40th Day of Lent
9th April 2017
The story goes that Ernest Borgnine
came to a deep sense of faith in Christ
while standing at the foot of the cross
as a centurion in the 1977 Zeffirelli
epic Jesus of Nazareth. He was given
task of filming his big moment ('Surely,
this is the Son of God') without Robert
Powell actually in position on the cross. Instead, Zeffirelli chalked a mark on the timbers
and told Borgnine to look at that spot throughout the shoot. When the time came for
filming, however, Borgnine said he could not do it. He tried to imagine what the centurion
thought and felt about being there, but it was not enough. So he asked someone to read
out the words of Jesus spoken from the cross. Zeffirelli read the passages, such as, 'Father,
forgiven them, for they know not what they do.' And then, as if given a vision at that
moment, Borgnine tells how he saw Jesus (not Powell) on the cross with his head bowed.
And it brought tears to his eyes. And as he wept, so did Anne Bancroft (who played Mary
Magdalene). And so did other crew members. At that point Zeffirelli said 'cut'. He had the
shot he needed. But he had no idea what had happened to Borgnine.
The role of the centurion in the Gospels is critical. For he, a gentile, and one of the
soldiers of the greatest empire on earth at the time, is given the starring role as the first
convert to Christ - without even the victory of the resurrection. In the movie, Borgnine
also plays the part of the centurion whose servant is healed by Jesus at a distance.
In both Matthew and Luke, the story is told of the centurion whose faith is praised by
Christ for being greater than any child of Abraham. The reason? Because he is
straightforward in his request, telling Jesus that he is not worthy to even have Jesus
under his roof. But, instead, he understands the importance of commands and obedience -
and how that, if Jesus wills anything, it will be done. Interestingly, in Matthew's account,
the centurion meets Jesus face to face. But in Luke's version, all of this is said through
the centurion's friends. He does not even meet Jesus. The film follows Matthew's account
because, as a narrative and dramatic device, it is a far better scene when Jesus and
the centurion meet directly. Robert Powell places his hand on Borgnine's chest as
he commends him for his faith. It is the same hand that Borgnine is later responsible
for nailing to the timbers of the cross. Legend has it that this particular centurion was
from modern day Turkey. Jesus' cross was carried by a Libyan, Simon of Cyrene. He
was, of course, sentenced to death by an Italian, Pontius Pilate.
Today, is Palm Sunday. We remembered in our main Sunday service, the roles that
people from across the world had in Jesus' Passion. We also celebrated the faith and
life of people from around the world who worship with us week by week at St Hilda's.
It was a joy to hear Joseph's deep singing voice leading us in a Shona worship
song; Annie and Eve welcoming us in Mandarin Chinese; Manju reading the set
Gospel passage to us in the South Indian language of Malayalam; and Pauline telling us
about Palm Sunday customs from Malta.
And then, later today, we learnt of the horrific suicide bomb attacks at two Egyptian
Coptic churches - St Mark's Cathedral in Alexandria and St George's Church in Tanta
in the Nile delta. As the church worldwide celebrated the triumphal entry of the Prince
of Peace, men of violence were wreaking slaughter in the pews. The leader of the Coptic
church has called for calm and grace with no violent reprisals. We pray for the peace
of Egypt and the protection of Coptic sisters and brothers. We pray for the persecuted
churches of Syria and Iraq, Pakistan and India.
When it seems that the men of violence always win, it is worth remembering that in the
midst of the brutality and violence of the cross, it took a man of violence to see the
Prince of Peace. Through the redemptive love of Christ crucified, the death-dealing
principalities and powers are overturned. Violence does not have the final say. Grace
does. May the centurion remain for us a sign of the power of redemptive love in these
days of hate and terror.
The story goes that Ernest Borgnine
came to a deep sense of faith in Christ
while standing at the foot of the cross
as a centurion in the 1977 Zeffirelli
epic Jesus of Nazareth. He was given
task of filming his big moment ('Surely,
this is the Son of God') without Robert
Powell actually in position on the cross. Instead, Zeffirelli chalked a mark on the timbers
and told Borgnine to look at that spot throughout the shoot. When the time came for
filming, however, Borgnine said he could not do it. He tried to imagine what the centurion
thought and felt about being there, but it was not enough. So he asked someone to read
out the words of Jesus spoken from the cross. Zeffirelli read the passages, such as, 'Father,
forgiven them, for they know not what they do.' And then, as if given a vision at that
moment, Borgnine tells how he saw Jesus (not Powell) on the cross with his head bowed.
And it brought tears to his eyes. And as he wept, so did Anne Bancroft (who played Mary
Magdalene). And so did other crew members. At that point Zeffirelli said 'cut'. He had the
shot he needed. But he had no idea what had happened to Borgnine.
The role of the centurion in the Gospels is critical. For he, a gentile, and one of the
soldiers of the greatest empire on earth at the time, is given the starring role as the first
convert to Christ - without even the victory of the resurrection. In the movie, Borgnine
also plays the part of the centurion whose servant is healed by Jesus at a distance.
In both Matthew and Luke, the story is told of the centurion whose faith is praised by
Christ for being greater than any child of Abraham. The reason? Because he is
straightforward in his request, telling Jesus that he is not worthy to even have Jesus
under his roof. But, instead, he understands the importance of commands and obedience -
and how that, if Jesus wills anything, it will be done. Interestingly, in Matthew's account,
the centurion meets Jesus face to face. But in Luke's version, all of this is said through
the centurion's friends. He does not even meet Jesus. The film follows Matthew's account
because, as a narrative and dramatic device, it is a far better scene when Jesus and
the centurion meet directly. Robert Powell places his hand on Borgnine's chest as
he commends him for his faith. It is the same hand that Borgnine is later responsible
for nailing to the timbers of the cross. Legend has it that this particular centurion was
from modern day Turkey. Jesus' cross was carried by a Libyan, Simon of Cyrene. He
was, of course, sentenced to death by an Italian, Pontius Pilate.
Today, is Palm Sunday. We remembered in our main Sunday service, the roles that
people from across the world had in Jesus' Passion. We also celebrated the faith and
life of people from around the world who worship with us week by week at St Hilda's.
It was a joy to hear Joseph's deep singing voice leading us in a Shona worship
song; Annie and Eve welcoming us in Mandarin Chinese; Manju reading the set
Gospel passage to us in the South Indian language of Malayalam; and Pauline telling us
about Palm Sunday customs from Malta.
And then, later today, we learnt of the horrific suicide bomb attacks at two Egyptian
Coptic churches - St Mark's Cathedral in Alexandria and St George's Church in Tanta
in the Nile delta. As the church worldwide celebrated the triumphal entry of the Prince
of Peace, men of violence were wreaking slaughter in the pews. The leader of the Coptic
church has called for calm and grace with no violent reprisals. We pray for the peace
of Egypt and the protection of Coptic sisters and brothers. We pray for the persecuted
churches of Syria and Iraq, Pakistan and India.
When it seems that the men of violence always win, it is worth remembering that in the
midst of the brutality and violence of the cross, it took a man of violence to see the
Prince of Peace. Through the redemptive love of Christ crucified, the death-dealing
principalities and powers are overturned. Violence does not have the final say. Grace
does. May the centurion remain for us a sign of the power of redemptive love in these
days of hate and terror.
Lord , we pray for tolerance in the world. We ask that we see your face when we look at others of different backgrounds and faith. We pray for all those affected by these attacks in recent times all over the world. Give them your peace, show them your love. We pray for the many who are still imprisoned or missing in different parts of the world, including, Asia Bibi in Pakistan, Father Tom in Yemen, the girls taken by Boko Haram in Nigeria the Yazidi Christians and others we don't know of. We also pray for those of different faiths whom Christians persecute. Help us to live at peace with one another. We thank you for your love for all of us; Christian and non Christian. Lord, we pray for those who carry out these atrocities. Give them too your preace. Reveal yourself to them. Amen
ReplyDeleteOne of the questions posed at our Palm Sunday service was:
ReplyDeleteWho, today, might be the least expected convert to faith in Jesus?
What came to my mind was a member of IS. But then I found myself thinking but that's never going to happen. And then I prayed.
Forgive me, Lord, for doubting the power of the cross, the power of your redemptive love.
Lord have mercy.
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