Who was really to blame for

Christ's death?

If there is one thing, and

actually there is more than one thing, about the religion of Christianity

that I have not ever understood over the years, it's the notion that the

Jews are somehow "at fault" for killing Jesus.

Mel Gibson's upcoming film,

"The Passion," has the various religious entities abuzz again,

if not at arms. This time it may be worse than with all the hoopla about

"The Last Temptation of Christ."

Yes, I went to see "The

Last Temptation," and I will go to see "The Passion" when

it is released. Most of my Christian friends looked down their noses at

me for viewing the first film. I'm sure I will be applauded and accompanied

when I view the upcoming one.

You see, I've never been able

to put Jesus Christ in a box. Everything about His life attracts me. I

want to know all I can. I always want to know how others perceive Him.

I'm certainly not threatened if some creative film artist does not perceive

Him as I do. And I seriously doubt that Christ is in any way threatened.

I've always been under the

impression that the more attention brought to Him the better, no matter

what the source. I figure Jesus is big enough to handle it. If He is not,

then my faith is sorely displaced.

As to this notion that the

Jews killed Jesus, well, that is simply malarkey. If anybody must be blamed,

then it was I who killed him. All who fail to follow the simple rules

of life as laid down by God the Father, killed the son of God, who came

voluntarily to die for us all, in our place, in order to save us from

punishments due and deserved.

True Christianity proposes

that Christ's death, as a sacrifice for our sins and failures to measure

up, covers up. Yeah, the blood he shed on the cross became a symbolic

covering for our far less than perfect hearts, minds, souls, even the

total essence of who, what and all that we are. Very much like the blood

on the doorposts of the homes of the Jews back in their days of Egyptian

bondage, if the mark of the blood covers us then we are safe.

Sounds too simple, doesn't

it? That's why I stayed hung up for years. But it is simple.

If anything, Christians should

thank the Jews. What if they had received Him? What if He had been recognized

as Messiah 2000 years ago? What if He had set up His kingdom on earth

then, simply as King of the Jews?

Maybe it's a little harsh to

suggest that we thank those who actually physically were responsible for

killing Christ. Maybe. Maybe not.

Folks, he came to die. That's

what true Christianity teaches. He came to die. He was God in the flesh.

He could have called all the powers of the heavens to his rescue. He did

not. He came to die. Nobody killed him that day. He chose to give himself

for the very ones who nailed the nails, and for you and me, as well.

It bugs me that we don't hear

much about the blood these days. We hear pretty music and we listen to

deeply inspirational and even motivational sermons. Lately, it seems more

and more pastors and other religious leaders are into health awareness

and stress management. And that's cool. That's really good.

But tell me what could possibly

relieve one's stress more than to know that when we try as hard as we

can to get it right, but fail, then it's okay, because we are covered

in the blood.

I, for one, find that extraordinarily

comforting and nothing does more to lower my stress level.

Oh, yeah, I will see Mel Gibson's

"The Passion," although the latest buzz is that the name of

the movie might be changed to something more appropriate. Go figure.

As I write this, it occurs

to me that a newspaper may not be the most appropriate venue it which

to write about Jesus Christ, especially His shed blood and the symbolism

I see in that shedding. Yet, I ask you, when in all of history did any

one man's life command such ongoing reporting of the news as the life

of Christ did and does, even today?

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