JULIA DANEHY
Jokes, sarcasm, and Scripture. The Chosen, the first ever multiseason television series depicting Christ’s public ministry has accepted the challenge of bringing Jesus’ life to living rooms all over the world. The show takes passages and parables heard throughout the ages and thoroughly fleshes them out.
A number of us have been exposed to the life and teachings of Jesus Christ by means of the Bible, the weekly celebration of the Mass, and our Catholic religious education, but there are times when the truth of Jesus’ dual humanity and divinity can be difficult to comprehend. The ways in which these somewhat contrasting natures simultaneously exist requires us in our humanity to seek deeper understanding. However, the finite nature of human understanding necessitates that we go beyond its normal capacity to more fully comprehend the role that the death of the Son of God two thousand years ago really has to do with our daily lives. It is through the depiction of Christ in the Gospels and depictions of His relationships and ministry that allows us to recognize the role Christ plays in our lives.
At some point you have likely had the opportunity to see artistic renditions of the life of Christ in art, literature, or cinema such as Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ or timeless works of art such as Caravaggio’s The Calling of Saint Matthew. So often in modern artistic adaptation of the Gospels we are presented with illustrations that present only those crucial snippets with which many are so familiar, but what if we had the opportunity to see Jesus’ sense of humor in action or be able resonate with the leper’s plea for healing? It is the joy brought by laughter that Jesus’ jokes bring to moments like those following the leper’s healing. The restored man is offered a new tunic by the apostles when Jesus grants him the complement, “green is definitely your color.” It is The Chosen’s insights into these little moments that allow us to partake in the day-to-day life of Jesus that really allows us to see and understand his life in living color.
What makes these works of art so comprehensive and powerful is time. Whether the time it takes to create them or absorb the details and gravity of their beauty, time allows us to understand their meaning. Dallas Jenkins, creator and director of The Chosen, has embraced adapting the life of Christ with this added element of time. This has allowed the production to examine the relationships and human interactions of Christ and His apostles. In a time so distant from that of Jesus’ Incarnation, our inability to understand the circumstances and customs of the time can sometimes hinder our ability to understand the complexities of the life and teachings of Jesus. It is the intersection of the life of Christ and his apostles prior to the start of His ministry that allows us to see parallels in the struggles and frustrations that we encounter in our own lives to the lives of Christ and the apostles. It is through the simple conversations and questions between Christ and His apostles that The Chosen “allows the audience to grow and develop a relationship with Jesus” and become acquainted with Him in the pursuit to understand His dual humanity and divinity.
The series has opened the door for people to understand the emotions and humor that filled the life and ministry of Christ. Whether it lies in developing an understanding of difficult struggles and pain or human joy and laughter, The Chosen has granted us a window into the life and ministry of Christ with a few kicks and giggles on the side. A truly divinely inspired project, The Chosen incorporates the understanding of Christ’s life in the context of the historical period in which he lived while staying true to Jesus’ role as both human and divine, with Jesus cracking a few jokes on the side to remind us to find the joy that faith brings.
Photo courtesy of Vidangel Studios
Julia Danehy is a Sophomore in the William F. Connell School of Nursing a hop, skip, and a jump away from her home town of Fort Myers, FL. With the variety of her interests spanning about a million miles long, in her spare time she can be found exploring history, painting, spending time outdoors, whipping up some form of baked good, or reading anything to do with The Theology of the Body/philosophy in general.
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