King of Kings, the director's cut

 My TV schedule last Easter described how the making of the movie King of Kings (dir. Nicholas Ray, 1961) occasioned such trouble. Not in the sense of causing a great spiritual awakening in those who watched it, but in the consternation that the director's radical approach to the gospels caused among studio executives. 

There was much hype during the filming, the banning of interviews with the leading man, Jeffrey Hunter, amongst other attempts to stoke the fires of publicity. And the sense of alarm among production bosses was such that they made Hunter re-record all his lines in a more assertive way, and the ending of the movie was re-shot by another director. 

Perhaps when the story of Jesus is being turned to commercial purposes, then the commercial overrides every other consideration. How is the story playing? Is it a story that people like, or identify with?  Is it within some kind of spiritual bell curve, safely where the numbers will repay the investment, where the crowd cover is everywhere and any challenge can be safely contained within expected boundaries, within the group? 

Perhaps the story of Jesus is always being turned to someone's commercial purpose, not perhaps for money, but for position, or the need to be right, or the need to judge or disenfranchise the other. So for this Easter, I wish you your own director's cut of the story of Jesus, your own unique and authentic engagement with and understanding of this great and timeless story. I hope that whatever voice you hear the words of Jesus in may be an authentic voice that speaks directly to your holy of holies, and that the voice might sound something like your own.

Dying with your boots on

I had this conversation recently with a family member. Neither of us has a pension pot worthy of the name, and we fell to speculating about those who had. Or rather, thought they had, until recently. The small print on all those adverts suddenly sprang to mind: "Prices can go down as well as up," or whatever the paraphrase was. Or perhaps, "Prices can go down as well as plummet." Many people only slightly older than myself are now looking at seriously reduced pensions, and contemplating working until their 70s simply because they can't afford not to.

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