A KINDER PERSON

Early this morning, I began to think about one of the scenes from Martin Scorsese's film, "The Last Temptation of Christ," the one where Jesus asks Judas to betray him, a betrayal that will result in Jesus' crucifixion.


An outraged disciple, Judas (played by Harvey Keitel): "If you were me, could you betray your master?"

A subdued teacher, Jesus (played by Willem Defoe): "No. That's why God gave me the easier job."


While looking for the above scene with the subdued Jesus, I ended up listening to an earlier scene where Jesus is talking with Judas, and Judas says bluntly,


"I don't believe you."


Was that a conceit by Martin Scorsese?

Martin Scorsese's 1988 film is based on a novel by Nikos Kazantzakis, who also wrote "Zorba the Greek." "The Last Temptation of Christ" is an extraordinary meditation on Kazantzakis' book. The story is not based on the Gospels. It rings true to me. In Gene Siskel's words, "This Jesus is more than a standard misunderstood God we see in most biblical films. This Jesus knows that it is harder to be a good man than to be God."

I don't call myself a Christian or anything else, but each time I re-watch "The Last Temptation of Christ," I meditate on how difficult it can be to discern the right action in complex situations where no clear answers are forthcoming.

"I pray that I can be a kinder person."
(Bob Dylan, from CHRONICLES, VOL 1.)