In many Christian circles, the final, harrowing events in the life of Jesus are known as "The Passion." And dramas depicting those events are known as "Passion plays."
Over the years, thousands of Passion plays have been performed.Some have been around for centuries now.
Some have disappeared like yesterday's newspaper.
Some have been simple.
Some elaborate.
And some -- like the Passion play at Valley Assembly of God -- are very "passionate plays."
When it comes to the performing arts, members of the Assembly of God church take a "go for it" attitude. And their musical, "Master Mender," is no exception.
The Rev. Ray Smith and his wife, Cathi, conceived the production almost 20 years ago. It has grown each year in both popularity and performance quality. This year, local Christians will have almost 20 chances to see it.
As a "biblical epic," "Master Mender" may lack the classic "cast of thousands," but its cast of dozens makes up for that with its zeal.
The play opens with Christ (Lewis Franco) entering Jerusalem on the back of a live, white donkey.
It ends with a crucifixion scene that will make your scalp tingle and a scene from hell that would tingle the scalp of Boris Karloff.
In the closing moments, as Jesus emerges in glory, the Rev. Smith steps on stage to greet him, deliver a message and call the newly converted in the audience to step forward.
Many oblige.
In short, "Master Mender" is part old-time religion and part special-effects pageant -- a play filled with song, sermon and scripture.
It's also a play that touches many corners of the human spirit.
Looking back, for instance, I find the theatrical elements of "Master Mender" haven't stayed with me as long as two small scenes -- one from the first part of the play and one from the last.
In the first scene, Jesus washes the feet of his disciples.
In the second, Pilate washes his own hands.
And the two moments will remain forever linked in my mind.
For, in the end, the week of Christ's "Passion" was not only a week of "mending" but a week of "cleansing."
The apostles submitted to the "cleansing" hands of Jesus. Pilate, on the other hand, tried to cleanse himself. As a result, the apostles have come down to us as unspotted saints while Pilate will forever remain a dirty scoundrel.
The message is clear. In Christianity, you can't cleanse yourself.
If Pilate had asked Jesus to wash his hands for him, it might have changed the course of history.
For Christians, of course, the real "cleansing" moment in a Passion play comes in the closing moments when Christ cleanses the world of sin. Christians re-live that "scene" over and over in the form of baptism, faith healing (cleansing the body of impurity) and other rituals too sacred to mention.
They also celebrate that cleansing in song.
"There's a fountain waiting for the soul uncleansed," rings a Pentecostal hymn. "Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?"
At the Valley Assembly of God chapel, an impressive number of people will be showing up this week to declare that they have, indeed, been washed.
And that amazing outpouring of faith will always be the most impressive "special effect" of a Passion play, no matter who stages it or when it is staged.
Call 968-3715 for information about the play.