A gorgeous presentation of the Easter story! Fiona French tells the story in twelve stained glass tableaux: the entry into Jerusalem, the Last Supper, the betrayal in the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus judged before Pilate, the scourging at the pillar, the carrying of the cross, the crucifixion, taking him from the cross and laying him in the tomb, the resurrection, meeting with doubting Thomas, the loaves and fishes by the Sea of Tiberius, the Ascension into heaven.
This book tells the story of the passion and resurrection from the point of view of the donkey that carried Christ on his back. "The little donkey had never been ridden before, but Jesus spoke gently to him, and soon he stopped being afraid." The donkey (and an angel companion who is never mentioned in the text but is always present in the scenes) follows along after the entrance into Jerusalem and witnesses the primary events of the Gospel narratives including the Last Supper, the Agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, and the Ascension.
My husband and I finally went to see the Passion just last night (Monday of Holy Week). It was a very powerful and thought-provoking movie. There are a few things in particular that I think make it stand out from other movies I've seen about the Life of Christ.
This is a powerful film; it made me weep, and turn away, and flinch. During much of the movie I was thinking, "I'm sorry, Lord, I'm sorry". My husband and I walked out of the theater barely able to speak, feeling raw and emotionally exhausted. It was absolutely the most intense movie I've ever seen, and every time I began to think, "It's only a movie", I also heard, "He really went through this."