Could Jesus have been a woman?
Well, He fed a crowd as
far as he could view
At a moment's notice with
little food
He kept trying to get a
message across To
A bunch of men who just
didn't grasp it.
So, it’s very possible in
my view
And then even when He was
dead, He had
To get up because there
was still work left to do
The
Robe, Directed by Henry Koster, is set in the Roman province of Judea during
the 1st century, where Roman tribune Marcellus Gallio (Richard Burton) is
ordered to crucify Jesus of Nazareth, but is tormented by his guilty conscience
in the aftermath.
After
the Crucifixion he gets drunk and wins Jesus' homespun robe and suffers
nightmares and delusions after the event.
After
a period of time in Rome he hopes to find a way to live with what he has done,
and although still not believing in Jesus as a Messiah, he returns to Palestine
to try and learn what he can of the man he killed.
It’s
a poignant script powerfully acted by Burton, while the lovely Jean Simmons is
incredible as the young woman he loves, Diana. Michael Rennie is a quiet but
forceful Peter, but Jay Robinson steals the picture as the depraved Emperor
Caligula, and as he normally did Victor Mature played himself as Demetrius and
there were a host of competent performances in the minor roles.
The
cinematography is quiet magnificent filmed in Cinemascope, while the film is
graced by Alfred Newman beautifully and eerily haunting musical score.
A
very watchable movie that stands the test of time but is not given the exposure
it so richly deserves, perhaps because programmers are of a more secular bent.
It was in the middle of the 7th Century when 17 year old Olwen, the youngest daughter of King Osric, was pledged in marriage to young King Ryce of West Untenena.
King Osric’s tribe was in the east bordering Cantwarena and
the marriage was designed to affect a treaty between the two tribes and
preserve the peace by forming a mutually beneficial alliance against West
Sexena.
Osric’s tribe in East Untenena were Christina converts and
because of her faith, Olwen only agreed to the union if she could be married at
St Augustine’s Church in the place of her birth.
The citizens of East Untenena were very pleased with the
union as they hoped it would lead to a lasting peace.
Olwen was very popular among her people and the wedding was
the cause of much celebration with seven days of feasting.
It was a joyous occasion and when it ended Olwen and her
new husband then travelled under heavy escort to her new home.
Soldiers of both East and West Untenena made up the escort
as an act of solidarity.
Olwen was also accompanied by her maids Esme and Elwin, and
by her priest Father Audley.
Her new home was the great hall of King Ryce which stood in
a settlement at the head of the Lake Tåre Drape on the
edge of the great forest.
Although the marriage was forced upon her she was not
disappointed with the union, Olwen liked Ryce and in time she grew to love him
very deeply.
And she also grew to love her new home very much.
But she came from a Christian realm and she had married
into a pagan one.
Though Ryce was prepared to adopt the new faith his
subjects and more importantly, his chieftains, were not.
Although most of his subjects took to the new Queen and
loved her almost as much as her own people did.
Though not all of them, in fact two of them were openly
hostile to her and a third, Holt had threatened to kill any Christians who
dared practice in his lands.
For the first year Olwen was content to have Father Audley
attend to hers and her maid’s spiritual needs in her private chambers but she
was not prepared to deny herself a place of worship forever.
So at the beginning of her 19th year she
broached the subject with Ryce when he asked her if she was happy in his
kingdom she replied rather unconvincingly
“Yes”
“You are unhappy?” Ryce asked
“No I’m not unhappy” she replied “but...”
“You still miss your home” he said
“A little yes” she admitted
“But really I miss my Church”
“I see” he responded “the one thing you miss is the one
thing I cannot give you”
“Not even a small Chapel for us?” she asked in her most
feminine voice.
“I can’t grant you that” Ryce said
“It’s doesn’t have to be grand or ornate”
She pleaded
“If I was to openly build a Church in this settlement it
would give Holt the excuse he needs to move against me” He said and Olwen was
crestfallen.
“I’m sorry” he said
“What if we built one in secret?” she asked
“Where?” he asked
“In the forest” she said
The King was very thoughtful for a few minutes and then he
said
“I will give it some further thought”
Then he took his leave.
Olwen took that to mean no, but she left it at that for
now, she didn’t want to back him into a corner.
But that didn’t mean she would give up.
After several days Ryce gave Olwen his decision as they lay
in his bed.
“You may have your secret Chapel” he said
“Thank you my King” she said excitedly
“But it must remain secret” he reiterated
“If Holt or his kinsmen find out, there will be open
revolt”
“Yes my Lord”
“No materials or craftsman from my realm can be used”
“I understand” Olwen said
There was a regular caravan that travelled between East and
West Untenena so over the following 18 months Stone was brought in secret from
Thanet Island in small quantities and an Alta stone was transported from
Lindisfarne via a circuitous route.
Firstly a large area of forest was cleared and building
began on a small timber Chapel to Olwen’s specific design.
The Thanet stones were placed around the outline of the
building in the traditional cruciform shape and some locally acquired flag
stones formed the floor and the Lindisfarne Alta stone was given pride of
place.
The Chapel walls and roof were made of Dancingdean timber
and only a small number of trusted woodsman knew what was being built in the
woods.
There was also a large baptismal bowl set into the floor of
one side of the transept where Olwen’s husband Ryce and their children were
baptized.
Its Water was drawn from a natural spring besides the
Chapel clearing which the faithful claimed only sprang forth when the church
was completed.
The first service was held on Olwen’s 22nd
birthday and monthly thereafter so as not to draw attention.
This went on regularly for four years without incident
until one spring when her brother Hugh and his wife Henrietta were visiting
with her for Olwen’s confinement.
She was six months pregnant with her third child and she
was praying this one was a boy.
So she made more regular visits to the Chapel so she could
pray to God to grant her wish.
It was on a bright spring day when Father Audley led Olwen,
Ryce and their daughters, Lucetta and Annis, and her brother and his wife along
the hidden path to the Chapel.
But as the priest stepped into the sunlight Ryce was struck
on the side of the head with a sword hilt and fell to the ground.
“You will die for this Holt”
Olwen screamed as she saw the face of her husband’s
assailant.
“I think not” Holt said as he brandished his sword “You
will all die here today at your holy place”
And his kinsman Irwin drew his sword at the same moment.
Thankfully Godwin the woodsman who had been instrumental in
the Chapel’s construction was already inside when the attack began and without
thinking he took up his axe and charged out and cleaved Irwin’s head in
two.
As Irwin fell down dead it distracted Holt long enough for
Hugh to burst out of the trees and thrust his sword through Holt’s throat, and
he turned to look at Hugh with a look of surprise and then dropped his sword.
“God has spoken” Olwen said and he fell dead to the ground.
It was all over in a trice, fortunately Henrietta had taken
the young girls away at the first sign of trouble, so were spared the
bloodshed.
Ryce was helped to his feet as Father Audley gave the dead
men the last rites and Hugh and Godwin went in search of the chieftain’s
horses.
The bodies of Holt and Irwin were draped across their horses
and then Godwin led them into the deep wood and the bodies were never seen
again.
With the resistance to the new faith gone the following
year work began on a new Church adjacent to the great hall.
There were mutterings from those close to Holt about what
had become of him and his kinsman but they were silenced when rumours spread
that the one true God must have smite them down.
The Chapel fell into disuse after the new Church was built
though Olwen would visit it from time to time but no one went there after she
and Ryce had died.
And ten years into her son Hugh’s reign a war began with
West Sexena and Hugh had to abandon the Great Hall and the Church which were
then destroyed.
By the time West Sexena were defeated and driven out 20
years later by Olwen’s grandson Edric all memory of her Chapel had faded and
was all but forgotten until early in Queen Victoria’s reign.
Was Jesus married?
Was
a she behind his success?
That
might well explain
Faking
his own death
I
have discovered
In
this life of ours
That
singing “Amazing Grace”
Can
lift my spirits for hours
Jesus
Christ Superstar is based on the Andrew Lloyd Webber/Tim Rice Rock Opera of the
same name, directed by Norman Jewison.
It
tells the story of the final 6 days in the life of Jesus Christ (Ted Neeley)
seen primarily through the troubled eyes of Judas Iscariot (Carl Anderson)
Being
filmed entirely on location in Israel lends the film an authenticity and the
anachronistic manner of the sets, with contemporary weapons on display, such as
at the Temple Market work like a bridge spanning two thousand years.
The
songs are memorable and well performed in particular by Ted Neeley (Jesus) Carl
Anderson (Judas) Yvonne Elliman (Mary Magdalene) Barry Dennen (Pontius Pilate)
and Josh Mostel (King Herod)
It’s
a must watch movie whether spiritually inclined or not.
Was Jesus married?
Was
she behind his success?
That
might well explain
40
days in the wilderness
