Page 10 - Sanger Herald 4-25-19 E-edition

Lifestyles
SANGER HERALD • 2B • THURSDAY, APRIL 25, 2019
Stations of the Cross devotion brought to life
Sanger
By Mike Nemeth
Sanger Herald
In the waning light, Mary Magdalene comforted the body of the man who transformed much of the world with his life and death.
Hundreds gathered to express a mix of emotions at watching a re-enactment of Jesus of Nazareth’s suffering in his last hours. He was betrayed, charged with crimes even the governor thought bogus and punished with brutal efficiency by a cadre of Roman centurions.
Jesus was lowered gently to the ground by the previously heartless soldiers. They no longer persecuted him of the accusation of claiming to be king of the Jews. Two other men on crosses alongside, identified as thieves Dismas and Gestas, were also taken down. The skies thundered. Trees shook.
“Definitely spiritual,” said David Gonzalez, who performed the part of Jesus. “One hundred ten percent spiritual. It’s just faith. And it’s more. I thank God. I’m doing this for him and all the good things he’s done this past year.”
On April 19, Gonzalez and dozens of others performed the 14-step devotion that commemorates Jesus’ last day on Earth as a man. The Good Friday live- action event drew a tightly packed crowd of more than 600 to the manicured grounds surrounding St. Mary’s Catholic Church at North and Bethel avenues. The production, now in its seventh year, featured authentic costumes, deep attention to historic and biblical detail and truck- mounted speakers that enabled all to hear the story unfold.
And this year, one of the centurions rode a massive off-white war horse.
Before the spectacle began, Gonzalez prepared mentally for the role along with others in the church hall. With him was 14-month-old son Mateo and wife, Maria. Both parents had previously participated a couple years ago, but this was Gonzalez’s first time playing the role of his Savior and Mateo’s first- ever.
“Just got to concentrate and do the best job I can,” he said before the start. He smiled around Maria and Mateo, who got to talking when he saw his father
How to Respond to Easter — Part 3
In Luke 19:29-40 we have the account of the first preparation for what we now call Easter — the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus the Messiah.
We have covered doing what Jesus says and feeling what Jesus feels. This week we will finish with telling who Jesus is. Let’s turn our attention to the conclusion of the Palm Sunday story.
“When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, ‘Who is this?’ The crowds answered, ‘This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.’” (Matthew 21:10-11)
Mike Nemeth / Sanger Herald
David Gonzalez as Jesus endures a beating from Roman centurions after he was convicted of treason for allegedly calling himself the king of Jews. Children, right, watch.
in the moment. It’s very sad what he went through. I pray to him every morning for what he did for me.”
Juan Silva, one of the high priests, said simply, “You feel it.”
“My favorite part is where we’re presenting false witness,” he said. “I’m accusing Jesus of blasphemy. He really sees himself as the son of God. Back then, they didn’t want him to proclaim himself. And, no, I won’t be a nice guy.
“We assume the role.”
Silva mentioned how the cast four or five years ago performed the stations out in the community, going from one spot to another in Sanger to act out various scenes. “We had a lot of fun,” he said.
Velasco said the blood used this year was actually edible. The blood depicted the damage to Jesus by the centurions’ truncheons and the repeated beatings. The truncheons were thick, heavy ropes, and they did inflict damage. Bruises covered Gonzalez’s back and arms after the event ended.
“Want to taste it?” Velasco asked. He showed how it was to be applied via spray bottle.
The main bottle of blood looked like something from the solvent section of Lowe’s Home Improvement store. But it said across the side, “Bill Nye Stage Blood.” And in smaller type, “Zesty Mint Flavor.”
The reporter can be contacted by email at nemethfeatures@gmail.com or by phone at the Herald at (559) 875-2511.
walk away in an ankle- length period-correct off- white garment.
But Gonzalez soon got serious. His expression changed. Mateo noticed.
“They do pretty good work,” said Maria Gonzalez of the St. Mary’s actors. “There are a lot of people involved, and they’re good people. It’s teamwork.” Maria followed the action as it unfolded with Mateo and recorded it all on her phone.
She was hardly the only one. Many had their phones out. One man held up his phone so his mother could watch from home via her own cell. The image of her face popped up as a tiny window in the action. People crowded in as they followed the story, beginning with the Last Supper and continuing with Jesus’ arrest and false witness by the priests.
Lupe Rodriguez, who played a high priest last year, took on the role of an apostle and later that
When Matthew reports that the city was “stirred,” he uses the word, “seio,” from which we get our word “seismic.” This is the same word used later in his Gospel, in Matthew 27:51, when he said that at the moment Jesus died on the cross, the earth shook and the rocks split. (Matthew 27:51, NIV)
The city was stirred as an earthquake “stirs” the ground. That’s what will happen if you and I begin doing what Jesus says and feeling what Jesus feels. The whole city will be stirred. That’s what the world is waiting for. They’re waiting to see if there really is a God and if he really does care.
They’re waiting to see if
of Barabbas, who was pardoned as Jesus was convicted. Rodriguez and several other members of the cast discussed the 1961 movie starring Anthony Quinn for its stirring themes and a look at Barabbas’ life after his encounter with Jesus Christ.
Rodriguez also spoke of the apostles and how John, brother to fellow apostle James, was considered the youngest and “the only one to die of natural causes.” John died at age 93 or 94 as the last apostle to have witnessed the crucifixion. He never left Jesus during his final hours and was asked by Jesus to take care of Mary, his mother, after his death.
Samuel Velasco, one of the event’s organizers, marshaled his cast just before walking them all out of the hall to begin the event. He had gathered them all in a rough circle inside minutes before for a prayer, which ended with a
recitation of “Our Father” in Spanish.
Juan Mirales performed his fourth year as Pontius Pilate. He removed his glasses when his time came to portray the Roman governor. “It’s good,” he said of the role. “It’s one of those things, you feel his (reticence to convict Jesus). He’s definitely torn.”
In Matthew 27:22 Pilate said after pardoning Barabbas, “'Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?’ And they all said, ‘Let him be crucified.’ And he said, ‘Why, what evil has he done?’”
Vic Leyva, who bulked up this year after regular trips to the gym, said being in shape helped to carry around the centurion’s outfit, which with the helmet and stainless steel armor, weighs about 30 pounds. After the show, he talked of the emotional toll the acting takes. And he spoke a little of his own family and the rawness that telling the story of Jesus exacts from everyone involved.
Jenny Estevez played one of the women in the crowd. “I wished we had more people sometimes,” she said. “(But) it’s always nice to see how it all comes together.”
The actors all knew their roles and, despite the enormity of the task, were able to transport their audience back a couple
millennia to a corner of the Roman Empire where the death of one man continues to make headlines even today.
“Everybody just comes and knows what they’re doing,” Estevez said. “And there comes a point where you see it happening in that era.”
Rosita Ramirez played one of the “weeping women” who cry when they encounter Jesus dragging his cross on the way to the crucifixion. “I like everything,” she said about the production. “Everything that has to do with Jesus. It’s like you live
Sanger Community Calendar
To get an item into the calendar, email details to nemethfeatures@gmail.com or call Mike or Sharon at 559-875-2511.
Sanger American Legion Post 23 plans a Chili Verde Plate Fundraiser dinner from 3 to 7 p.m. April 26 at the post, 1502 O St. Cost is $10. Dine in or take out available. Details, Clint Vance 559-960-2337.
Veterans of Foreign Wars Community Breakfast is from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. May 4 at the American Legion Hall, 1502 O St. Cost is $6. Cub Scout Pack 322 and Boy Scout Troop 322 will assist. The VFW breakfast is usually the first Saturday of the month.
Sanger Neighbors United is holding a meeting on Sanger Unified policy from 6 to 8 p.m. April 25 at 1446 Seventh Ave. Details, 559-908-4692.
The Blossom Trail Players is holding audition for its latest production, “Beauty and the Beast,” from 9 to 11 a.m. for its junior company and from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. for the play April 27 at Sanger High’s multipurpose room, 1045 N. Bethel Ave. Performance is scheduled for 7:30
More coverage and photo packages on the Sanger Herald Facebook page
PASTOR’S CORNER
p.m. June 20 to 22 and June performs at 2 p.m. June 29.
your life has been changed and you believe he can change others lives just as he did yours, then there is someone around you who is sincerely wondering “who is Jesus?”
They honestly don’t know, but they’re willing to find out. Do you know that surveys indicate the majority of people who don’t attend church and haven’t experienced new life in Christ, give the same reason when they’re asked why they don’t. They say, “No one ever asked.”
Your mission is to do what Jesus says, feel what Jesus feels and explain who Jesus is. As you have prepared for Palm Sunday and Easter, it will bring a smile to God’s face and true
27 to 29. The Junior Company
and lasting joy into the lives of others. Find that person and share with them your joy of knowing Jesus and invite them to church.
And when that happens, guess what may just happen next? The same thing it did for many in that Palm Sunday crowd. It will bring joy to others, when they discover Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee, the Messiah of God, the Risen Christ.
Pastor Sam Estes is city advance director and facilitates the Sanger Community Task Force that meets the first and third Tuesdays every month. He can be reached at pastorsam@ communitiesinc.org.
the people who
fill the churches,
sing his praises,
cry out to him
and claim to
know him. To see
if those people
are any different,
if their God can
really be trusted
and if their faith can really do anything.
They’re watching you and me. And if they see us doing what Jesus says and feeling what Jesus feels for them, they’ll ask, “What’s going on? What’s this about? Who is this?”
And you could do no better to respond to Resurrection Sunday than to tell who Jesus is. Find ways to expose your friends, neighbors,
family members, classmates, coworkers and anyone for whom you can feel what Jesus feels to the news that we proclaimed on Easter Sunday — “He is risen. He is
risen indeed!”
I’m suggesting that you
begin to do just that. Tell others who Jesus is. Some may be skeptics. A self- respecting skeptic will ask these kinds of questions, “Is the Bible fact, fiction or fable? Is Jesus lord, liar or lunatic? Is Christianity hoax or history?”
And finally, “Did Jesus fake his resurrection?”
If you are a fully devoted follower Jesus Christ, if
Pastor Sam Estes