Calvary

Remember not, Lord, our offences,
		nor the offences of our forefathers;
		neither take thou vengeance of our sins:
		spare us, good Lord, spare thy people,
		whom thou hast redeemed with thy most precious blood,
		and be not angry with us for ever. Book of Common Prayer

Tuesday evening we sat with about a dozen others in the expansive Empire Theatre in Belleville to watch the film, Calvary. It is about a Roman Catholic priest in a small Irish town, Father James, who attempts to live the gospel in the midst of the desperate brokenness of the residents. Brendan Gleeson does a magnificent job of portraying a decent, moral, deeply spiritual pastoral presence in the community. You may not know Gleeson as an actor even though he has been in all kinds of movies including the Harry Potter series.

Near the beginning of the film we see folk receiving the eucharist at mass, but discover that so many of them have separated the rituals of religion from daily living. And then in the confessional booth Father James is told that he will be killed by a man who was repeatedly raped as a child by the local priest. The perpetrator is dead, so the victim has decided to murder the innocent priest who listens on the other side of the confessional screen...but not yet.

The story as a whole is unevenly told but Gleeson carries the narrative with his performance. In an interesting twist Father James has an adult daughter because after his wife died he entered the priesthood. They have a loving but complicated relationship and when, lovelorn, she comes to visit they have strained heart-to-heart conversations. He offers that he feels values are more important than sins, and when she asks which value is most important he names forgiveness.

The biblical phrase that came to mind as I watched was "behold the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world," John the Baptizer's words when he sees Jesus. We watch and wait for the outcome of this unusual tale. Will the victim become a murderer? Will the resolve of the priest falter so that he flees for his life? What form will forgiveness take?

I would encourage you to see this film, even though not many did the other evening.  Have any of you seen it? One blog reader sat with us, so I know she has! Are you intrigued?