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Wednesday, March 7, 2012

The Mission: A Reflection of Two Christian Responses

 
                “The Mission” is a film portraying a conundrum of politics and religion. It takes place in the 1700s in the South American jungle, in territories to be divided between Spain and Portugal. It portrays two Jesuit missions, San Miguel and San Carlos. The San Carlos Mission is above the falls where only Indians live, as it is very remote and difficult to get to. Regardless of the remoteness, the Portuguese want the missions aborted and to take territory over the land so that they can put the Indians into slavery, as they consider them to be “lecherous and lethal animals”. The Spanish agree to this, as although they do not legally recognize slavery, they take advantage of the Portuguese slave trade for their plantations as well (although they do not admit this).
                A Cardinal from Rome is sent to make a decision regarding the life of the missions in the eye of the Church, but the decision has essentially already been made to release the church from pressure from the Portuguese and in an effort to stamp out the Jesuit order. The Cardinal goes through the motions of listening to both sides, listening to a young child sing and asking how the Portuguese could ever see them as animals. The Spaniard speaks up against slavery to which one of the main characters, Rodrigo Mendoza, disputes openly.
                Mendoza is a mercenary and slave trader turned Jesuit priest after he kills his brother in a fit of rage over the fact that he, Philippe, slept with the object of Mendoza’s affection, Carlotta. He is despondent after this act and Father Gabriel, the main Jesuit priest of the San Carlos Mission comes to his rescue and provides a penance for his redemption. Mendoza does not believe he can be redeemed because of who he was and what he had done. They essentially make a wager to prove each other wrong and Mendoza accepts the penance offered: to carry a net full of armor through the jungle to the San Carlos Mission. He almost loses his life on the climb of the cliff face to the mission, but he overcomes and makes it to the top where he near collapses upon the sight of the Indians who he has possibly been involved with their slave trade before. 
            One of the Indians approach him and first puts a knife to his neck, but then, after yelling at him in his foreign language, he is ordered to cut the net from Mendoza, and shoves the bundle into the river below. Mendoza breaks down with emotion, perhaps from the compassion of the Indians, the grace of their forgiveness, and the flow of grief and remorse that he is finally able to let out. Thus, his penance has been served, but he remains with the mission and eventually asks to become a Jesuit priest.
                When Mendoza confronts the Spaniard as a liar in front of the cardinal and others, he starts a controversy regarding the Jesuit order, thus strengthening the possibility that the missions will be severed from the church and the order to be eliminated. He is ordered to apologize and speaks to Father Gabriel about this.
                Father Gabriel is a peaceful man, a Jesuit priest, who in the beginning of the film befriends the Indians above the falls with music. He is finally successful in founding a mission for the Indians above the falls, in which the Indians are offered sanctuary from slavery and deprivation. The Indians come to the mission freely and are welcome to the conversion to Christianity and live as good Christians in their community. Father Gabriel preaches love and labor, as the Jesuit order is known for, along with being known for obeying. When he is asked by the cardinal if Mendoza will apologize, he confirms it and orders Mendoza to do so.
                Mendoza apologizes in a flamboyant way, making his distaste for the action known, but yet apologizes as ordered. One can tell that he is chomping at the bit to do something to protect the mission that has redeemed him and accepted him. He was taught to love the Indians and has felt their love for him. In his mercenary way, he wants to protect that Christian community and their right to exist in much the same way as the crusaders of days past. To him, the fight to protect the mission is a justified one, not a sin, although he must break his vows to take up the sword again. He asks Father Gabriel’s blessing, but he replies that he will not bless him, but if he (Mendoza) is right, then God will bless him. Mendoza goes out to defend the mission and dies doing so.
                Father Gabriel keeps with his vow to peace and faith and against violence, and in the impending raid; he set about having mass and carries the host and the service out of the mission in the face of the attacking enemy. The Indians with him sing and walk tall and strong in procession as they are ruthlessly cut down by the attackers. He keeps to his vows to the end and is martyred.
                Neither men were willing to hand over the mission, but they handled the takeover in different ways. One took up the sword as a Christian and the other took up the host. 
 Originally written on 11/29/11 for my Christianity class

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