Images of Christ /// Emma Landry

 The ending of Silence was very heavy. It was disheartening to read about how Rodrigues not only had to disgrace himself to save the lives of his fellow Christians, but he also is bound to live a faithless life. From the point of view of the Japanese, I suppose that it makes logical sense that Rodrigues would be forbidden from continuing his priestly ministry and even from evangelizing and publicly practicing his faith. (Just to clarify, this is NOT to say that I sympathize with the persecution of Christians! However, when looking at the situation from their point of view, it is the prerogative of the Japanese officials if they do not want Christianity to spread in the country, and I am not surprised that they would impose such requirements/restrictions on the apostate fathers.) It was extreme, though, for the Japanese government officials to limit the mobility of these men, even to the point of disallowing them to return to their home countries. I thought that this was a particularly cruel form of punishment. I wish that the story had ended with a lasting message of hope. However, when the story concludes, there is a lot of doom and gloom. Even though the story ended with a heavy aura, there was one particular thought I had about Rodrigues's thoughts post-trampling on the fumie.

I think it is significant that Rodrigues believes that the true face of Christ is different from the ones that are taught in churches. He had always thought of Jesus as being majestic and beautiful. Interestingly, Rodrigues's idea of Jesus was similar to what the Jews expected when they were awaiting the Messiah. However, just as the Jews of the day, Rodrigues is surprised to see the humble and downtrodden form of Jesus, affected by the suffering He has experienced. "The face of the man who then lay at his feet was sunken and utterly exhausted," (p. 187). Ironically, through his act of apostasy, he comes to a deeper understanding of the person of Christ and seems to grasp how Jesus has come to suffer with His followers. I found it fascinating how Rodrigues seemingly came to this conclusion for the first time after being put into a position to renounce his faith. This suggests that he was much more concerned with doing all the right things for the mission of priesthood rather than getting to know Christ intimately and understanding the heart of Jesus. It can be argued that, while having to outwardly dismiss the teachings of truth, he has finally grasped the nature of the Messiah and His love for all creation.

I commented on Josh Naqvi and Raygan Boster's posts.