By Annette Hinkle
Every Sunday, Rev. Mark Phillips can be found on the altar at the Old Whalers’ Church delivering his message to the faithful for the week. Composing sermons to inspire worshippers or writing newsletters to share his thoughts on Christianity are familiar exercises for Rev. Phillips, who served 15 years as minister of a Presbyterian congregation in Mineral Ridge, Ohio before coming to Sag Harbor last spring.
But beginning next Wednesday, Rev. Phillips will offer another side of his talents — this time as a playwright — in “Why Did Jesus Die,” a series of short dramas set in a modern day courtroom which he penned while living in Ohio. Over the course of the series, which runs through Lent and stars local community members, five different Biblical characters present at Christ’s crucifixion will appear before a judge and prosecuting attorney. Each witness will talk about the events of that day — and what these witnesses have to say may surprise some people.
“There’s a different witness on the stand each week, be it Pontius Pilate, Mary Magdalene, or a disciple who offers their testimony,” explains Rev. Phillips. “We ask, ‘Why do you feel Jesus had to die?’ The attorney questions the witness and there’s a little bit of humor in there as well.”
Because the language of the Bible doesn’t change, over the years, the stories can become so familiar they might be difficult to consider in a different context. But in this series Rev. Phillips presents the crucifixion in a new light by posing questions to those who were there, and in some cases, directly responsible for the death of Jesus. In this way, the event is offered not as a black and white exercise in good versus evil, but with all the shades of gray inherent in the human condition.
“I once heard someone say, ‘If you were on trial for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?’ The whole courtroom drama grew out of that,” says Rev. Phillips. “It’s an attempt to make it all a little more relevant and appealing to people who may not be sitting in the pew on Sunday.”
Though he admits that his legal background is pretty much limited to watching “Law and Order” on TV, Rev. Phillips did have a personal experience in an Ohio courtroom that he feels led to the creation of the series.
“The year I wrote these, I was on jury duty during Lent,” he says. “I spent a whole week listening to a trial as an alternate juror.”
Though Rev. Phillips acknowledges that the details of the case were very difficult to hear — it involved an alleged child abuser whose own daughters were among his victims — the process itself was inspiring.
“I think sitting there in a bizarre and tragic situation got me thinking about it. Just to see a person be examined on the witness stand – they brought the man’s daughters in to testify — I often was uncomfortable, even by some of the questioning,” he says. But I was impressed by the attorneys.”
And it is the prosecuting attorney in Rev. Phillips short dramas who, through pointed questioning, gets the witnesses to open up each week about the events of the crucifixion. Some of the questions posed are powerful and may be those people would have liked to ask themselves if they could have. For example, when Mary Magdalene takes the stand, she is asked if she was in love with Jesus. With all the twists and turns inherent in any compelling story, ultimately, it is the testimony that tells the tale, and at the end of the five installments, a fuller picture of Christ’s death is offered via the varying points of view. Among them is Pontius Pilate, who officiated at the short trial of Jesus.
“Pilate felt that the trial was unusual,” explains Rev. Phillips. “He didn’t feel necessarily that Jesus was guilty of anything, but he saw him as a threat to Rome and feared he was going to overthrow Pilate’s government. The easiest way to deal with the threat was to do away with it. He had it in his power to release him, but he gave into public protest.”
“I think Pilate gave in for fear of his own life,” he adds. “Fear I think is what drove him to his decision.”
Rev. Phillips adds that he feel in the crowds who witnessed the trial, there were some who resented what Jesus was doing.
“I think some in the crowd originally supported Jesus and when he wasn’t what they wanted him to be — someone on a white horse, like a military hero, who could take out Rome — they turned on him,” he says.
Even Judas, who betrays Jesus in the Bible, takes the stand in Rev. Phillips’ play, and people might be surprised how he’s presented in the story.
“We always make him out to be such a bad person,” says Rev. Phillips. “But I think he was one of those people who wanted a different messiah, and he got impatient. I've said this before, but I feel that by betraying Christ, he didn’t think it would go as far as it did. It got out of hand, and maybe when they came to get Jesus, Judas thought he would turn out to be the kind of messiah they were waiting for. He felt he was doing a good thing, pushing the hand, but it didn’t work out that way and he couldn’t live with it and killed himself.”
When asked how the series went over with his congregation in Ohio, Rev. Phillips says he felt it made the story of the crucifixion more relevant than it was when included as part of Sunday services.
“Some said it helped them understand the Bible story better and see the human side of some of these characters we read about, and in some cases, they learned something,” he says. “It’s like hearing an old song in a new way.”
“I think as we look at some of the characters in the story we find ourselves in there.”
“Why Did Jesus Die,” an evening of fellowship and worship, begins March 16 and will be offered each Wednesday in Lent. The event begins with a soup supper served at 6 p.m. in the social hall followed by the play. The First Presbyterian (Old Whalers’) Church is at 44 Union Street in Sag Harbor. Call 725-0894 for details.
