Arizona republican., 1910-10-29


 stand the hard-hearted populace and cruel Roman soldiers We see the crown of thorns plaited and cruelty pressed on his pallid brow. One of the most impressive scenes was the one in which the multitude accompanies Christ to his crucifixion; they number several hundred, and mock and jeer as He slowly drags His heavy cross. We next see John receiving the sorrowing Mother and lovingly accepting the charge committed to his care. The chorus appears robed in black and we hear from behind the curtain the heavy blows of the hammer; few mo- ments and the curtain rises, revealing the scene on Calvary. The two thieves are bound to the crosses. The third cross is slowly raised and be behold Anton Lang apparently nailed to the wood No trave of any ligament could be seen. As a writer says: We have never seen a crucifix in marble, of ivory or on canvas that equalled it in beauty" The fact is that underneath the tightly fitting suit of silk worn by Anton Lang is a strong brace, into the back of which are fastened hooks which clasp into corresponding rings in the body of the cross. This is the only real support Under one heel is small piece of wood, and the wrists are al most imperceptibly bound to the cross while the nails driven between the fingers and bent towards the palms of the hands give little support. So one can understand how eXhausting it must be to hang there for twenty min utes, and he says that for hours after ward he is perfectly numb. The real ism of it all is perfectly terrible, every detail being carried out exactly as given in the Gospels. The descent from the cross was an exact reproduction of Ruben's masterpiece. The Resurrec- tion, followed by the ascension from Olivet, ended the play.
 The Passion story has the power to interest an audience of thousands of people for eight hours without a hint of levity or suggestion of joke. Quot ing from writer on the Passion Play:
 'The power of a Christian ideal is to be seen in this little mountain village as perhaps nowhere else in all the world For nearly three centuries one lofty theme, one holy purpose one pre- vailing motive, one sacred story has possessed their minds and inspired their acts and made sacred all their toll. One generation after another come, performed the VOW and passed on; still one spirit ruled their hearts and guided all devotion"
 Every boy at home and in school studies the. Christ-life. lets his hair grow to his shoulders. dreams and aspires to the part of Christus-great- est of earthly honors. And every maiden cultivates her voice, guards her manners, chastens her thoughts, shapes her character, hoping that some time she may grow into the likeness of Mary If not Christus, then John or Peter or Andrew. If not Mary, then Mary Magdalen or Queen Esther.
 The Play is ended, the day is done. The great crowd slowly and quietly disperses. Through the lanes and crooked by-paths of the little village we sought our rooms in silence. To our right the rising horizon met the orb of day whose slanting rays fell upon the golden cross on the summit of the mountain which lifts it's craggy head 2,000 feet above the valley of the silvery Ammer. The pine fringed slopes grew gray with evening shadows. The peasants sought their humble homes, the mountaineers wended their way across the hills and a sacred silence fell upon the holy place. We spoke not. Words could not express the language of our hearts. It seemed as though we had spent the day in a far distant land in an age long passed away, and among the fisher folk who lived and labored in the morning time of these Christian centuries. That un- der Judea's sunny skies and on the moon-lit plains of Bethlehem we had actually walked and talked with the Man of Gallilee, companied with the apostles, journed through the streets of Jerusalem, stood with the crowd at Pilates porch and in Herod's judgment hall, wept with the women for Him who wept by the grave of Mary's brother, beheld the agony of Gethsemane's vic tor and closed our eyes to the tragedy on Calvary. We had seen the devotion of Mary, the most blessed of women, the love of John, the choice. of the twelve, the gentleness of Jesus which makes men great. We had seen the hard hearted Herod, the morally weak Pilate, the cruel mob, all in striking contrast to the silent, sinless Nazarene We cry out: o Pale Galilean, thou hast conquered; the story of thy passion has transformed the world"
 Motel am indebted for great deal of the material in this paper to the current magazines and Stoddard's lec- ture on Oberammergau