"The Chosen"

Click on the image to listen to the trailer.

In only a few months, the episodes of the new miniseries “The Chosen” were seen more than 50 million times, and that’s only on the App and through YouTube! This colossal number is even more impressive when you think that this series was not produced in Hollywood, that it was financed almost exclusively through crowdsourcing and is not distributed on known platforms like Netflix, Amazon and iTunes. From all corners of the globe, everyone has free access to the episodes on the App, the website or YouTube.

More than six million dollars, collected from hundreds of thousands of donations since the beginning of the pandemic, will serve to film and produce the first five episodes of season two.

The Chosen is the first multi-season series on the life of Jesus, with the intention to let us discover Christ through the eyes of those who knew him. The series explores the historical and political context of the time as well as the life of those who, at His calling and in a life-changing moment, instantly left everything to follow Him.

Dallas Jenkins, the American evangelist producer/director of the series is also the initiator of the project. He surrounded himself with writers, producers and actors of high caliber from all religious denominations. The scenario was reviewed by a team composed of a messianic Jewish rabbi, a catholic priest and an evangelical pastor.

I do not wish here to critique this mini-series, but rather highlight that, through its content and cinematography, the series is like nothing done before in its genre.

Watching “The Chosen”, I was re-immersed in the Gospel. I binge-watched the episodes, and then I plunged with a lot of interest in the biblical roundtables associated to each episode. One question particularly roused my attention: “How do Catholics take Mary seriously?” For Dallas Jenkins, Mary is the most important person in the Gospel (after Jesus). Even if she only appears in one episode of the first season, a lot of consideration was put into the choice of the actress; in fact, this role was the most difficult casting decision. Following critiques against the Christmas episode, Jenkins knew very well that “she is the one you don’t want to get wrong!”

In mid May, in a live update, Jenkins announced that Mary would be an important character in the second season and gave a few scoops of the dialogues that Mary would have with the disciples. She shares with them some thoughts on being the mother of Jesus and professes her profound adhesion to her son’s mission. However, Mary feels that as Jesus’ mission unfolds, her relationship with Him changes. She questions herself on her role in all of this, and through her words, we can perceive sadness, even nostalgia.

This dialogue translates the intent of the producer/director to present Mary as a contemporary model for all mothers; he avoids presenting her with a halo around her head that would eclipse her humanity. I understand where he’s coming from, since traditional representations of Mary in a static pose with hands joined together are not an adequate representation of a young Jewish woman who lived in the first century.

If things continue as they are, the second season will be viewed by millions, and will have a huge impact on believers and non-believers around the globe. It is precisely for this reason, that for the past two weeks, a question has bothered me: How can I participate in the meditation that Dallas Jenkins proposes on the person of Mary, in the second season of The Chosen? In other words: “How DO Catholics take Mary seriously?” I want to share with you a few thoughts, which I would love to see enriched by your considerations and personal experience. Since the beginning of this project, Jenkins takes very seriously the comments, critiques and suggestions from the fans. If this question is close to your heart, write your comments below and I will send them all to him. 

THE CHOSEN

One of the novelties of this series is how the Hebraic roots are taken seriously and carefully integrated in the script. Many episodes present key events of the history of God’s people, skillfully interwoven with important scenes of the Gospel. A new level of understanding and depth is thus added by the historical context.

To represent Mary, one must draw from the same source, return to the origins… As a daughter of Israel, heiress of the promise, Mary knew the history of her people. Before she became mother of God, Mary had a profound desire and longing for the Messiah: “it is You I seek! For you my body yearns; for you my soul thirsts” (Ps 63, 2). Mary totally adhered to God’s project for humanity. Like a powerful magnet, Mary called and attracted the Savior she longed for, and He came!

Mary follows the path first traced by Anne, mother of Samuel, who, faithful to her promise, offered her only son to God by entrusting him to the prophet Elijah. In this moment, Anne prayed: ““My heart exults in the Lord, my horn is exalted by my God […]; I rejoice in your victory.” (1 S 2,1) And surely Mary has the same strength of character as the valiant mother mentioned in the book of Maccabees, who heroically endured the martyrdom of her seven sons in one day. Her prayer unveils her hope beyond all hope: “Since it is the Creator of the universe who shaped the beginning of humankind and brought about the origin of everything, He, in his mercy, will give you back both breath and life, because you now disregard yourselves for the sake of his law.” (2 M 7,23)

Mary could not possibly be beneath the women that preceded her. Out of all women, God chose Her to participate, totally and utterly, to His project of renewal for humanity.

Mary and Joseph, descendants of David – the man whom God entrusted with His promise – told Jesus about the story of God’s love for His people. Jesus was a witness to their love for Adonai, their hope, their faith, and all that their Father in heaven had blessed them with, preparing them for their extraordinary mission.

This being said, I have the following question: is it plausible that Mary, who participated first hand in the advent of the Messiah, experienced sadness and reminiscence vis-à-vis a certain form of maternity or wondered what her role was in the story of the redemption, as it will be illustrated in the second season?

IMA and ISHA

The role of Mary – and of all women, for that matter- in the history of humanity, is not limited to maternity. The episode of the Wedding at Cana gives a glimpse of the complementarity relationship that was already established between Mary, Jesus and Joseph in Nazareth. The fifth episode of The Chosen is dedicated to this event. When Mary asks Jesus to intervene to remedy to the lack of wine, Jesus uses the Hebraic word ima, which means “mother” while in the Gospel according to John, the word isha –“woman”- is employed. The choice of words is not trivial. The word isha places the dialogue at another level than familiarity; when adopted by Jesus, it indicates the level of consideration He has for Mary. Jesus indicates from the beginning, in front of His first disciples, the determining role that Mary would play in the redemption, as He did on the cross, when He tells her: “Woman, behold your son” and to His disciple: “Behold your mother”. (John 19, 26-27)

A PILLAR

Mary’s comprehension of the events and her close relationship with God made her a pillar for the newly developing community. A pillar, chosen amongst all of the disciples, close to the disciples… why not? It is probable, considering the high regard and concern of Jesus for Mary and His disciples. I do not wish to dehumanize Mary: for sure, she had her trials, shared our suffering; she questioned herself, reflected and meditated on the events. In the first season of The Chosen, Dallas Jenkins and the scriptwriters took care to place the characters in their historical context and in the Judaic culture. In the same manner, Mary’s humanity must be understood in its deep roots with the People of God.

In my own story, Mary is the one who pulled me forward in the most difficult moments. She is a precious example when Jesus tells us “Come, follow me”. Last summer, during a workshop in New York, friends and I interviewed twelve young catholic artists. Although our questions were related to the creative process, we discovered through their answers to what extent Mary is present in their lives, both men and women. Mary, isha, inspires in all domains and in all times! On this day of the memorial of Mary, Mother of the Church, and to honor these testimonies, we prepared this video for you.

And I restate my invitation: do not hesitate to send me your comments, testimonies and thoughts at this email address.