[voices whispering indistinctly]
(angel) Hail Mary...
[ethereal music]
Full of grace.
[whispering continues]
The Lord is with thee.
[bird chirps]
[somber string music]
[deep note resonating]
[tense string music]
[woman vocalizing]
[water trickling]
[stirring orchestral music]
[bird cawing]
[melancholy orchestral music]
[birds twittering]
[wind sighing]
Send word to Peter.
It's time.
[tender orchestral music]
[woman vocalizing]
[water splashes]
[ethereal music]
[tender orchestral music]
[water splashes]
(man) [muffled] Peter.
Peter.
(man) [clearly] Peter.
Where did we lose you?
[birds cawing and chirping]
Oh.
I'm sorry. I...
[sighs]
I was somewhere else.
(man) Do you have anything to say about this matter?
[sighs]
Andrew and I have been in Pontus for weeks
listening to these arguments and your...
Interpretations of the truth.
Can any one of you here besides Andrew and I
say that you were with Christ
when he spoke of these things?
You know we were not.
And you know that we did not follow
cleverly invented stories when we told you
about the power and the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
And we were eyewitnesses to his majesty.
Prophecy never found its origin in the will of men,
but men speak from God
as they are carried along by the Spirit.
I understand your arguments.
I... I understand your concerns, but...
we cannot risk interpreting these things falsely.
We cannot risk...
leading his flock astray.
We understand all this,
but it is almost ten years since he left you.
The church is growing.
Our people need guidance, organization.
Decisions must be made.
We cannot wait on these matters,
or our flock will be led astray by others.
If I am not allowed to interpret,
then you must interpret for us, Peter.
There are many things that he didn't instruct us.
But he gave you the authority
over building and leading his church.
You must give us the answers.
We will follow you, Peter,
but you must tell us what direction to go.
[ethereal music]
[water splashes]
[sighs]
[wind whistling]
[gravel crunching]
I am sorry, brothers. I must leave.
Leave?
To where?
There are important issues at stake.
Decisions must be made.
The church in Pontus depends on it.
I'm sorry. I have to go.
Andrew.
I'm sorry.
Do not be, Peter.
You must go to her.
Someone will talk to...
You're okay staying behind?
Go.
I will continue the conversation
until your return.
Thank you, Andrew.
[voices whispering indistinctly]
[ethereal music]
(angel) Hear now, you house of David.
Is it not enough to try the patience of men?
Will you also try the patience of my God?
Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign.
The virgin will be with child
and will give birth to a son,
and you will call him Immanuel.
[wind whistling]
[somber string music]
[birds chirping]
[sighs]
[inhales sharply]
[sighing]
(man voice-over) But he gave you the authority
over building and leading his church.
[tense string music]
The church is growing. You must give us the answers.
Our people need guidance, organization.
The church is growing. Decisions must be made.
Guidance, organization...
We cannot wait on these matters. Decisions must be...
Or our flock will be led astray by others.
We cannot wait on these matters.
If I am not allowed to interpret,
then you must interpret for us, Peter.
[music intensifying]
[water lapping]
[ethereal music]
[inhales deeply]
[exhales]
[bird chittering]
(man voice-over) We will follow you, Peter,
but you must tell us what direction to go.
[birds chirping]
[somber string music]
[fire crackling]
[insects chirping]
[bats chirping and wings fluttering]
[animal howls]
[birds chirping]
Mm-hmm.
[birds chirping]
Mmm.
Have more.
It's been a long journey.
Mmm.
Thank you, Zara.
How's your family?
Sometimes I feel they are more understanding
of the situation than I am.
How long has it been?
[chuckles]
Too long.
I pray for them every day.
You must give them my love when you see them next.
I will.
So tell me,
what has been happening in the world?
Did you not receive my letter?
I have,
but I prefer hearing you talk about it.
The movement continues to grow.
More are saved with every teaching,
every healing.
Paul and Barnabas
are converting Gentiles in Antioch.
It's my feeling that this is just the beginning of...
God calling us to all the corners of the world.
Even as you speak of salvation,
there is a heavy burden on your heart, my son.
I left Andrew in Pontus.
There are difficult issues that we need to sort.
It seems that the longer that these men spend time
in their faith,
the more they depart from the truth.
They argue about all things that they don't understand,
and each day, there are new...
[inhales sharply and sighs]
Texts on the truth
from those that should have no claims.
And what do they claim?
[sighs]
There are those that claim that the Lord
was never a man and only a spirit,
and there's others that preach
the lack of authority of the commandments
and promote all forms of perversions on the flesh.
There are those that deny the Trinity
and the real presence of Christ among us.
And then there are those who claim
to be brothers of the Lord or sisters of the Lord...
[exhales sharply]
Even wives of the Lord.
Brothers and sisters of the Lord?
[chuckles]
Of all people,
I would imagine I would have insight on that.
[chuckles]
And there are those that I preach and taught
that pick and choose the words of Christ to their own liking.
I find myself waking up at night
in cold sweats
wondering if we've done something wrong.
He wanted his church built on the rock.
And what have I done? I have gathered...
[sighs]
Confused men
who organize to debate and philosophize his words.
I'm not a great debater.
I'm not a philosopher.
I believe that is precisely why he chose you.
Perhaps it's time to rest.
[sighs]
The church cannot rest,
not now.
[ethereal music]
[deep note resonating]
[voices whispering indistinctly]
(angel) Do not be afraid.
You have found favor with the Lord.
The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
Even Elizabeth
will conceive a son in her old age,
for nothing is impossible with God.
She's put on a brave face,
but she's not been well.
The last few weeks have been difficult for her.
[fire crackling]
Is it true what they say
about your escape from prison?
Hmm.
Depends on what they say.
I heard that you were chained and surrounded by soldiers
while awaiting your trial,
yet in the middle of the night,
the room became ablaze with a light
that blinded your captors,
and an angel of the Lord descended upon you.
The chains fell from your wrist,
and the angel escorted you out of prison
before anyone was aware of your escape.
[ethereal music]
Yes, it happened as you say.
What is it, Zara?
It's just...
Weren't you surprised by a miracle like that?
[chuckles]
Are you surprised by miracles?
Yes.
But I've only heard of them.
Maybe I wouldn't be so surprised if I saw them with my own eyes.
I'll prepare your room.
Thank you, Zara.
[fire crackling]
[insects chirping]
[ethereal music]
[tender orchestral music]
[birds squawking]
[tense string music]
[birds chirping]
(Mary) When I had the strength,
I walked this path every day.
It helps me remember everything that he has done for us.
I woke up this morning
with our conversation on my heart.
Do you remember what it was like in those early days,
crowds of temple worshippers
coming out to see what was happening?
Mm-hmm.
They did not understand
what they were seeing and hearing.
Do you remember your boldness
when you addressed them?
Mm-hmm.
I remember that day.
I remember thinking they would rush us
and kill us on the spot.
[chuckles]
And yet they didn't.
They came by the thousands
to be baptized.
I thought... [sighs]
We thought they would never stop.
Hmm.
People brought their sick into the streets,
laid them on beds and mats just so that your shadow
might fall upon them as you passed by.
(Peter) They used to live with the truth in their hearts.
[Peter sighs]
(Peter) Now they live with...
they try to live with the truth in their heads.
They try to make sense of things
they were never meant to understand.
[sighs]
They're growing weary of miracles.
They'd rather pick apart the living word
until their minds are exhausted.
They demand something new,
even greater signs that we really do hold the truth.
The frailties of our humanity,
to never be satisfied,
to always be seeking,
perhaps that is what God used
as our greatest strength...
holes in our hearts so big,
only he can fill them.
The men I speak of know what our Lord has to offer,
and yet they choose to be swayed
every way the wind blows.
[sighing]
What would you say to them?
I would say that they know the truth,
but they do not know him.
[stirring orchestral music]
Take that one.
[sighs]
Isn't this beautiful?
When I take this walk to remember him like this,
I find that all the other complications in life disappear.
[ethereal music]
No, it is beautiful.
The world out there doesn't care about that sentiment.
Chaos reigns,
and people are persecuted.
[sighs]
I wish it was as easy to solve their problems with a walk.
It's not the reality we're in.
He never told us it was going to be an easy road.
Perhaps remembering where it all began
will help you figure out where it ends.
[birds squawking]
[tender orchestral music]
(Peter voice-over) Master,
we have worked hard all night,
and we haven't caught anything,
but because you say so, I will let down the nets.
[thunder rumbles]
(Peter voice-over) Go away from me, Lord.
I am a sinful man.
[water bubbling]
[water trickling]
Sorry to disturb you.
Oh, no, it's okay.
I was...
somewhere else.
It's a sweet drink,
a gift from visitors from the East.
Thank you.
Here, please, come sit.
[sighs]
Can I ask you a question?
Of course.
You were just a child when all this began.
You never met him.
You never heard him speak.
You never even saw him from afar.
Yet you...
have more faith than most people.
How is that possible?
My mother died in childbirth,
my father soon after.
I was lost,
alone,
but Mary took me in as her own.
[tender orchestral music]
She cared for me.
She loved me when she didn't have to.
She has told me all the stories,
but that is not what makes me believe.
When I look into her eyes,
when I see how she lives,
that's how I know it's all true.
[fire crackling]
I see him in her.
[stirring orchestral music]
(Zara) I hear him because of her.
[Peter sniffs]
Mm. Mm.
Mother,
how do you feel?
It won't be long.
I can hear the faint choir of the angels.
[inhales sharply and sighs]
I sent word to the others.
Have I ever told you what it was like
for me in the beginning?
No.
I would like to hear it.
It was as if a bright light
from the very throne room of heaven
was shining directly upon me,
following me everywhere I went,
and yet, everywhere else, it was darkness...
Darkness of the kind I had never known before...
[thunder rumbling]
Darkness that only this light could expose.
And it was so lonely in the light.
[voices whispering indistinctly]
But the light was the only comfort I had.
[whispering continues]
Why didn't you tell them?
Faith is not about explaining things.
It is about living and breathing
and walking in that light that is upon us.
But we will suffer in the light.
At times, our souls will be squeezed dry
down to the very deepest roots.
We will wither and grow weary
to where we cannot take one step more.
The light will fade to the faintest glimmer,
nothing more than a grain of sand on the shore.
But the light will never disappear.
This walk of faith comes with a promise...
The promise that we will never be abandoned.
[voices whispering indistinctly]
[tender orchestral music]
(angel) Joseph, son of David,
do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife
because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
She will give birth to a son,
and you are to give him the name Jesus
because he will save his people from their sins.
[both laugh]
- Ah. - Brother, how are you?
Better now.
How is mother?
Won't be long.
- Peter. - Simon.
- It's been a long journey, huh? - Yeah.
It's good to see you.
Okay, come, come, please.
[leaves rustling and birds chirping]
John,
I wanted to apologize
for not speaking with you after your brother's death.
I had to leave the city immediately,
but I wanted to be with you as you mourned.
He has been reunited with the Lord.
We must rejoice, brother.
All of us should be so fortunate to die with our hearts
singing praises to God in front of unbelievers.
You are right.
Brother James, may the Lord bless you and keep you,
and may you rejoice in the Lord's presence,
and may God give us the strength and power
and courage to die as you did.
Brother James,
please, pray for us.
[Peter chuckles]
Thank you.
There are urgent matters that we must discuss.
We've all read Paul's letters,
and from Jerusalem to Pontus,
people are looking for answers.
Pagan converts continue to disobey the law
and lead others astray in the name of our Lord.
I am aware of the problems in Jerusalem.
I have just come from Pontus.
So, then, what should be done?
[sighs]
Paul says that Gentiles
should not have to follow the rules and customs
to receive the Spirit and be saved.
So they are allowed to turn their back
on the law and tradition?
Peter, it's outrageous.
You have seen with your own eyes what happens
when you turn your back on the law and tradition.
What Paul is saying is that those who do not understand
our laws and traditions and customs,
should they not be allowed to hear the good news?
It is for them as much as it is for us.
If our traditions and customs keep them from understanding,
is that not a wall?
Walls to what, Peter?
Walls to a holy life?
These men and women have been saved by the grace of God,
so does not the same grace of God
continue to save them, no matter what they do?
There is no limit in grace, I agree,
but what is grace if you've thrown out truth?
I tell you, brothers, this concerns me.
(Simon) We must be more vigilant.
I fear the day that we become a slogan,
an institution led by wicked men
to further their own gains
or that they may use this cause to hurt others
as many of my zealot brothers and I have done before.
Peter, when you are dead and buried,
who will be there to keep straight the path?
So what would you have us do, Simon?
Stop preaching?
I don't know,
but I feel that the divide has become too great
between Jewish and Gentile believer.
We have all held the law to its entirety.
We have all been circumcised,
observing the rules of purification.
We all spend time in the temple
for morning and afternoon prayers.
It is true that these things
are no longer required for salvation,
but what will the Gentiles have
when they are faced with the enemy's lies
or they are deceived
by another leader's trickery or words?
Peter, you cannot deny that you have heard
these disturbing rumors of wayward followers
who are using our sacred ceremonies
as gatherings to sexual perversions
and infant sacrifices.
(Simon) You see what happens when they turn their back
on the law and tradition.
They lack knowledge
of how to live daily in the light of truth.
I am not saying that these men
have not received the Holy Spirit,
but I ask and question this:
what happens after they receive the Spirit,
and how may our traditions instruct them
so that they may not stray from the Spirit?
If they have truly received the Spirit,
then why would they throw away the truth and the law?
They don't throw it out.
They never understood it in the first place.
Peter, please, what do you say to this?
[sighs]
[grunts]
[sighs]
[ethereal music]
There was a beginning to all this.
How did we get here?
How did this start for each of us?
[sighs]
There was no plan for this.
Did he care about the law?
Did he care about traditions?
Did he say that love is the greatest law?
[sighs]
I don't know. I don't know.
[whispers] I don't know.
I don't have the answers.
I don't have the answers for Pontus.
I don't have the answers for Jerusalem.
And I...
I don't have answers for any of us.
Peter, we love you.
We are brothers in this.
We will wait on you,
but we need you to lead us.
(Simon) If we don't deal with this now,
then anyone with a charismatic smile
and carefully plotted out words
can distract their own crowds for personal gain.
It will only be the very beginning
to the troubles with our church.
[thunder rumbling]
(Peter voice-over) How did this start for each of us?
(Mary voice-over) That is precisely why he chose you.
(Simon voice-over) We will wait on you.
(Peter voice-over) There was a beginning to all this.
- But we need you to lead us. - I see him in her.
(man voice-over) Peter, where did we lose you?
You must give us the answers.
[echoing] Peter...
Do you still speak with the Lord?
Mary, what are you doing out of bed?
Sit, my son. Sit.
The bed won't save me.
My time is coming.
[thunder rumbles]
[sighs]
We didn't mean to wake you.
Is it much the same heard in Pontus these days?
In Pontus, in Jerusalem,
everywhere we go.
Now do you see?
We're lost.
[thunder rumbling]
Do you think the Lord has left you?
Peter,
he has gone away so we will find him.
He has gone away so we will seek him.
I don't understand.
[sighs]
[thunder rumbling]
I remember him as a boy in temple.
For three days, my heart was broken,
for I thought I had lost him forever.
It was as if I had lost a piece of my own soul.
But when he was found,
he had been speaking amongst scholars and rabbis.
[chuckles]
He had not been lost.
He had gone to his Father's house,
and he knew and expected me to find him there.
[thunder rumbling]
[inhales deeply]
[sighs]
Listen.
[insects chirping]
In the stillness,
in the silence,
he calls me once more to his Father's house.
But where does he call you?
Peter, when you are still...
[ethereal music]
Where does he call you?
[thunder rumbling]
[water splashing]
To the sea.
[water lapping]
He calls me to the sea.
[birds squawking and water splashing]
[tender orchestral music]
(Peter voice-over) Master,
we have worked hard all night,
and we haven't caught anything,
but because you say so, I will let down the nets.
Go away from me, Lord.
I am a sinful man.
Yes, Lord.
You know that I love you.
Lord, you know that I love you.
Lord, you know all things.
You know that I love you.
You doubt yourself these days, my son.
[thunder rumbling]
You ask yourself if you have what it takes to lead the way.
[tender string music]
The answer is no,
you do not.
But you are not leading, are you?
You are following.
He has already gone before you.
The path has already been set.
Follow it.
Seek him in all things,
and failure will be impossible.
(Mary) Take it.
It's time.
[tender orchestral music]
[woman vocalizing]
I did not want you all
to go through the trouble
of being here at this late hour.
[fire crackling]
(Mary) But now, seeing all your faces
has brought me great joy.
Perhaps you will entertain
the little wisdom I have to offer.
I have been remembering the first moment
I encountered him.
I've been remembering the first moment
I heard the angel's word.
Even after the angel spoke to me,
I was deeply disturbed,
for how could this be?
But in my heart,
I had already heard the answer.
Nothing is impossible with God.
[voices whispering indistinctly]
(Mary voice-over) I remember feeling more alive
than I ever had before.
It was as if every day before that day,
I had been living in some sort of a half life.
[tender orchestral music]
I can still feel
the sun on my face from that day...
The smell of the trees,
the dirt surrounding me.
The sound of the birds still sings in my head.
Everything about the world changed on that day.
I have remembered that day every day.
The years have continued on.
[tender string music]
But have you forgotten, my children?
Have you forgotten the first time
you felt his gaze?
Do you not keep that moment in your heart?
(Mary) Do you not treasure it every day?
You cannot let the weight of this world
outshine the light that you carry within.
For nine month,
his heart beat with mine.
My own flesh and blood,
everything of him in me and me in him.
You were not there the night that he was born.
The whole world for all eternity
was waiting for that moment.
Perhaps you do not believe
that he exists in you
in this same way.
When you said yes to Christ,
you brought him forth in your heart into the world,
your heart beating with his for eternity.
Do you think your doubts and fears
are unique to you today?
They are not.
The question is not whether we will struggle.
We will struggle greatly.
The question is,
to whom do we look to in the struggle?
When he took the bread into his hands,
giving himself to all of humanity,
those hands were worn-down hands
by splintered wood day after day.
Those were the same hands
that feebly searched for its mother's breast,
same as you all did
in the blindness of your first days.
Those were the hands
that laid upon the sick to heal,
that raised the dead.
He gave himself from beginning to end,
through trampled dust and scores of blood.
But remember this.
If our heart beats with the Lord's,
then those same hands are our hands.
That same flesh and blood is our flesh and blood.
The suffering that Christ suffered
is our suffering.
(Mary) Oh, my children,
you know how much I suffered.
[sniffles]
When I fled to Egypt
with this tiny child and Joseph,
do you know the sadness
that still occupies till this very day
a corner of my heart
for all those children that were killed
as Herod sought to stop the prophecy?
[Mary sniffles]
Be thankful you were not present
when the crying and laughter of children went silent
and was replaced by only the mournful wails
of heartbroken mothers.
[sniffles]
We will suffer as we walk with the Lord.
That is one thing I know for sure.
My children,
you have already suffered with him.
Do you remember
how your fears and doubts were confirmed
when you saw him on the cross,
when you saw him die?
[somber orchestral music]
(Mary voice-over) I saw myself die in that moment
with my son.
[Mary sniffles]
Do you understand
that from the moment I looked upon his body
in that tiny cave in Bethlehem
that I had been following behind him
all the way to the end
marked with blood and death?
[woman vocalizing]
When the stone was rolled in front of the tomb,
our world torn down
by confusion and doubts so great,
you hid in the darkness,
longing for it to be the end of your life...
We still had dust on our sandals
and on our clothes
from the road where they flung him down.
Angry shout of the crowd
flooded our ears.
We still had the smell of blood in our nostrils,
pouring out of his head,
his feet, his hands.
[scraping]
[rooster crows]
(Mary) And yet,
three days later,
Mary Magdalene,
inconsolable,
longing to see him once more,
found the empty tomb,
and all things were made new.
[woman vocalizing]
[stirring orchestral music]
[sobbing]
(Mary voice-over) Never again
did the sun rise in the same way.
Never again did you hear a song
with the same meaning.
Our eyes and ears have been removed
and replaced by the sight and hearing of the Lord.
[tender string music]
That is the hope and life
we found in Christ risen.
When I look at all of you,
all my children,
there is only one face I see.
It is the Lord's face.
It is the face of my son,
risen,
alive, and breathing...
As if he himself was right in front of me.
My children,
if you do nothing more in this life,
remember the moment he first looked upon you.
[tender orchestral music]
Your soul rejoiced,
for salvation was upon you.
Darkness was lifted,
and you saw the great light.
Remember that moment,
and everything you do will glorify the Lord.
Peace be with you.
Do not be sad for me.
Like him, I will never leave you.
I will be with you until the end of days.
[woman vocalizing]
(Mary voice-over) Remember when we took our walks
in the hills
in the early light of dawn?
We spoke of such wonderful things.
Oh, how I long
to take those walks with you once more.
[wind sighing]
Her breathing has slowed.
It will be soon now.
She will rise straight into the arms of our Lord.
There will be nothing like it ever again in this world.
Remember,
this is not the end.
[bell chimes]
[woman vocalizing]
We thank you, our Father,
for the holy vine of David,
your servant,
made known to us through Jesus,
your servant.
To you be the glory forever.
(woman) Kyrie
[woman vocalizing]
[bell chimes]
[woman vocalizing]
Eleison
(woman) Christe
[woman vocalizing]
[bell chimes]
Eleison
Kyrie
Thank you, our Father,
for the life and knowledge
made known to us through Jesus, your servant.
[woman vocalizing]
To you be the glory forever.
(woman) Eleison
Christe
(Peter voice-over) Even as this bread
was scattered over the hills
and brought together...
[bell chimes]
To make one...
(woman) Eleison
(Peter) So let your church
be gathered from the ends of the earth
into your kingdom.
(woman) Kyrie
[woman vocalizing]
[bell chimes]
[woman vocalizing]
Eleison
[bell chimes]
Kyrie
For yours
is the glory and the power...
[woman vocalizing]
Through Jesus Christ forever.
Eleison
[bell chimes]
(Mary voice-over) My son,
waste not a moment more.
[breathing slowly]
Give me my wings
so that my soul can fly to you.
[sighing]
[breathing stops]
[fire crackling]
[wind sighing]
[sustained orchestral note]
[bell chimes]
[solemn bell music]
(woman) Spiritui
[bell chimes]
Sancto
[bells chiming]
Honor sit
[bell chimes]
Qui
In mente Ursule
[bell chimes]
Virginis
[bells chiming]
Virginalem
Turbam
[bells chiming]
Velut
Columbas
[bell chimes]
Collegit
[bells chiming]
Unde ipsa patriam suam
[bells chanting]
Sicut Abraham reliquit
[tense string music]
Et etiam propter
Amplexionem
Agni
[bell chimes]
Desponsationem
Viri sibi
[bells chiming]
[birds chirping]
[music fading]
[birds chirping and twittering]
[sighs]
[inhales sharply and sighs]
[solemn string music]
[gravel crunching]
(Zara) What now?
We do exactly what she did.
We remember the good grace that brought us here today.
And we listen,
we follow,
and we trust.
[tender orchestral music]
Come.
It's time to tell the world the good news.
[deep note resonating]
[ethereal music]
[stirring orchestral music]
(Mary voice-over) You were formed in me,
the light in the darkness.
Our hearts beat as one together,
never separated,
even in death.
My own soul has rejoiced,
has been saddened,
been crushed,
bruised,
bloodied,
killed,
and resurrected.
[woman vocalizing]