Hoping to Make ‘Passion’ Bear Fruit

The excitement fairly bubbles forth from Fernando Villicana, 47, a former firefighter who became a minister so he could preach the Gospel. Little did he know that Hollywood would become such an ally.

“I’ve never looked forward to going to a movie like I am this one,” he’s saying Tuesday afternoon from the Praise Chapel on Commonwealth Avenue in Fullerton. In little more than 24 hours, he’ll be among millions of Christians and others around the country who’ll see Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ,” the long-awaited story of Christ’s death on the cross. The movie opens tonight.

The unchurched among us might have a hard time imagining the anticipation many Christians feel. I’d liken it to that of youngsters for the first “Harry Potter” film, and I say that not condescendingly but as an observation on the depth of the can’t-wait mentality.

Villicana’s church has bought just under 400 tickets at three theaters and still didn’t have enough for all the takers. He’s shown the movie’s trailer at church and will have members at the theaters to hand out 5,000 fliers to reinforce the movie’s message. “We put the church stamp on the back and words from Mel Gibson inside. We want to, if you will, kind of hobo on this sensation; to jump on the train, so to speak.”

The movie has been described as an emotionally jarring, blood-drenched depiction of Christ’s suffering before and during his crucifixion. And while Villicana’s church has recommended that parents not bring children under 12, he isn’t put off by the cinematic violence he expects. Nor does he expect the Christian audience to be offended.

“I think they’ll welcome it, because of the context of the story,” he says. “I think the whole thing has been somewhat sugarcoated in the past. Jesus is usually portrayed as a soft, unreal type of person. If you go to a Bible bookstore, you’ll find him walking on water, on tiptoes, hair waving in the breeze.... “

While divine, Christ also was a man who told his followers that he was “going to go through things like you go through” and show them they could make it, Villicana says.

The combination of Gibson’s track record, combined with the subject matter, has many Christians believing the movie may represent a seminal moment -- a chance to reconfirm their faith and deepen or awaken that of others.

“I think people may take inventory of their lives,” Villicana says. “That’s how my wife and I are feeling: Boy, it’s just the impact of the whole story. For us, as believers, we can see a movie like this and not just confine it to Christ’s last hours. We’re looking at the Second Coming. If this is true [Christ’s death and resurrection], the rest of it has got to be true.”

Villicana also will use the movie as the centerpiece for church activities this week. After a revival meeting tonight , rare Thursday-Friday services will feature a visiting evangelist to “challenge the church to rise to another level in our Christianity,” Villicana says.

Still, Villicana says, the movie may have more effect on people than anything he or other pastors could do from the pulpit.

“The Bible says, ‘Where sin abides, grace doth more abide,’ ” he says. “What that means is it keeps everything in perspective. We’re not doomsday preachers. In our opinion, God is always going to come through. He has a divine plan. I believe a movie like this is part of that plan. I think it’s inspired.”

However long the film’s grip on people lasts, Villicana says, the buzz is unlike anything he’s seen from the secular world.

“I’ve been a Christian for 30 years,” he says. “You have to take advantage of a wave when it comes. And we’re going to ride this wave for whatever it’s worth.”

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Dana Parsons’ column appears Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. He can be reached at (714) 966-7821, at dana.parsons@latimes.com or at The Times’ Orange County edition, 1375 Sunflower Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92626.