Parallels Between the Passion and the Power and the Glory

The whiskey priest is not a perfect man. A man of many flaws, he is the last priest in a violent and forlorn land. And yet, throughout all of the struggles of life in Tabasco, Mexico he is still able to hear the word of God, and he becomes much more than a man to the people of Mexico. To them, he becomes a savior and a hero. In the novel The Power and the Glory, by Graham Greene, the whiskey priest is not just the last priest left in a desert wasteland, he is the embodiment of Jesus Christ from the passion, trying to help the world for a cause that he truly believes in.

In the desolate land that is Tabasco, Mexico the priest is the only religious man left. The priest realizes that it his duty to bring religion to the oppressed people, despite knowing that even if he is caught he will be killed. Even though the easy choice would be to turn himself in, the priest's conviction prevails and he continues performing his priestly obligations, spreading the word of God throughout Mexico. Jesus spent his life trying to teach the word of God throughout the world, and stopping at nothing to get his message across, even after death. Jesus and the whiskey priest share many similarities, both are religious men in a dangerous part of the world, trying to teach Christianity to the rest of the population.

The similarities between the two are not just in their life, but also their death. The whiskey priest is led to his death while attempting to fulfill a dying man's wish, a confession. The priest is caught and executed on the jefe's orders. Jesus was captured under orders from Pontius Pilate and was crucified, rising on the third day. After the whiskey priest's execution, another priest arrives, resembling a resurrection of the whiskey priest, and of the Catholic church.

The man responsible for the whiskey priest's death, the mestizo, is a greedy and dishonest man. Out to collect the reward, he attempts to become the priest's friend and follower, similarly to how Judas was Jesus' apostle. The priest knows of the mestizo's intentions, even referring to him as a Judas-like figure, but the priest shows nothing but love for him. The first time they meet, the mestizo becomes sick, but the priest puts him on mule's back and leads him to a town. Even when the priest is knowingly being led to his capture, he doesn't punish the mestizo or attempt to harm him, but rather focuses on giving the man's confession. Jesus treats Judas in a similar manner, never punishing Judas for his actions.

Keeping in with the parallelism between the passion and The Power and the Glory, the man responsible for capturing the whiskey priest, the lieutenant, represents a character from the passion, Pontius Pilate. The lieutenant, upon meeting the priest, finds that he does not hate the whiskey priest. In fact, he views the whiskey priest as a bright and intelligent man, a man that is worth saving. On the eve of the whiskey priest's death, he shows great kindness to the priest, searching the town for somebody to give the priest confession, and giving him a bottle of brandy. Pontius Pilate views Jesus Christ in a similar manner in the passion. He is very reluctant to send Jesus to be crucified, as he does not see Jesus' actions as criminal ones, much in the way that the lieutenant respects the whiskey priest.

Although it is one of the most important events in Christianity, is hard to comprehend just how difficult some of the decisions Jesus made for the rest of the world so that the word of God wouldn't die. Graham Greene parallels the Jesus' choices using the whiskey priest, highlighting just how hard his life was, and how hard it would be to give your life for people who you will never meet, but people who will rely on you and follow your word.