“ Silence is a courageous gift to many of us who labor to be pure in our calling,” Mako Fujimura said to Martin Scorsese at a Q&A hosted by Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena. The theater was full of seminary students, pastors, and people living out other vocational calls in their own disparate contexts.

Scorsese’s new film, widely understood as his passion project, was recently released to theaters. An adaption of Shusaku Endo’s novel by the same name, the story follows two Portuguese priests (Fr. Rodrigues and Fr. Garupe) who learn that their mentor (Fr. Ferreira) has apostatized, renouncing the faith. They travel to Japan in pursuit of the true story, with a burning desire to take the gospel to a place it is being extinguished.

Upon arrival the priests are given a Japanese guide, Kichijiro, a man who has already apostatized but who continues to waver between belief and unbelief, loyalty and betrayal, throughout the movie. He leads them to an underground Christian church, where the priests administer the sacraments and bolster believers’ morale. Yet just as they experience the first inkling of hope that their mission will flourish, government officials, led by the ominous Interpreter Inoue Masashige, call them in for questioning. They must recant their belief in God or face torture and death.

This movie is not for the faint of heart. It will pry open the spiritual wounds many people carry—clergy and laity alike. It explores questions of where God is in our suffering and what it means to live as a Christian, in our vocations and in the routine duties of life. As viewers journey alongside the movie’s narrator, Fr. Rodrigues, they may recognize their own faith struggles. Fr. Rodrigues fights to stay faithful to God, despite the immense suffering inflicted on him and those around him. Yet as his struggle unfolds, God is implacably silent.

“The film sets up traps [of our own judgments] for us to fall into,” Fujimura said. It takes us through different levels of the character’s struggles and questions, causing us to reevaluate our own assumptions. Why is God silent during our times of need? How can we stay faithful to God in a culture that has largely misrepresented, abused, and rejected Christianity?

Fujimura urged the audience to see and process the film in community (see Fujimura’s video reflections for his book Silence and Beauty). As leaders in the church, this moment offers us an opportunity to begin discussions alongside our congregations. Consider these questions as you develop biblical conversations around this film.

Imagine yourself in the place of Kichijiro.

How do you identify with this character? Have you ever been tempted to deny or abandon your faith? Have you confessed a sin that you then repeated? While watching the film, how did you feel towards Kichijiro? Did you feel pity, repulsion, anger? How do you feel towards your own disposition towards weakness, or your own ability to reject Christ?

Read Jesus’s teaching to Peter on forgiveness (Matthew 18:21-22), Peter’s denial of Jesus (Matthew 26:31-35, 69-75), and their post-resurrection conversation (John 22:15-19). Do you believe God extends forgiveness as many times as you ask for it? Do you extend forgiveness to yourself?

How do you live out your faith?

Throughout the film Christianity is being silenced in Japan. Christians cannot openly talk about their faith, receive the sacraments, or carry icons. Scorsese said that directing the film pointed him towards the importance of our actions. Through actions we get to the truth, show compassion and love, and “protect the small kernel of faith within ourselves.” What role do actions play in your faith? Do your actions speak beyond your words? Do they demonstrate, or help you hold onto, your belief in God?

Read 1 John 3:13-24. What does it say about love shown through actions? How can we be confident of God’s presence and living in union with God?

Have you ever encountered God’s silence?

This film addresses areas of deep ambiguity and contradiction in our faith journeys. The priests and their fellow Christians suffered unjustly and God seemed silent. When have you needed God and God didn’t answer? Did this lead you to experience God’s presence in a different way? Are there still questions you are waiting to have answered? Are there ways you are still longing to hear God speak or know God more intimately?

Read Isaiah 62—God’s hopeful words to Jerusalem while they are living in exile. Try replacing any references to Jerusalem with your own name or a way of identifying your small group.

Do you know the suffering Christ?

We often celebrate Christ’s life and resurrection, but have you pondered Christ’s suffering? Read John 19:16-30. What physical, psychological, and spiritual aspects of Christ’s suffering strike you?

Read 1 Peter 2:18-25. How would Christ’s suffering lead to a greater solidarity with us as humans? Do you believe that Christ can take on your suffering—even when it involves something as complex as denying him?

As you take time to process these difficult questions in your faith community, invite Jesus to be with you in your own areas of suffering. Take time to pause. Don’t hurry through the silence. Let it create room to be with one another in solidarity—and to be God’s presence to one another.