Easter

 

March 17, 2018

Easter. The Easter Event.

The resurrection of Christ.

The appearances of the resurrected Christ.

 

I do not know what happened.

It is possible that Christ appeared just as reported—

in a corporeal form—

a bodily person, through a body

that could dematerialize.

 

The problem I have with that is my present

world and life… It is absent any kind of

reality that relates.

There seems to be a gap between that kind of event

and my present life.

 

Perhaps the apostles abandoned Jesus at his

execution and went into hiding.

Then, very soon, they agreed that the vision of life

they had learned from Jesus was a liberating truth.

So, they took courage and began a movement to

continue the teachings and way of life

that they had learned.

One could understand such a process as similar

to those who adopt an ideology.

 

The reports we have in the gospels are certainly

written as real, historical happenings.

But were they intended that way?

Could they be something closer to parables

or epic poetry?

Could the gospel reports be fictionalized

pieces intended to convey the transcendent nature

of the kingdom of God that Jesus taught about?

Could they intend to communicate by analogy

or allegory?

How would they people of that time understand

those gospel stories of the resurrected Christ?

At least in the Book of Acts and Paul’s letters,

it appears that people heard those stories as

actual, literal reports, not as poetry.

 

What if I continued to believe the ethical message

of Jesus—the way of life he practiced—

but left the metaphysical message behind?

Could I even let go of a belief in God/transcendence

and still find strength and hope in the way of life

embodied by Jesus?

 

My life has been shaped by the Christian message,

including the message of hope.

It’s part of my identity.

I can never let that go.

Hope is deep within me.

What would that hope mean without any metaphysical

underpinning?

 

The meaning of life has always been part of

a larger, eternal framework for me.

I can (sort of) get into someone’s head who

confesses to find life meaningful and hopeful

without a belief in God or after-life.

To perceive life that way would be to experience

the joy that is real, and the love that is real,

here and now.

And to see oneself as contributing to the ongoing

life of the universe.

I do my part; I enjoy what is here and now.

And that’s it.

 

It seems incomplete to me, of course.

I long for eternal reality—because I enjoy life/being.

But just because I enjoy it doesn’t mean that it

has to be.

 

Life after death makes sense logically.

Which really means a continuing life/consciousness

in some other ‘place’ or dimension.

The millions of NDEs (Near Death Experiences) that are

now reported seem to be enough evidence that our

consciousness continues after our heart and brain stop.

Of course one can be skeptical or these reports.

Just as you could be skeptical of reports that we have dreams.

If one is inclined to disbelieve transcendent reality,

one might hold onto an assumption that there is not another

dimension.

Is that openness?

Of course I am inclined to believe the NDE reports, always

acknowledging that there will be some frauds or

misunderstandings.

 

Here is a present statement from me:

 

I do not know whether the resurrection appearances

actually happened as reported,

or whether those stories are intended to be

read as symbolic.

So, I do not understand Easter intellectually.

But I receive Easter existentially.

It is in my blood.

It has framed my worldview.

It is part of my emotional makeup.

Something happened that has been named Easter.

Some energy or motivation came from Easter,

whatever it was.

And from Easter came a movement based on

love and faith and service and hope.

This Easter Movement continues.