I grow weary of forcing a reasonable understanding. Let's be simple and honest: time, culture, and the desires of heart and mind have ceaselessly reconstructed an ancient narrative of Jesus' life, death and resurrection. Anything we do today is all the same. And I personally cannot entertain the circular logic that this descriptive fact is explained by divine will, because you could use such an explanation to explain absolutely anything whatsoever.
The Biblical account, so far as it goes, embodies a long history of the human search for meaning and direction, and we can ply these stories and their constructive histories in search of wisdom for our moment, as our human roots do run deep into the past. But I grow tired of reverse engineering our current moment and evolution, enslaved to the to the stories and traditions enshrined long ago.
Thus: I listen to the ancient story of Holy Week and Easter; I consider deeply the timeless themes of life, death, and resurrection; and I reimagine the meaning and direction for here and now. And if an ancient account or tradition loses relevance as we evolve through the ongoing unfolding of Creation, it is as it should be, and it is time to move on.
Thus: the meaning and direction that I find in the story of Holy Week is that Jesus taught an incredibly life affirming and new way of relating to one another, drawn from an intense spiritual life that reimagined and challenged the theological views of the times. This evolution threatened the way certain things were, and some with political power were none to happy about this development. It seems, then, they found a solution to their problem, and Jesus died the way he died because he lived the way he lived. Yet, so powerful was Jesus' social and spiritual evolution that it lived on, not in the physical resurrection of Jesus' body, but in the spiritual resurrection of a community that choose to spread the Good News of Jesus, despite the despair and fear they surely felt after seeing the brutal execution of their mentor and friend.
Here I find a deep Easter message powerful today: that this wonderful existence unfolds through tensions between light and dark; that we can be in tune with this sacred song; that there is always hope, no matter how despairing it may seem; and that we are all a part of the creative evolution, which may call us to do difficult things.
To me, this is the continuing journey that Jesus tread, that he - and others - so brilliantly and courageously direct the rest of us toward. As for "God": who, what, how or why God is I am quite hesitant to define. But the moment that calls all of us forth, the intense creative power that we experience all around us, the inspiring evolution toward better forms and relationships that unfolds undeterred, is something truly amazing to behold. Call it what you will.
That is the sacred story that I reimagine at this time of year. Whether it is Biblically accurate, dogmatically correct, academically cliche, historically true or scientifically relevant, I do not know, nor am I that concerned. That its construction considers all before me, and that its guiding principal is resonance with the life affirming creative spirit deep within me - I feel compelled to exclaim: life will overcome!
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