Happy Easter! Or, as a friend of mine said, "Happy Resurrection Day!" That's his preferred mode of talking about "Easter Sunday," because he is aware of the commercialization of it all. Chocolate bunnies and cream-filled eggs. It's not as bad as Christmas, but it has become less a religious holiday and more of a commercial endeavor for specialized business products. Such is religious life in America, I guess.
After a bit of reflection, I've come to like the idea of avoiding the term "Easter" in favor of "Resurrection Day." It can't help but to remind us of what the holiday (or “holy day”) is about. And for those of us who participate in the Christian faith, it is actually less about an act that happened in history and more about an event that happens beyond time and space (an "eschatological" event, for those who like big words).
Talk about the resurrection is talk about a certain type of spiritual experience. It is a sense of divine connection that liberates us from our death-dealing ego-centrism and births us into life-giving other-centeredness. The resurrection experience is an inner resurrection that transforms. Inasmuch as it is authentic, the resurrection experience leads us on a process of “becoming.”
Because we specifically proclaim the resurrection of Christ, our “becoming” centers on him. For us, (to use a term by JAT Robinson) he is the “human face of God.” We claim that in his person and work God is revealed. When we say that he is fully human and fully divine, we are saying that he is the image of what humanity was meant to be: in perfect communion (or “one-ness”) with God. More tangibly, we are saying that when humanity enfleshes other-centered, justice-oriented, self-giving love, it is living out a divine way of being. To be fully human is to be fully divine. When we are becoming “Christ-like” (or “Christian”) we are becoming more fully human. When we are becoming more human, we are truly embracing our God-given destiny.
I recently came across a parable written by Edward Hayes in The Ladder (p.52). I thought I’d share.
The Three Most Encouraging Words of Jesus
A group of students sat around their [spiritual] teacher when one of them, wishing to test him, asked, “Teacher, what are the three most encouraging words of Jesus?”
“His three words on the cross,” the teacher answered immediately: ‘It is finished.’” Then the teacher rose to leave the room.
“You confuse us, Teacher,” said the student. “You cannot leave us with such a mystery. Why are those words in any way encouraging?”
“Because those words tell you that it takes a lifetime to achieve your spiritual destiny!”
Happy Be-Lated Resurrection Day Everyone!
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