The amazement continues!

When I was a teenager, I stumbled upon a book in my dad’s collection with the provocative title, “The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross.”  A lot that was in it became the inspiration for the book that inspired the Da Vinci Code, and was excellent fodder for a budding young atheist like me.  John Allegro, the author, wrote that the Jewish faith was based on an ancient fertility cult that worshipped hallucinogenic mushrooms.  These mushrooms were talked about in codes that supposedly became stories of the risen Christ.  The mysteries of the empty tomb were caused by the disciples eating the mushrooms in a sacred meal before Jesus died.  And there was no Jesus.  Just mushrooms.

Jesus did not exist, wahoo, I could stop wondering about the Easter experience and get on with my life.  Except that there were inconsistencies with his logic and renowned biblical scholars thoroughly discredited his conclusions, rather like Eric von Daniken’s Chariots of the Gods which claimed humans were too stupid to design pyramids.  Jesus was back in the picture.

And I’m suspecting that I’m not the only one who has lived through the yoyo of theories of who Jesus was, how real he was, and how real the resurrection was.  Theories go in and out of fashion, debates rage in the media one moment then are forgotten the next. Albert Schweitzer wrote about the fashion trends in thinking of how we interpret Jesus.  We also yoyo between seeing Jesus as a mortal, flawed human walking the earth during a tumultuous time and Christ, the word of God made flesh, somehow more than just human.  But Jesus is more complex than the latest trends.  And if we believe Jesus was special, how do we relate to other spiritual traditions and paths that don’t see Jesus the way we do?  Colonialism and racism can seem like a natural offshoot of Christianity if we assume Jesus is the only way to God.

It doesn’t have to be that way.  We can have a healthy understanding of Christianity beyond colonialism, beyond racism, and even beyond literalist understandings of who Jesus was.  Paul, I think hit it on the nose when he said that we Christians are most to be pitied if we only think our faith in Christ is about getting the best in the here and now for ourselves.

It’s that bold statement that all will come alive in Christ Jesus that I have seen happen in so many people.  When we remember the core teachings of serving, loving, and respecting our neighbors, when we care about others as much as we care about ourselves, when we do our best to follow in the footsteps of Jesus and the disciples, we do find our lives full of meaning, vibrancy, community, and love.  We find healing for our tough times, and courage for the scary times.  We find strength for the times when we feel uncertain, and support when we feel unsure.  We find inspiration and wonder when we come face to face with the mystery that is the Easter story.  We find that we can still be amazed when we discover the surprises that God has in store for us.

It’s easy to become cynical and dismiss much of what we see and hear as nonsense.  It’s easy to give up on hope.  Especially when we see so much tragedy in the news, so much selfishness, so many people solving their problems by taking a gun out into a subway or invading a non-aggressive country.  The arrogance of billionaires who think they know everything about free speech and can use their money to influence culture in the way that they think best. But Christianity challenges that cynicism and despair.  It's not for the faint of hearted.  It’s not for those people who want easy answers or quick fixes to the immediate problems they face.  But it is a grand adventure that heals the broken hearted, inspires bravery and courage, reaches out to those who need compassion and healing and grows community. 

We have a crazy hope.  One rooted in ridiculous claims that seem like nonsense.  And yet, and yet, more than the discovery of chocolate eggs, more than the emptiness of living from paycheck to paycheck, following in the footsteps of Jesus, being open to the possibility that there was more to Jesus than just a storyteller with a few tricks up his sleeve, gives hope and meaning to our lives if we so choose. 

Easter is an invitation to a grand experiment that is still going on.  An experiment in living as if death has been defeated, living as if nothing can ever stop the compassion and love that our loving creator wants to gift us with.  Easter is a surprise waiting to burst open our hearts just as Jesus burst out of the empty tomb.  This Easter, what will you experiment with?  Who will you serve with compassion?  Who will you forgive with love, who will you inspire with hope?  Who will you reach out to with good news?  Who will you ask forgiveness for?  Who will you hold in prayer?

All will be made alive in Christ.  Not just you, not just me, but all in God’s world.  Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, atheist, all are on a journey of discovery.  Together we are invited to discover that:

We are not alone, we live in God's world.

 We believe in God:  who has created and is creating, who has come in Jesus, the Word made flesh, to reconcile and make new, who works in us and others by the Spirit.

We trust in God.

 We are called to be the Church:  to celebrate God's presence, to live with respect in Creation, to love and serve others, to seek justice and resist evil, to proclaim Jesus, crucified and risen, our judge and our hope.

In life, in death, in life beyond death, God is with us.

We are not alone.

    Thanks be to God.