Today is Easter Sunday, 2025, celebrated by Christianity for approximately 1, 995 years. Consider the vast changes that have taken place in the world throughout these centuries--wars, cultures/countries, births, deaths, natural disasters and nature's repair, art, literature, science, discovery and loss of species, new theories, new practices.Yet, the Easter story has remained as a relatively newer religion, compared to tribal and indigenous practices around the world, along with the major religions of Hinduism, Judaism, and Islam. Even Buddhism pre-dates Christianity. Many researchers of various disciplines view the totality of world religions as a branching tree, over time and through cultures, unfolding, evolving from our deepest needs--and perhaps even collective memory--as distinctive 'limbs' of human spirituality that sprout in different times, places, and circumstances.
Considering this view, what is the need that sustains the Easter story? At first look, it may seem to be the conquering of death through sacrifice and resurrection. A friend of mine wrote recently that she had found herself reading a philosophical analysis of the improbability of the Resurrection; the book asserts that the "whole Christian creed" is based on Jesus' Resurrection as the Christ. In overcoming death, Jesus fulfills the Biblical prophecy that literally establishes the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth. The author concludes, if the biblical resurrection is not accepted, the whole Christian construct collapses; the story collapses. My stance has always been that there are many ways of interpreting an almost 2,000 year old sacred text, along with Old Testament foreshadowing dating at least 4,000 years, including metaphoric and symbolic metaphysical interpretations. Since resurrection stories were part of religious/mythical stories long before Jesus, it's no stretch to find them as part of the biblical history, in both old and new testaments. Years ago, I read an article on "mystery cults" and their influence on Christianity written by Martin Luther King, Jr. while he was in graduate school. The last sentence of his paper is "To discuss Christianity without mentioning other religions would be like discussing the greatness of the Atlantic Ocean without the slightest mention of the many tributaries that keep it flowing." His tributary analogy is similar to the idea of a branching Tree of Religion. If you are curious, the link is: https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/king-papers/documents/study-mithraism.
Last Friday, someone else sent a text simply announcing, "It's Good Friday", and I responded, "A day of forgiveness." My friend asked, "Tell me more." I explained, "Jesus forgives on the cross and asks God to forgive his persecutors. That is the relatable sacrifice. The message is not about suffering, but about love; forgiveness is an aspect of love."
Later in meditation, these two different exchanges about Easter coalesced for me. I realized my sense of Jesus was never about the Resurrection--for me, the teachings of Jesus have always been about healing. 'Rising from the dead', is a metaphor for healing, and love is an inextricable aspect of healing. Forgiveness is an inextricable aspect of love. Love and forgiveness heal. Jesus' branch of the Tree of Religion includes: “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you... " (Matthew 5, 43-44) and "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God." (Matthew 5:9) This Easter Sunday I invite you to reflect on the ways that love and forgiveness open a path of healing. And consider this Tuesday, a larger healing for Earth Day 2025. (Susan Nettleton)
For Poetry: https://www.poetry-chaikhana.com/Poets/C/CatherineofS/ConsumedinGr/index.html
https://predmore.blogspot.com/2021/05/poem-r-s-thomas-but-silence-in-mind.html
https://poets.org/poem/love-iii