Thoughts for the Occasion

It's been a while since I've taken time to post anything here, so I thought I'd pontificate for a bit for those who tune in. I went to my mother's church this morning, always an interesting experience. They have a new pastor who's pretty good. He's very funny and his messages are relatively comprehensive. Today's service was on the difficulty of believing in Jesus resurrection. His major point was that learning can only go so far. Being told about the resurrection can hardly be grounds for faith. His argument was that we need experience, using Thomas, one of Jesus disciples, as an example. Thomas didn't believe Jesus had returned even when ever other disciple said so. He said he needed to feel Jesus wounds, see him in person, to believe it. For us, the problem with this is, well, such an opportunity isn't possible. The pastor's point was that we need to allow ourselves the possibility to believe and experience something to prove it. Those who keep their hearts closed wouldn't even recognize a spiritual experience if it happened.
I liked the sermon for what it was worth, but I found it interesting that the whole point of Jesus resurrection wasn't really hit on. Most of us see his mortal suffering as a way of suffering for our sins. In other words, he took the rap. I never quite looked at it this way. I have always viewed the crucifixion of Jesus as the ultimate demonstration of Spirituality over material sense. Basically what that means is that his demonstration of rising from the dead gave proof of our spirituality. It was a validation of his spiritual teachings by which we, in following that path, are saved. Now this concept of being "saved" is also a bit touchy. If God is All, then there's nothing but God for us to be saved from, right? Well, actually, no matter what concept you use, there is always such thing as the "absence of," or at least, the concept itself. Jesus gave us a path to spiritual one-ness with God, which translates into a sense of savior. This still contains a concept of sin however, since sin, by definition, is basically a rejection or separation from God. I suppose there can be some emphasis on the suffering as well, but since Jesus showed us that, despite all the suffering, he was able to rise again, there seems a lesser emphasis on this point. Perhaps this is just how far I am able to see it.
One way or another, the holiday's purpose of celebration shouldn't be lost. In its purest sense, Easter is about Hope. We celebrate it as the day Jesus rose from the dead to save us all, or at least provide opportunity of savior. Thus, it is a matter of hope, a hope that there is something beyond this realm, that there is redemption for our own sins and suffering. Hope is one of the most powerful tools of faith and love, so, considering this, today is actually pretty darn important. Pass the pie will ya...

Originally posted Sunday, April 16, 2006