Post Easter Reflection

 The historical truth about authoritarian governments is that subjugation of the masses and cruelty as a cudgel for obedience is the entire point.  The guy at the top is almost always an unusually self-hating narcissist who craves the feeling of being superior to all around him. In the Christian Church this past week, we walked in the steps of one who did not cave in to the narcissistic power structures of the early first century. Rome had it's own problems with subjugated populations from a string of ill Emperors.  At the same time Judaism had it's own unique way of organizing a "power-over religious institution."  Such is the ways of Empire structuring - intimidate all the institutions of a society into worshipping the head and garner their cooperation.

But beginning on Maundy Thursday this past week we were pulled into the acts of remembering to whom and with whom we ultimately and specially belong.  "Maundy" is derived from an Old French word that meant "command or mandate".  Many churches, on this Thursday before Easter, observe foot washing as a liturgical act of remembering Jesus' act of washing the disciples feet and commanding them to "love one another."  It is in loving others (and all of God's created order) that we all flourish.

Good Friday is often observed in visiting the "Stations of the Cross" - the final stopping off places in Jesus' forced travels through the Roman & Jewish gauntlet of legalities to nail him to a cross of state-sponsored shaming.  It was an act to discredit Jesus and threaten would-be followers to tow the line for Rome and "religious authority." 

Holy Saturday is the pause.  The waiting of the world for the final word to drop.  Will death have the final say?

Then the Easter proclamation, first by Mary Magdalene, "the tomb is empty."  Then the appearances of the Risen Jesus start being reported throughout the region.  Death cannot hold this sacred Love that designed creation and set love, acceptance, forgiveness, grace, hope, and peace to nurture and sustain the well-being of all God's creatures. 

That realm, God's realm on earth -- not an authoritarian regime, lets love and kindness loose.  Lets free will and personal sovereignty be the rule of life. Lifts us through blessing and admonitions to thoughtful consideration of purpose with the daily question posed: "Is this the world you want for yourselves, your children, and your children's children?"  If the answer to that question is "Yes!", then remember!  Remember the acts of resistance in grace and purpose that Jesus acted out and taught.  Remember the long string of disciples through the ages who have perpetually harkened back to "The Way of Jesus." Remember and follow him in your daily interactions, your votes, and your voices. 

Sovereignty of Spirit

In response to the Saducces question about which of the seven dead brothers the passed-down wife belongs to:

Jesus said to them, "Those who belong to this age marry and are given in marriage; but those who are considered worthy of a place in that age and in the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage.  Indeed they cannot die anymore, because they are like angels and are children of God, being children of the resurrection."

  -Luke 20:34-36

When I heard this passage read at one of the special Holy Week services, I heard for the first time the freedom this passed-down woman received by Jesus' explanation.  She was no longer bound by the definitions and expectations the death(s) of her husbands (and culture) loaded onto her. She was, for the first time in her life, her own person.  Nobody could tell her who she was or what she could do with her life.  She was as free as angels and children!

The Apostle Paul makes reference to the fact that if we believe in Christ we are also raised as new creatons with him.  Our own resurrections are found in our Christ Life that we live out both in our souls and in our community here and now.  We are no longer strictly bound by the rituals, doctrines, legalisms, and cultures of older times. A New Age has dawned and we are granted Sovereignty of Spirit -- true freedom to fully be the creation God breathed into us from the first moment of our spirit-awareness.  We are free to become the full blossom of Love's fingerprint, stamping our unique identity in this time and the time to come.  Angels celebrate all of us who are in the resurrected life. 

So what new expressions of you do you wish to undertake?  How do you go about finding your sovereign identity?  What supports do you need to put into your life so you take hold firmly of your angel-like freedom? 

What happened to the cloud of witnesses?

When I asked Zelens’kyi why he had remained in Kyiv, he said that he “could not have done otherwise.” Explaining his choice, he began not from the specific predicament, dramatic though it was, and not even from himself. He spoke of his love for his parents, and what he had learned from them. He had not chosen them, and yet in his love for them he was free. He compared that love to the decision to remain in the capital as the war began: something self-evident. Staying was not something he did alone: he was in the company of those who had taught him when he was younger and those who had elected him. He was in the company of others who were also taking risks. He understood the situation, he said, because of what it meant to represent others.

Snyder, Timothy. On Freedom (p. 19). Crown. Kindle Edition. 

In the church we talk often about the "cloud of witnesses."  These are the people, our ancestors and saints, who have gone before us.  Hopefully, they have left us good lessons, vibrant virtues, and positive regard for all humanity.  Their lessons can carry us through life on the humane, gracious, and ethiscal side.  When we are faced with difficulty and hard choices, that company of witnesses keeps our communities and country on a steady compassionate course.

What we're living in today in the United States is a government that has been blinded by greed for money and power to the point that uttter chaos (and cruelty) is raining down on all who lack money, influence, or white/male privilege.  The more egregiously forgotten the words and lessons of our forebearers become (they're actually erasing histories of women and POC) the more moral poverty and physical danger we fall victims to.  

My lifelong involvemtent in the mainline Christian church supplied me with goood lessons from the life of Jesus, good role models, and steady watchful love.  My forebears taught me how to care, how to think for myself, and to always be kind.  I don't begin to understand the world of Donald Trump or Vladamir Putin where life is a constant bitter rage and retribution, where money crowds out all compassion and regard for the dignity of others. 

It is part of my dream for the future, that there is a strong remnant of people in the United States left who have the bravery and conscience to pull the burning embers of criminality, greed, cruelty, and misery from the fire and water them down with decency, thoughtful considerations, and a shoulder to lean on in tought times - no matter your race, sexuality, gender, class, religion, or status.