Welcome! Resurrection and Rebirth

Welcome, my friends, to Words With Russ! This blog is dear to me as I have always been a poet and writer at heart, and I think it's fitting to share its inaugural post during Easter Weekend. 

I have always felt the Easter holiday as a time of rebirth and renewal. Just like Fawkes the Phoenix in Harry Potter, each of us encounters the fires of renewal throughout our lives. These fires aren't literal; rather, they are the fire of the soul as it sheds off old ways of being in favor of a deeper experience of life. 

The story of Jesus of Nazareth's rebirth after three days in the tomb is one as old as history itself. While I don't take this story literally, when I look at it through spiritual eyes, there is great meaning. 

Matthew 28:1-10 says:

"After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”

One way that we can interpret this quote is by reading the passage metaphysically. This means that we don't read it literally, but rather interpret this something that could be going on within our individual consciousness. 

Reading this passage metaphysically, and in the context of the greater crucifixion story, I see the passage as a metaphor for how we can transcend the limitations of our old beliefs and grow deeper in our expression of Spirit. When I look at the arc of the last days Jesus spent on Earth and apply that to what I know of consciousness and the mind, it looks like this:

• Jesus challenges the establishment by going against the Romans and the Pharisees with his teaching of love and acceptance. This is similar to how we often have to challenge our established thoughts and beliefs, even though they may be causing great harm in our lives. These thoughts and beliefs don't like to be challenged, and will often fight back. 
• Jesus prays at the Garden of Gethsemane, that God might pass his cup to another. Here, Jesus knows he will be betrayed by Judas, and he will be crucified. Like any rational person, he doesn't want to be crucified. So he asks that he not have to do this thing. But because he is tuned in to the God within him, he sees that there is no other way than to face the pain he will have to endure. So, what does this mean within the context of the mind? Well, often before we can heal the inner burdens of pain we carry from past hurts and traumas, we must face them. We must ask that inner Spirit what is ours to do, and if it means embracing the pain so there might be healing, then that is the path we must take--always with that wise, inner Spirit with us to make it as easy and gentle as possible. 
• Jesus knows he will be forsaken by many of his disciples, who don't truly believe in his teaching. This is similar to how the parts of our mind don't trust that the wise Spirit within us can bring about healing and change. And so they fight against that change. But the Spirit within knows this as well, and does all it can to help and support each part of our mind through its compassion, just as Jesus continued to try to help his disciples right up to the very end.
• Jesus is tortured and crucified. This is arguably the most difficult part of Jesus' story. Sometimes, feeling buried feelings can feel like a form of torture. But there is also the promise of freedom when we have the courage and the support--through friends, family, therapy, and communing with the Spirit within--to feel those feelings and allow whatever inner part of us is sad, hurt, and carrying the burden of unresolved pain to speak to us. This freedom is what is achieved in Jesus' resurrection.
  
• Jesus is buried in a tomb, and three days later his disciples find the tomb is empty. This passage is a metaphor for the rebirth that takes place when we, with the help of the Spirit within, face the pain that is asking for healing within us. By listening to parts of our mind that carry pain as a burden, and allowing them to speak to us while sharing our love and compassion with them (as Jesus did with his persecutors), these parts of us are able to heal. Yes, it can be quite the ordeal to have to feel that pain, but when we are able to do so with the help of Spirit, we can wrap the pain in compassion and courage, and through Spirit's innate curiosity, find out what that part of us most needs to be able to heal. And then we can share that healing. 

In so doing, it's as though we transcend the old "body" of our lives, as Jesus did with his rebirth when his disciples find the empty tomb, and we are then able to do things we weren't able to do before. Throughout the story of Jesus, he is able to do things no human can do, like walking on water and bringing people back to life. These tales sound fantastic, and yet they are a metaphor for how, when we live a compassionate and love-led life as Jesus did, we can transcend our seeming limitations, and bring about great change not only in our lives, but in the lives of others. 

This holiday season I invite you to check in with that core of your being of you that is timeless, that is eternal, that is wise, and that leads with compassion and kindness. Ask it if there is any part of you that needs its healing touch. And see if you can lend it just a little more trust by letting it lead. In this way, just like Jesus, you will invite into the home of your heart the spirit of rebirth and renewal.