In Which I am Cheeky About the Resurrection of Christ
In this Easter season during which our largely Christian circles celebrate the life, death, and resurrection of Christ; I find myself discovering new ways of considering these stories that have been told to me so often, they have all but lost their meaning. Indeed Easter can be a celebration of the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, a celebration of gratitude for His suffering by proxy for our many sins, a lament concerning the circumstances of His death and celebration of His overcoming death itself.
If I may be indulged for what may possibly be mistaken as presuppositions regarding what particular sector of religious affiliation I fall under, I wish to make known such confederations that I may be understood correctly. I am not a Christian. By which I mean I do not believe that Christ died for my sins. I am however a follower of the actual words of the man named Jesus Christ. Now before you weep, wail, and gnash your teeth for my inevitably damned soul, I beg you to forget that for the moment, and continue reading, for I have interesting things to say.
What we actually know about the man Jesus is of some debate. We know, based on archeological findings, and historical documents, that a Man named Jesus Christ was born, lived, and died. Beyond that we get into faith, and historically dubious accounts. To me, they life and times of Jesus can be split into two categories. Instances where Jesus is described as being divine, and instances where Jesus is portrayed as simply a man. If you will allow me a brief example: Some accounts of the death of Jesus speak of the pain that Jesus was in, the culmination of which is crowned by Jesus crying out “My God my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (KJV Matthew 27:46) Still others wax poetic about Jesus’ concern for his friends, family, and the souls of those who are in the process of killing him. Thus! “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.” (KJV Luke 23:43) This however is simply a minor point, that I use at great risk of being attacked to simply illustrate that Jesus can be thought of as simply a man, without loosing his integrity as an important spiritual figure.
In fact the greatness of Jesus Christ to me can be summed up in a parable that he told to a lawyer who asked what he might do to ensure eternal life. Jesus, who in my opinion was quite the humble knower-of-all-things spake unto him saying “…Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. (KJV Luke 10:27) The lawyer who considered himself to be quite the intellectual countered with a question. I like to imagine this lawyer, who by all accounts was pestering the supposed Son of God, saying (rather cheekily) Aha! But who is my neighbor. It is then that Jesus began to relate my most favorite Christian parable. “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves…” Thus opens the parable of the Good Samaritan. Now I don’t supposed to learn you all in the ways of Biblical storying, so if you have not read the story I highly recommend it. (KJV Luke 10:30)
If Jesus were to run for public office, I have to believe that his platform would, and could be summed up, IN HIS OWN WORDS I MIGHT ADD!!! Thusly. “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these. (KJV Mark 12:28-31) And so it is at the heals of all of this prefacing and pontificating that I reach my point. Today marks the day the Jesus Christ allegedly rose from the dead. Whether or not you believe this occurred, you should at the very least be aware of the significance of this event. Earlier I spoke of the different ways that the Easter season can be celebrated. I am of the camp that celebrates the Easter season by celebration the life, and words of Jesus Christ. And as I am not a Christian, I specifically celebrate the importance of the words of Christ that have also been spoken by the Buddhas, the Prophet Mohammed, Laozi, and many others. “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” is a theme repeated in almost every world religion. HENSE!
Hinduism: Do not to others what ye do not wish done to yourself… …This is the whole Dharma. Heed it well.
Judaism: What is hateful to you, do not do it to your neighbor; that is the entire Torah; the rest is commentary.
Zoroastrianism: Human nature is good only when it does not do unto another whatever is not good for its own self.
Buddhism: Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful. Confucianism: Do not do to others what you do not want done to yourself.
Islam: No one of you is a believer until you desire for another that which you desire for yourself.
(Cathcart, Thomas. Klein, Daneil. Plato and a Platypus Walk Into a Bar)
And so on this day that is Easter, I will sit to a vegetarian feast of fabulous pasta, and I will reflect on the words of Christ. My challenge to you, is to this year in all your actions, actually ask yourself, what would Jesus do? Sincerely ask this question, and use the actual actions of Jesus AS YOU UNDERSTAND THEM to be your guide. Remember that as Christians, you are by your own admission followers of Christ. You are not followers of the Pope, or followers of a particular Prophet. You are not followers of Daniel, Job, or even King Solomon. Remember you are followers of the Jesus Christ from the gospels. The Jesus who after a long day of preachy talking speak, “suffer[ed] the little children to come unto [him]”. (JKV Mark 10:14)
Happy Easter!
