Midweek Faith Lift
April 12, 2023
Easter Sunday-“I Am Alive”
Rev. Deb Hill-Davis
Daily Reflection
April 4, 2023
A sunset spectacle featuring two mitten-shaped rock formations played out this past week in Monument Valley. Twice a year, in March and September, the West Mitten Butte's casts its shadow on the East Mitten Butte.
“A soulful life is never without shadow, and some of the soul's power comes from its shadow qualities. If we want to live from our depths, then we have to give up all pretenses to innocence as the shadow shows itself.” – Thomas Moore, Care of the Soul
Affirmative prayer: Today I embrace my whole self. Even as I look to the light, I draw wisdom from the darker aspects of my being, allowing my shadow to lead me to experiences of insight, healing, and renewal. I see the wholeness of my companions, giving thanks for the spectrum of each one’s life. Thank you, God, forever. Amen.
This powerful image of the shadow of one rock formation on another represents
the true power of the Easter story, the ultimate question which the Easter story poses. How do we determine what is real and what is not? Was the resurrection “real” or not and does it matter? And how do we understand the “resurrection experience” from a metaphysical perspective, because in Unity, we do not embrace the re-embodied Jesus as the essence of the story.
One of the most touching scenes in the Easter morning story is in the Gospel of John and it is about Mary Magdalene who has returned to the tomb to anoint the body of Jesus. It is from John 20:11-16 and it reads like this:
Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene
11 But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb, 12 and she saw two angels in white sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. 13 They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” 14 When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni!” (which means Teacher). (NRSV-UE)
Mary Magdalene is so poignant in her weeping and her confusion regarding the whereabouts of the body of Jesus. In our human grief, we confuse the shadow with the reality—the energy of Jesus is not gone, she just had to see with new eyes and hear with new ears to recognize it. When she saw the “person” of Jesus, she thought he was the gardener and did not recognize him at all. So how is it that she did recognize the energy of Jesus? Jesus called her by name, which is another powerful image in this exchange! They called each other by name, which the most powerful way in which humans connect to one another, how we recognize the “real” being without getting confused by the shadow!
And I love how she calls Jesus “RabbounI” or “teacher.” That is how we relate to Jesus in Unity, as teacher, the One who shows us the way as we attempt to understand his message, follow it and live it. That has been the focus of our journey through the season of Lent- letting go of our shadows, allowing them to be seen but recognizing that our shadow self is present to teach us about our Divine self. The cross as the symbol of Easter highlights this truth about our human journey. We have the horizontal beam which is our human timeline and it intersects the vertical beam which is our Divine or higher self. We live at the intersection of the two, which is our Observer self. This part of our Holy Trinity nature represents that capacity we have to look and listen from the heart to discern what is real and what is not, what really matters, and what does not. It is from this place that we are resurrected again and again from all our crucifixion experiences!
I love what Ernest Holmes had to say about the idea of resurrection on p. 138 of Questions and Answers on the Science of Mind:
There is no resurrection life as opposed to another life. There is no immortality as opposed to mortality; any more than there is a Divine Mind, which is opposed to the human mind. The universe refuses to be divided. Jesus understood this when he said that God “is not the God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him.”
It is our human self that wants to set up divisions and opposing energies: real/unreal. Yet the life and energy of Jesus existed to teach us that all the divisions are just illusions, useful to help us see ourselves fully, but not the ultimate Truth of our life energy. It is the Mary Magdalene of us that recognizes the energy of Jesus, the presence of the Christ that cannot be taken away. She is weeping because she believes that has been taken away as the body is gone. She doesn’t even recognize Jesus in bodily form; she thinks it is the gardener until Jesus says her name. There is power in the sound of our voice, in the energy of our name that this story highlights for us as it calls our human self into awakening to the reality of our Christ self or Higher Self.
I love what Joan Chittister writes on p. 136 about the resurrection in her book, In Search of Belief:
The real lesson of resurrection may be its strangest, strongest one. When Jesus died, hope died. The apostles grieved the death of Jesus. The public was scandalized. The synagogue said good riddance to a troublemaker. The entire enterprise collapsed. But in the end, out of apparent failure, came new life stronger than it had ever been before. And so, too, for us. When one phase of life ends, a new one arises, if we do not spend too much time grieving the one before it, if we allow new grace to flow through us, if we accept the fact that 'the third day' -- the moment of ultimate incidents -- is an ordinary moment of time turned Christic, turned salvific, turned new. Resurrection strikes failure to the core.
What a powerful statement: “Resurrection strikes failure to the core.” It is during our most humbling moments, when we feel stricken and paralyzed with shame, anxiety, grief and all the debilitating emotions that the possibilities of resurrection, of new life, new growth are the most compelling and powerful. And who among us has not had a crucifixion experience or two, or three? When we finally hear our name, get the lesson, feel the love and know that we are truly, deeply alive….now that’s a party! That’s a celebration for sure! That is Easter!
I love what St. Hildegard of Bingen said:
“Be not lax in celebrating. Be ablaze with enthusiasm. Be an alive, burning offering before the altar of God.” – St. Hildegard of Bingen
As we contemplate our individual lives and our collective lives, we bring the offering of all our shadows, individual and collective, allowing the shadows to highlight the true nature of our divinity, our capacity for love, goodness and kindness. It is the light that allows us to see the shadows and the light of consciousness that allows us to learn from and dispel the shadows. Both are necessary for our resurrection experience and holding space for both are essential for our holy trinity self to experience the transformation that is resurrection.
Our capacity to see and call each other by name, no longer saying “those people” or “you people!” is an essential part of dispelling the shadows. I have been lumped into a group that was called “you people” and it is humiliating and debilitating. It happened when I worked in Des Moines Schools and advocated for kids with handicapping conditions, especially behavioral problems. There were administrators etc. whose belief was that if they could just get rid of “you people” it would be a better school. I understand more deeply why the #Black Lives Matter movement constantly chants “Say his name!” or “ Say her name!” when marching in protest or remembrance of someone who has been slain.
Well, that is not the message of Jesus in both his life and his death. His whole journey was to highlight how all are included, all are welcome and there is no real division in the consciousness of God, of Love. And today, on Easter Sunday, we celebrate the reality of that…of both the light and the shadow as they are both part of all that is real! Yes this is a day to say with great Zeal and enthusiasm, I am Alive! I am Alive!
Affirmative prayer: Today, my life is infused with light and vitality. I witness the Divine’s high-spirited energy all around me: in my companions, in animals, forests, and traffic. Life’s radiance is everywhere. Thank you, God, forever. Amen.
Blessings on the Path,
Rev. Deb