Unchaining the Old, Old Story

Years ago, an archbishop in England referred to it as a “conjuring trick with bones.” It is also the subject of four conflicting accounts. Carl Jung, in his book Psychology and Religion, puts it this way: “To the primitive Christians as to all primitives, the Resurrection had to be a concrete, materialistic event to be seen by the eyes and touched by the hands, as if the spirit had no existence of its own. Even in modern times people cannot easily grasp the reality of a psychic event, unless it is concrete at the same time.”

Well, I have an answer to Jung’s critique. We now live, not in modern, but in postmodern times! And in these postmodern times, if we are really honest, we still struggle with the resurrection of Jesus as told in those four conflicting accounts in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The biggest difference is that postmodernism embraces diverse points of view, so you and I are not stuck with one dogmatic opinion. Instead, we can hold up the resurrection like a prism and let it speak to us on many different levels.

Setting the resurrection free from historical constraints and my own metaphysical projections allows me to participate in it, to drink in its energy. This is crucial if I am to continue my journey into Christlikeness. For me, Christ is incredibly aware and stands at the pinnacle of consciousness.

Consciousness is hard work. If you have a cat or dog, look at what they do most of the time. They sleep! That’s because being awake takes copious amounts of energy. Being awake and aware takes even more energy.

That’s where resurrection plays a vitally important role. God’s gift to human beings is the capability to rise above primitive ways and step out into new vistas of understanding and possibility. When we die to our limited selves of sin, discord, distrust, violence, lust, and greed, and rise to Christlikeness in purity, union, faith, peacefulness, respect, and generosity, we re-create the world.

And this is possible only if we turn loose of metaphysical projections and break the chains of yearning for historical concrete certainty, thus allowing resurrection to happen to us throughout our body, heart, soul, and mind. This is the gift of grace given to us from God through Christ Jesus.

Alas, many people still find themselves populating the ”modern” world, which was so longing for certainty and absolutism. For them, the only answer is the historically concrete, physical tomb with gaping maw betraying its empty contents.

Jung goes on to point out the risks inherent in clinging to primitive ways. He says, “It is funny that the Christians are still so pagan that they understand spiritual existence only as a body and as a physical event. I am afraid our Christian churches cannot maintain this shocking anachronism any longer, if they don’t want to get into intolerable contradictions.”

This Easter—and every moment is an Easter moment—you have the choice of clinging to the old, old story. You also have the possibility of unchaining that old, old story so it can come alive in you, be fire in you, animate and re-create you, and carry you out of whatever tomb of denial you have fashioned and into the light of new potential, new vision, new life.

Resurrection invites you to this Easter moment right now.

Joel t