Epiphany II Adiaphora
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Good Wednesday morning, good citizens of the Epiphany Season. Now,
apparently, a few purists among you have taken me to task to say that there
is no su...
10 hours ago
Sunday, April 4, 2010
"He is Risen!" True, Even If Not (Necessarily) Factual
I am blessed/cursed with the mind of a scientist and the heart of a poet. So on this Easter Sunday 2010, my intellect rejects the bodily resurrection of a crucified carpenter as my soul rejoices that He is risen!
"Fact" and "Truth", though not mutually exclusive, are not necessarily the same thing, either. The fact that Jesus' decaying corpse would never draw another breath didn't preclude the truth that his spirit - the Christ - would continue, appear to his followers, and breathe eternal life into the notion that loving God, yourself & your neighbor are the keys to our own personal, "here-and-now" resurrection.
"But what about for all eternity?" you might ask. Frankly, I'm so busy attempting that Greatest Commandment stuff in THIS life that God's gotta handle whatever comes later. Maybe we merely cease to exist, or maybe we go to heaven or hell, or maybe we reincarnate - I simply do not care, since my hands are full NOW.
See, as a recovering alcoholic & survivor of childhood sexual abuse, here-and-now resurrection is what makes me able to work on that loving we're called to do. Daily resurrection is what grants me a reprieve from the compulsion to drink, and from the awful doubts & perceptual distortions an abuse survivor lives with. Jesus set the pattern, we just have to follow it.
Did he literally rise from the dead? I don't know, and it doesn't matter to me, because the Lord is risen indeed!
13 comments:
“Love is the ultimate outlaw. It just won't adhere to any rules. The most any of us can do is to sign on as its accomplice. Instead of vowing to honor and obey, maybe we should swear to aid and abet. That would mean that security is out of the question. The words "make" and "stay" become inappropriate. My love for you has no strings attached. I love you for free.” ~ Tom Robbins
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Hi Wolfie--or do I call you EB now?
ReplyDeleteAm I really the first commenter?
Welcome to the Episcopal Blogosphere! We're glad to have you join us!
Hi Bear, I´m a Bear (well, that´s what they tell me but I mostly consider myself fully uncovered and more Bare than Bear)!
ReplyDeleteI´m very happy to know you and I know that you´re my kind of persona because we have a very similar background (I read your above masthead)...yes, it´s true, I´m a recovering spirit from the spirits too!
Happy resurrection!
Un abrazo fuerte,
Leonardo Ricardo (somewhere in Central America)
Hello --and Happy Easter!
ReplyDeleteIT! Welcome, welcome!
ReplyDeleteYes, call me "EB" since "Wolfie" is from - well - That Other Place.
As for being the newest member of the Episcopal Blogosphere, my hope is that I can live up the illustrious company, since you folk write some extraordinary stuff. I'm all the time sending links to my priest, deacon & chaplain (everyone of them gay!) who just love it.
Bearhugs to you & BP.
Leonardo! Welcome, Brother Bear! And even if you're just barely hairy, you're a Bear if you say so!
ReplyDeleteGlad to be trudging that road to happy destiny with you.
Bearhugs,
E.B.
EB...I´m fully qualified in the ¨hair bear¨ department...lol, can´t tell my back from my front except one side has a face and you know, other details that aren´t located on the flipside...trudge, trudge, trudge (it´s the way that we see things that makes the world be things)!
ReplyDeleteLeonardo
Margaret, I'm so glad you dropped by! Welcome, welcome!
ReplyDeleteYour "G'wan. Go to church." posts are some of my favorites on the net. I keep sending links one or another of them, to folk who really ought to be Episcopalian, just don't know it yet. I'll let you know if my recruitment efforts are successful.
Bearhugs,
E.B.
EB, did you delete my comment? I see you responded to it, but I don't see the comment.
ReplyDeleteIn any case, glad you're aboard. Now we'll see what you've got to say! ;-)
IT
Daily resurrection has a nice ring to it. I like it. I seldom think about the afterlife. Here and now is quite enough to keep me occupied.
ReplyDeleteHi, there! And thanks.
ReplyDeleteA very promising beginning - I've bookmarked it. And I'll be back.
Episcopal Bear. it's time to do another post. I'm just saying. :-)
ReplyDeleteHey! from another bearish Episcopalian! Good words. As Wendell Berry said, "practice resurrection."
ReplyDeleteShalom & Cheers!
Hey there :)
ReplyDelete