And in the news are the perennial tales of those Christians who have themselves literally nailed to a cross in memory of their beloved Jesus... a memory long since memorized and commemorated and retold in specific and sometimes grisly delight. In a world that can dish up man-sized portions of distress, what might Jesus have thought of those who went out of their way to elevate distress? I can't pretend to know. People believe what they want to believe.For some, other crucifixions of the past are remembered today -- today, the 40th anniversary of the moment when the last of U.S. combat troops pulled out of Vietnam, a place that claimed over 50,000 American lives and buried untold numbers of Vietnamese ... a conflict that was never declared a "war." For some, the past is gone. For others, the flesh within is torn and a Roman crucifixion might be a preferable fate.
Well, as you've noted, the tale of Jesus -- the resurrection and the light -- often comes up at church and on TV around this time of year. As the story goes, Jesus was a fellow who appeared at some point long ago in human history. In doing so, he followed in the time-tested tradition of people appearing throughout history, just as we ourselves have carried on that tradition now by appearing just as we do, just as Jesus did. The fact of anything appearing at all is remarkable enough, but then to top it all off, there’s you and me and Jesus!
ReplyDeleteFor all practical purposes (which in themselves don’t really amount to anything practical, but no matter), the story of how Jesus poured into time and space seems to have created an astonishing ripple on the planetary pond of consensus consciousness. In the ensuing confusion over that ripple, untold millions of folks have splashed around and literally killed each other in the pond, but the pond just absorbs them, perhaps turning a little red now and then when the blood festivities reach a fever pitch.
Maybe that’s why Santa wears red at Christmas, in memory of the bloody pond, and why marketers would rather have us focus on smiley hopping bunnies and chocolate eggs at Easter, sweeping aside the gory crucifixion details in favor of the cleaned-up resurrection sequel, replete with a sunny day ascension into glory.
Regardless, Jesus is reported to have strolled around on that pond and said “Love one and other.” Excellent advice, but when we look around at the world since then, we might be tempted to wonder, “Where is the love?”
Moreover, where do the ripples go? Maybe that’s what our marvelous human history is -- a rippling on a pond, ending in stillness. Stillness is fine, it’s calm and serene, and many brave souls are asleep in the deep. On the other hand, is the pond even really there, or is it more like a dreamy figment of our imagination, perhaps like our special personal version of Jesus?
When we dream, sometimes it might seem as if we are drowning, but when we wake up, we’re not even wet. We were just walking on water, like Jesus. Sometimes the pond is dark, though what appears in the dark can be a kind of light.
My hand is reaching up from that pond, waving a palm frond of light. When I lose myself in the source of that light, it will seem as if I was never there, as if Jesus was never there. No pond, no ripple, no Jesus, no mind --just a small flash of shine in a black lacquer night.