Easter 2010
Jesus said: “Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow…” (Matt. 6:28) Through nature’s law the lily grows and unfolds from a bulb to a flower. It is a discernable unfoldment from within outward. There is no obligation for the flower to return a portion of its fragrance, color, or form to nature. There is no way it could do this even if it wanted to do so, because life is a forward, growing, unfolding experience. The implication of this illustration is that your life is God’s gift to you and what you do with it is your gift to God. Your goodness flows from within and the more you are aware of what you are receiving, abundant Life, the more you will allow that Life to flow out through you. Life is a receiving and giving process.
The Easter story is one of receiving and giving. Jesus demonstrates the flow of the Divine through him, so you can know of its flow through you. He models the fact that Life is a giving process and that genuine spirituality means that we move into the unknown, the unconditioned, letting go of our old conditioned life to let come the new infinite life. The life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus is a model that calls us into a whole new way of thinking. We are invited to let go of our finite fears and anxieties to let come the wonder of a new abundance and prosperity that is found within our infinite self.
His story is the story of all who would dare to let go of the familiar and venture into the authentic nature of our new and infinite self, where angst is transcended and transformed into liberation. It shows that light overcomes darkness, love overcomes fear, life always overcomes death and the infinite transcends and transforms the finite. Where are the problems when we have this viewpoint, this mindset, this perspective and perception?
This story also demonstrates that giving is to become the main thrust of an awakened life. It is a demonstration of an attitude toward life that sees the abundance, the freedom, the prosperity, the affluence, the flow of the Divine in all circumstances. It expresses the goodness, the wonder, the wealth, the wisdom, and the opportunities of Life when we live in the infinite flow of Essence, Source, I Am, Presence, Sacred Unity, God.
A supply priest went to a neighboring parish to preach by invitation, taking his young son with him. As they entered the church he saw a contribution box, and following his good instincts, he deposited a ten dollar bill. After his sermon was completed and the congregation had departed, the host said, “We are not a very prosperous parish, and all we can pay is what is in the contribution box.” So he opened the box and presented the visitor with the ten dollar bill, all that had been put in. The supply priest thanked him and went on his way, if not rejoicing, at least resigned. They walked in silence for a distance, and then the wise young son said, “Gee Dad, if you had put more in, you would have gotten more out.” Such is the great Easter principle of giving, receiving and giving again.
F. W. Rick Meyers
Rector
