Easter 2008
Last month, we concluded Lent, engaged Holy Week, and celebrated Easter. For the skeptics or disassociated the questions and comments might be “So what? You Christians have been going through these rituals for centuries, and what has changed? We still have wars, rampant poverty, family violence, greed, selfishness, and the list goes on and on in the name of Christ or God or Country or ……Why don’t you folks just fold up the tent and start walking your talk or change your talk and start walking in the way the guy you point to taught and modeled? I’m going fishing and leave you all to your empty rituals, words, and actions. I’m tired of your hypocrisy and inaction.”
What would you say? What kind of response would come from you? Would it be angry, defensive, compassionate, or understanding? Might it be that the skeptics, the disassociated, disenfranchised, and discontented have a valid argument against what we do and claim to be? Sometimes I wonder if my perspective is clear and accurate, if I’m deluding myself. I wonder in my meditative time if I could be doing more or if I should actually be doing less and being more. How about you?
These seasons of the Church year are here for us to take a serious look at our selves, our lives, and the lives of those around us. They are here for us to take a serious look inside our very souls to see what kind of creators we’ve become in the name of Christ. Is it enough for us to sit comfortably by while war, poverty, unemployment, violence, and abuse run rampant in our communities? Is it enough for us to expect someone else to do what needs to be done while we make another deal or have another lunch? Is it enough for me to work on my own compassion, service, and contribution?
Some would say “Yes, absolutely.” Others would sound a resounding “No.” I’m not here to tell you, rather to simply ask the questions and work through them with you. As for me, this month is another time for deep listening to the very essence of Life. It is a time for soul searching and new direction finding. It’s a time to be creative by collaborating in a process of discernment. It’s a time for exploring the mystery of Life and the artistic expression that is calling each one of us into a new way of being. It’s a time for transition and transformation in following the Anointed One into His life, death, resurrection, and ascension, into new life and new being. It’s a time to remember that there is no us and them, that we are the skeptics and the true believers, the victims and the perpetrators, the co-creators. It’s a time to seriously look at our contributions to the dissonance, the resonance, and our alignment with the Spirit.
May we all discover the wonder of God’s presence in this journey and the Calling that beckons us into a new awakening of who we’ve been created to be in Christ.
Bringing Life to Life,
Dr. Rick Meyers+
