Rev. Steve Colladay
We who are following Jesus Christ in the resurrection know life as a spiritual thing, and that we live spiritually, if we understand the law of life, and that we shall continue to live in Spirit, “whether in the body or out of the body.” And we know that this spiritual bond is the only bond that will really endure. –Charles Fillmore, Co-founder of Unity
Do you accept the Easter story? At one level, the Easter story is really complex, difficult to understand events and symbols: especially the crucifixion, the empty tomb, the resurrection. For many of us, our relationship with Easter reflects our own life. We focus on Easter as a journey to the cross, and the symbol of Easter is but the slain Christ.
However, the truly compelling power of the Easter story is not in Jesus’ escape from death through the resurrection, but that there is no death! The Christ Spirit is never limited to a particular experience in time and space. “Death” is not an end, nor the beginning; it’s a continuing.
The Easter story is a message of letting go, of freedom from illusion, not merely for Jesus, but for all who follow Him–all who embrace and follow the indwelling Christ. Easter is the decisive event in Christianity because it demonstrates the victory of eternity over time. The message of Easter assures humankind that death is a lie–there is only life–eternal life now!
Jesus in A Course of Love says,
“As a man I suffered, died and was buried. As who I am, I resurrected. ‘I am the resurrection and the life.’ What I was in life was the manifestation, in form, of the Will of God. Thus too have you been. God is the giver of life, thus life is God’s Will. But with my resurrection, which was accomplished for all, the meaning life, the reality of life, changed, though you have known this not. The great experiment in separation ended with the resurrection, though you have known this not. For the resurrection and life are now one and the same.”
Friends, Easter is the springtime of our life. Easter represents the resurrection of hope, love, faith and life itself within us all. The powerful message of Easter is that whatever is real can never be threatened and has no end…there is no death! Everything that is of God exists forever. What is of time and space, what is not of Spirit, passes away.
The message of Easter is of the total victory of eternity over time as we infuse our consciousness with awareness of our true Christ nature and of God’s presence in our lives. The only death is the death of our perception…our mind arises from its tomb. Christ the Lord has risen today! He is risen indeed!