Easter Reflections
“Without the aid of trained emotions the intellect is powerless against the animal organism.” – C.S. Lewis
“Talk to Jesus, Richard,” is something that a few religious friends have said to me recently and there was a time I may have possibly been inclined to roll my eyes at such a statement and come out with an answer that would have irritated the person that said it and led to a falling out. I may have rather stupidly said, “Oh ya, have you a phone number, have you?” or something a bit daft like that. More recently, however, I’ve come to think of the suggestion differently, and find myself appreciating the inner kindness and well-meaning from whence it comes. I have come to think of prayer as a bit like talking to yourself, and we all do that. However, I think “prayer” or “talking to Jesus” is more akin to a form of quiet meditation during which one strives to examine one’s thoughts in a way that adheres to an inner sense of morality, which is perhaps attainable through the careful contemplation of Christ and the suffering he endured when he was crucified.
The lesson of Christ, whom we are taught died for our sins, is that if you do the “right” and “noble” thing in life that there is a very real possibility that you will be “crucified” for it. Easter Sunday celebrates the resurrection of Christ, and as fantastic a story as that sounds, his story is one which has endured for more than 2,000 years, and these stories we are taught about his life have kept him alive in our memories and influenced culture and human relationships in a profound way. And so, even if one views the story of the resurrection of Jesus on Easter Sunday to be somewhat fanciful, his resurrection is still true in a figurative sense. Every time his name is spoken, the ideas which he embodies are resurrected in our minds, and so long as stories continue to be told about him he still lives within us and has an impact on our lives.
Prior to this week, I hadn’t been inside a church for any kind of ceremony, outside of weddings and funerals, for several years, but this week found myself attending at the invite of a very dear friend who selflessly made herself available to me during the recent occasion of my father dropping dead and my mother very nearly going with him on account of a heart condition which was exacerbated by the shock of finding him face down in the driveway in the rain. As mentioned in a previous post, I had quite a bit of insomnia and my thoughts took me to some strange and unexpected places down the memory hole of my unremarkable and brief little wade through this existence we call “life”. And during that time, I had some lengthy conversations with people who took a little time out of their busy lives, full of their own personal fears, struggles, problems, and commitments, to offer themselves for conversation and what I can only describe as “spiritual comfort”. And a lot of those people were people who still hold on to strong religious beliefs in an age where such beliefs seem to be waning.
And so, this week I found myself inside a church for a religious ceremony for the first time in years. I stumbled a bit over certain aspects. I’m never quite sure when to kneel or sit my backside back into my seat or what responses are supposed to be given when things are read from the altar and I found myself unintelligibly mumbling some of the responses when I hadn’t an actual clue what I was supposed to be saying, but all-in-all, I very much enjoyed the experience and said to the friend that invited me that it was “the best time I have had with a woman in years”. She laughed at me and said, “Well that’s just sad”. But I meant it wholeheartedly. One never appreciates the light of human kindness from others as much as on one’s darkest nights. One might use different words to describe it but if God exists, then surely it is God’s light. I’m not sure I’ll ever be as devout as she is, but I like the feeling of being a part of something bigger than myself and I also think there is a lot of truth and meaning in a lot of the stories which are related in churches.
In the past month or so, I have hugely appreciated the support of some people who happen to be more religiously inclined than most. Their religion is what sustains them through their own personal suffering and, I believe, is a big part of what compelled them to reach out and offer support to me and my family in spite of their own very real and serious troubles. And I think that’s one of the tenets central to Christianity that is worth holding onto at all costs. When Christ is on the cross, whom we imagine in extreme agony, he says, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do” he clearly feels compassion for other people which transcends his own personal suffering even though it was inflicted upon him by those for which he begs forgiveness. And so, I think that the greater capacity that people have to look beyond their own suffering to reach out and help others in their time of need, the better a place that the world inevitably becomes. And if strong religious beliefs help people to do that then that can only be a good thing, and I think it’s a thing that should be respected.
Happy Easter to everyone that has read this far without being bored to sleep. I pray you have supportive people in your lives that help you bear the crosses that you have to bear, as religious or not, we all have our own personal struggles and we all need a little bit of support sometimes. And those people that support us at such times are to be cherished.