Finding Meaning in the Aftermath of Easter

The Easter eggs have all been hunted down and the lovely outfits neatly stashed away for another year. I picture the Easter bunny sleeping in this morning, dreaming of the upcoming vacation it annually enjoys with Santa Claus (they like to go this time of the year because not too many people travel around tax time), where they rest, celebrate and also commiserate over the loss of meaning around the holidays they represent.

If they happen to vacation in Tahoe this year and I run into them, I’ll ask them to forgive us, for in many respects we know not what we do. We are creatures of meaning. Our entire reality is framed by what we make things mean and once we’ve decided on what something means it’s hard for us to see past that. We often create those meanings at a very early age, and do so based on what others tell us. Such is the case with holidays like Easter.

Growing up Jewish, I initially attached no meaning around it at all, other than the fact that every Good Friday I got to join my father at his place of business (a large insurance company) because there was only a “skeleton crew”. In other words, the only folks around were the handful of Jews working for the company. Playing with the adding machines (hey, we’re talking the 60’s here) and going out to lunch with my dad in Manhattan was such a thrill. I was aware, and somewhat jealous, of the egg thing, but other than that the holiday was just an extra day off from school.

I distinctly remember when I learned the traditional meaning of Easter. I was 8 or 9 years old, hanging out on my block just before Easter, and was enlightened on the subject by one of the neighborhood girls. At some point in her explanation, she transfigured right before my eyes into a pretty good imitation of Mr. Hyde, pointed at me and shouted, “And you killed Him!” I was confused and immediately defended myself: “I’m pretty sure I’d remember that!” “The Jews killed him”, she elaborated, still fairly foaming at the mouth. I was taken aback for a moment. Luckily, I had a strong need to be right even back then. She was younger than I was, and I hadn’t heard that in Sunday School at our Temple, so I figured she didn’t know what she was talking about and I lovingly shared with her something related to her I.Q. and left.

In a way it has bothered me a little bit ever since. Apparently for her at least part of the meaning of Easter was a reminder to hate. And even then I thought it was highly unlikely she came to that idea herself without hearing it from someone else. Thoughts of Easter brought no fun at all (though I still enjoyed Good Friday!).

The incident also affected the meanings I created and held around Jesus for many years. In the early days of my conscious spiritual journey, it was hard for me to relate to anything even mentioning his name. The text of A Course in Miracles, for instance, was impossible for me, even though the ideas did resonate. Since then, through my experiences, my Unity education and my current studies to become an Interfaith Minister, I have come to love Jesus as a teacher and example. And I find it ironic and sad that hate has managed to come anywhere near a holiday that honors someone who mastered the way of love.

For most Christians, the meaning of Easter couldn’t get any bigger. The resurrection of Jesus, after all, is the explanation for all Christian beliefs and the fundamental reason for Christianity’s existence. This, interestingly, makes it perhaps the most significant event to have ever occurred in the Western world (imagine our history and culture without Christianity for a moment), whether or not it ever really happened. Why we commemorate it with eggs and bunnies is another story.

For me, it doesn’t really matter whether it happened or not. It still carries great meaning. I see the resurrection as a reminder to focus on Jesus’ life and teachings, not so much on this death. I see it as a reminder to follow him in participating more fully in life. Not so much the movie starring limitation, perception and appearances that we all experience, but the omnipresent, eternal life that is one of the qualities of God and therefore of you and I. Jesus was inviting us to experience a more expanded vision and awareness of the unlimited life and love that we each truly are.

That Life is the whole spirit, presence, and love of God. It is not restricted to a body nor can it be contained in a tomb. It may change form or appear to be lost, but it can’t be. Whatever we’ve done or haven’t done, whatever limitations or lack we may believe about ourselves, Life is spirit and we are spirit, eternal, ageless, immortal, whole and complete. Jesus taught that we could tap into that eternal life right here and right now. We don’t have to die or wait for the future, but we must move in consciousness from our present identification with ego and the material world toward identification with what is changeless and eternal within us.

Every time we identify more with this Life, we rise again. Whenever we move past some limitation it’s like we’ve come to life; we’ve resurrected. We do not die once.  We all die many times.  Parts of us die all the time. We’ve all experienced loss, pain and grief. We’ve all let go of many things, consciously and unconsciously.  We forgive, we move on, we grow, we evolve. Time and again we have risen from difficulty and discovered qualities within us that we would not have known had we not been forced to explore the depths of our being.

There’s life after divorce, a major illness, a job loss or bankruptcy or the death of a loved one. These are our crucifixions, and when we apply Truth principles and rise again we are a different person, as aspects of our divine wholeness literally come to life. 

Maybe we don’t believe we can overcome physical death but we can certainly use the Easter message to remind us we can rise again no matter what’s going on. We can go beyond present circumstances to a new opportunity and a new vision for ourselves. Does that mean that what might be going on isn’t sad, painful or extremely difficult? NO, but it does mean that we don’t have to stay in a tomb forever. Right within us is everything we need to rise again and experience life, joy and love in bigger and more beautiful ways.

If that’s all we remember, that’s more than enough for now.