EASTER

 Richard Rohr

Adapted from The Cosmic Christ
Adapted from Radical Grace: Daily Meditations

 The Risen Christ is the eternal icon of the Divine Presence that is beyond any boundaries or limits of space or time, or any attempts to limit God to here or there. We cannot achieve our divine sonship and our divine daughterhood. All we can do is awaken to it and start drawing upon a universal mystery. We live with an inherent dignity by reason of our very creation, a dignity that no human has given to us and no human can take from us. All bears the divine fingerprint, as St. Bonaventure said.

Our inherent dignity has nothing to do with our race or religion or class. Hindus have it, and Buddhists have it, and so-called “pagans” in Africa have it. They are just as much children of God as we are.  Objectively. Theologically. Eternally. Where else do you think they came from? Did some other god create them, except THE GOD? Their divine DNA is identical to ours. We deny our supposed “monotheism” (there is one God) if we believe anything else.

We are all the Body of Christ, and even more so in our togetherness (1 Corinthians 12:12). Now that is quite Scriptural, and in many sacred texts, but perhaps it just seems too good to be true for most Christians: ”There is only Christ, He is everything and He is in everything” (Colossians 3:11). The ego resists such inclusivity, because the ego is that part of you which wants to be special and superior instead.

The Risen Christ is our icon of God’s universal presence, now unlimited by space or time. This is why the resurrection stories always show Jesus’ body to be both here and there, passing through doors, visible and not visible, white light itself, everywhere and nowhere, as it were. He cannot be one object because He is in all objects (panentheism). Even to the Magdalene He says “Do not cling to me” (John 20:17). Why? Because you can’t! Christ is consciousness itself pervading all things—waiting and hoping for their inner “yes”!

We believe in Jesus-Christ. Did anyone ever tell you that those are two distinct faith affirmations? To believe in Jesus is to honor the one man who walked on this earth. To believe in Christ is to include and honor all of creation. “Here comes everybody,” you might say.

That’s what Paul means when he says in various places that Jesus is the “first of many brothers and sisters” or he is leading ”a great triumphal parade.” The Christ is the symbolic beginning of the  universal procession toward God, love, and life. We are that procession, and no worthiness can get you there—only a great willingness to join in.

Loving God, we love how You love us. We love how You free us. We love what You have given and created to surround us. Help us to recognize, and to rejoice in, what has been given, even in the midst of what is not given. Help us not to doubt all that You have given us, even when we feel our very real shortcomings. We thank You for the promise and sign of Your love in the Eternally Risen Christ, pervading all things in the universe, unbound by any of our categories of logic or theology.

We offer You our lives back in return. We offer You our bodies, our little lives, our racing minds and restless hearts into this one wondrous circle of Love that is You. My life is no longer just about me, but it is all about YOU.