THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST

 

by The Rev. Fr. Ariosto Coelho, Ph.D.

 

 

MY DEAR SISTERS AND BROTHERS,

 

"If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above." [1 Col. iii. 1]

 

As Christians we are not a Good Friday Community but an Easter People -A Community of Believers- energized by the power of the Living Christ who is eternally young. It is his power that makes us energetic and fully alive to "be still and know that I am God" [Psalm 46/10].

 

Easter comes with the message to STAY YOUNG for "Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away" [Author Anonymous].

 

Mr. Walter Marston from San Francisco recently forwarded to me an email with The Dash Poem. The poet Linda Ellis reflects on the dash that separates the years of birth and death on many a tombstone. The dash stands for the life of the individual. Unlike Ellis I would like to focus on the two most important breaths that describe the dash. The first breath at birth and the final breath of death. The festivities of Christmas and Easter are the celebrations of these two significant breaths or moments in the life of Christ and in the lives of his followers.

 

Throughout history theologians and commentators have understood the mystery and the reality of the Resurrection of Christ in a number of ways. While some have attempted to explain the resurrected body in physical terms others have described it as a phenomenon that occurs only after death.  I like the way St. Iranaeus of Lyon, an author of the first century, has described it, for  "The glory of God is a human being fully alive."

 

The fullness of life as lived by Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ,  is the mystery, the reality and the glory of the resurrection. John Dominic Crossan, a Christian theologian, describes  the miracle of the resurrection of Christ as parabolic, i.e. like a parable, a metaphorical way to indicate the mystery and reality of the fullness of life as lived by Jesus in the here and now, for "everyone was filled with awe and glorified God" [Luke 7/16]. Taking a cue from Jiddu Krishnamurthy, a philosopher who draws deeply form the spiritual traditions of India, I would like to describe the power of the resurrection of Christ as the meeting point of history and eternity -the explosion of the moment.

 

The challenge of the resurrection of Christ for us today is to live our lives fully in the present -where the two significant moments of birth and death explode both within and beyond enslaving memories of the past and anxiety-ridden projections into the future. It is indeed an explosion of forgiveness and hope! It blends history with eternity in God! It accepts the creative newness of life in abundance [John 10/10 & Brihadāranyaka Upanishad 5.1.1]. It centers a flame with no name or aim of fame or shame at life’s game! It lets go that love may grow and joy overflow in imitation of Christ crucified and risen.

Now, I know better

"Today is the first day of the rest of my life,

Today is the only explosion that truly matters."

 

 

THE ANOINTED ONE   [Coelho. 2014. Oil on canvas 20" x 24"]

was awarded a Red Ribbon at the San Mateo county Fair 2014

Currently displayed at Moima Ashram in San Bruno, CA

 

Birth or death, fullness or emptiness are two states of breathing and being. It is much easier for us to experience the presence of God as energy, enthusiasm, excitement, happiness and other elevated feelings. There are times when we may be called to experience the absence of God in our lives - an emptiness that like a dry, weary land thirsts for water [Psalm 63/1, John 19/28]. St. John of the Cross, a Catholic Mystic of the XVI century, describes this emptiness as "the dark night of the soul." Thomas More, a contemporary author, in The Dark Nights of the Soul writes that such dark nights or states of depression have a purpose to purify, strengthen and make the soul soar to unprecedented levels of being, creativity, enlightenment and compassion. Jesus Christ on the cross experienced distress and exclaimed: "Oh God, my God why have you forsaken me?" [Matthew 27/47] ... "But Jesus, again crying out in a loud voice yielded up his spirit" [Matthew 27/50], thus redeeming the world.

 

Easter comes with the message to LIVE FULLY IN THE PRESENT in fulfillment of the Divine Plan [Jeremiah 29/11] for "Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away" [Author Anonymous].

 

The American media these days have chosen to focus on Terri Schiavo/Schindler. Some commentators have suggested that the imposed fast unto death offers a commentary on how Americans today address life and death issues. We have also been praying for Marta Romero, a courageous woman, a loving mother and grandmother, a faithful Christian and a devotee of the Virgin of Guadalupe, who in the name of Christ decided to go on a self-imposed, deliberate and a total fast on Ash Wednesday. Yesterday, I was told that her days are few and soon she will take her last breath. [Marta Romero died on Monday after Easter at 10am and was buried in San Mateo, CA on April 2, 2005. Terri Schiavo/Schindler died on March 31, 2005.]

 

We do not know when will be our last breath! The message of Easter is clear -live every breath as though it were your last. Take a deep breath: simply breathe in radiance (Awaken), fulfilled experience life (Balance), freely breathe out peace (Center), and emptied experience glory (Delight). This is the rhythm of life with the Spirit of the Risen Lord.

 

"I pray by breathing." Thomas Merton

"Breathing in I smile, breathing out I relax." Thich Nath Hanh

 

If ye then be risen with Christ, breathe those things which are above

STAY YOUNG and FULLY ALIVE!

I WISH YOU A VERY HAPPY EASTER!

 

 

    

50 YEARS OF YOUTH WORK [1967- ], 40 OF PRIESTLY MINISTRY [1977- ], 25 WITH

: Where laughter ♥ silence gracefully, gratefully, peacefully and playfully!

 

Coelho's Integral Art - Pray for Me: 360 Mirrors of Wholeness

- LAUGH WITH ME -

Email: ariostocoelho@yahoo.com  •  Facebook: Ariosto Coelho

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[updated on April 14, 2017]