Chapter Twenty Seven - Jesus explains Easter

I was standing in the back of St. Nicolas Byzantine Catholic Church on Easter Sunday.  As the priest was going up and down the aisles, swinging the incense, it brought back memories of childhood, and Saint Peter and Paul’s Church, in my home town of Portage, Pennsylvania. I grew up Byzantine Catholic and the sights, sounds and smells of a very ancient world. Byzantine Catholicism is somewhere between Roman Catholic and Russian Orthodox, it is more of an Eastern, mystical tradition. Our lives, the story of Jesus, are all mysteries to me. This is a good place to ponder them.

I turned to my right and The Son of Man was standing there, looking up at the stained glass windows in the dome. The room blurred, and  I found myself and the I AM standing in the back of Saint Peter and Paul's, 

“This is a nice church, Ted.” Said HE.

“It took a long time to build, lots of church picnics and pierogi dinners to pay for this little cathedral in the country. That mosaic to the right of the nave is Christ the Teacher. My family bought it to honor my Grandfather and Grandmother, Frank and Anna Wodoslawsky.” I explained to the one who knows all.

“I remember,” said Jesus.

“What brings you here, today, Jesus?” I askith HE.

“I thought I’d stop by and give the sermon!”

With that, Jesus the Christ, walked towards the front of the church, and shooed the priest from the pulpit.

Jesus cleared his throat, and then bellowed, “This is the day the Lord has made, let us be glad and rejoice in it!”

The church reverberated with the voice of God. The parishioners, looked at each other, bewildered. Who was this intruder? Then, slowly at first, they each looked at the larger crucifix behind the ornate alter. The cast man nailed to the cross was gone. Just the bloodied nails remained.

Then HE spoke again, “All that have ears to hear, let them hear!”

People fell down onto their knees, some cried. Some were shaking. Some were terrified. Who would expect Jesus, the living Son of God, to show up in a church on Easter Sunday? I mean, really?

I was standing in the back, thinking, “Man, what a ham. This should be good…”

“I heard that, Ted.” Jesus spoke right into my head.

Then HE said, “Please, please everyone, settle down. I have something important to tell you. Take your seats, please.”

“A reading from The Gospel of Thomas, a good friend of mine.” Jesus unrolled a scroll.

“The one who seeks should not cease seeking until he finds.

And when he finds, he will be dismayed.

And when he is dismayed, he will be astonished.

And he will be king over the All.”

“I will give you what no eye has seen, and what no ear has heard, and what no hand has touched, and what has not occurred to the human mind.”

Jesus rolled the scroll back up, then said, “When you celebrate Easter Sunday, and the resurrection of the Christ, the deeper meaning has been lost upon you.”

“Some of you believe I died on that cross,” Jesus pointed to empty crucifix behind him.

He turned back around to the crowd. More people were showing up. Someone must have sent out text messages, or tweets.

“Some of you come here, because you have always come here. This is where your parents came, this is where they brought you. You have seen weddings, baptisms, and funerals here. Few of you, maybe none of you have reflected upon what does the Death and Resurrection of The Christ mean in your daily life, other than absolving yourself of responsibility for living and maybe a free pass into Heaven?”

“My death and resurrection is also a metaphor for your own lives. To gain the kingdom in this life, you must know that The Kingdom is within you. All of you. The kingdom isn’t out there, tomorrow, or the next day, it is in you, right now, today. To gain it, you must die and be reborn. Not physical death, by the death of the self. The ego. That part of you that nags at you about all your past mistakes and anxieties. KILL IT.”

“He who drinks from my mouth will become like me, and I will become like him, and the hidden things will be revealed to him.”

“Do not fear the death of the self. I am with you. Not one of you is alone.”

“You must do this many times. You must continually die and be resurrected anew.  Easter Sunday isn’t about me, insomuch as it is an example to you. You too can be resurrected. Every day is a new day. Every day is a new potential you. Hear the birds singing their songs to wake you. Look around you! Do not waste this life carrying the cross of guilt, sorrow and anger. Drop it all. Let the dead bury it for you.”

“If you feel alone, and are struggling, I am there with you.”

“Cleave a piece of wood and I am there. Lift up a stone and there I am.”

With a shudder, Jesus was gone. The man on the cross was back in his place. The people were shaking their heads in disbelief of what had just happened. It will be blamed on mass hysteria. A faulty heater. Anything except the revealed truth from The Son of Man.

I walked out of the Church, and into the warm Sun. God's Sun.

I had work to do, on me.

Happy Easter.

copyright 2017 Ted Sky