Christ Is Risen
Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.
Mary Magdalene came to the empty tomb and wept. She believed someone broke the sabbath and took his body away. Then she saw who she thought was a gardener, and asked if he knew what happened to the body of Jesus. Then she recognized him and cried out Rabboni, or “Teacher!”
The Magdalene is the apostle to the apostles, the first to carry the message of the risen, living Christ.
The empty tomb is not the end of the story; it is the beginning of ours.
The Life That Moves in Us
The Risen Christ, the Wild Christ, the One who transmuted hatred into forgiveness and death into life, is not out there waiting to be believed in. He is the living current already moving in us. The Cosmic Christ who is the seed of original blessing already planted, the viriditas already pressing toward the light.
Colossians 1:15-20
15. who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.
16. For by him all things were created, in the heavens and on the earth, things visible and things invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things have been created through him, and for him.
17. He is before all things, and in him all things are held together.
18. He is the head of the body, the assembly, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.
19. For all the fullness was pleased to dwell in him;
20. and through him to reconcile all things to himself, by him, whether things on the earth, or things in the heavens, having made peace through the blood of his cross.
In him is Life, the Light that shines into the darkness and the darkness could not overcome. What joy resides in the hearts of those who see the Cosmic Christ flowing through all things, making everything new, day by day, hour by hour. Such a sweet joy we celebrate in the One who is, the inner light that teaches us even to this very day, guiding us in love to all truth.
Our souls rejoice in the truth. The 13.8 billion year history of the cosmos and all the events that brought our world into being. We arose from this cosmos and revel in the glories of creation.
The Invitation
All that is asked of us is this: open our eyes to the world as it is, full of grace and of pain. Make room for what needs to die in us. Let what is new and alive in us grow. Then pour it out, freely, for the healing of the world.
This is the Way of the Risen Christ.
The Four Paths
Enter the joy of the risen Christ through delight in this world. This is the first path, the Via Positiva. Savor life and all the wonders it has to offer. Seek awe because the cosmos is full of wonder. Live in love and compassion so our lives may be full.
Dare the dark and mysteries it holds. This is the second path, the Via Negativa. Grieve, heal, open to the possibilities living beyond where words can reach. Never hold only to anything tightly. Living with an open hand is the way of Christ.
Create and live in compassion. This is the third path, the Via Creativa. Everything we do in this life is a creative act, from our conversations to our food to the stories we tell and the art we make. Creativity lives Christ into the world.
Change, transform the world, and celebrate. This is the fourth path, the Via Transformativa. Interfere with injustice and make the world a better place. This is the way of the Kin-dom.
Through the four paths, we enter into this life, dancing with the Wild Christ through the world.
Awake and Live
Awake! Christ is risen. Awaken to the inner light and follow the way to life. Just sit and quiet the mind. Do not grasp at the thoughts, but let them pass. Christ is in the mindfulness, the compassion, the equanimity.
Live in love, because compassionate love is how we live the way of Jesus. Christ does not act in anger and has no hatred. Christ is life and holds all the diversity of the cosmos together.
Be at peace. Christ is life not judge. Through the law of love and liberation he separates the sheep from the goats. We are not called to be judges or to be judgemental, but to love and bring liberation and healing to the world.
Awake! Live the risen Christ in the world.