Resurrection

I'm not a big fan of the Wizard Whitebeard approach to either the miracles or the Resurrection. What works for me is some phenomenon that can be explained by science. The four Gospels show us some version of Mary Magdelene going to Jesus's tomb and finding the stone rolled back and the tomb empty. In the three synoptic Gospels there are just a few verses after this discovery that witness Christ's return from the dead, even in St. John's Gospel there isn't much, and in all, Jesus is only seen by his closest friends and followers.

So what are the possible explanations? That Jesus died completely, stone cold, rigor mortis and all, then literally got up and everything starts working, business as usual. Or that maybe he wasn't completely dead when he was cut down from the cross, that his followers knew that and came back and helped him out. Or that the followers saw him in the way that people do see their dead. All of those explanations can be described as resurrection, depending on what your mind can accept and wants to believe.

The belief of Jesus's followers and their own ministries and acceptance of martyrdom meant that his teachings were spread through the civilisations of Greece and Rome and the countries that they colonised. What made them so successful? Quite possibly it was exactly that, the story of Jesus having conquered death, executed in the Roman way and then alive again three days later. It's compelling, it beats the last minute reprieve hands down. And not only did it offer evidence of life after death, but the promise of forgiveness.

Yesterday I watched a Discovery channel docu-drama about the first emperor of China, the one who united the various cantons. He didn't do that by giving away sweeties, he did it by having a vision and then setting out ruthlessly to achieve it, cut, slash, tear apart. After a while when he had unified China, he suddenly started worrying about all the people he had killed waiting to torment him in the afterlife. He had the terracotta army constructed, gave them real weapons, used in battle and these spirit warriors would protect him.

Now contrast this with the option where all are forgiven because one man died and was resurrected. As I said, compelling. Life was brutal and short for many for a very long time in history and the idea of an assured good afterlife, well most people would say, 'yep, I'm in.'

Ghandi was a great man because he captured people's imagination, he had power over people but unlike many of history's other charismatics, he didn't exploit that - in a bad way - he felt deeply for his people and he did everything he could within the boundaries of his own interpretation of his religion, to improve their lot. To me, that makes Ghandi a truly, truly great teacher. Had he had access to Harry Potter's powers, that wouldn't have made him a greater one in my book, in fact it would have lessened him.

If the way the miracle of the loaves and fishes worked was that the crowd were caught up in the message and teaching of Jesus and that as baskets were passed around the crowd, so much was given that the whole crowd was able to be fed, then that for me is the greater miracle.

I accept that some people need to believe a literal translation of the Bible, but if I had to do that, I wouldn't be able to take communion.
Resurrection, symbolic, literal, it offers us consolation, for our loss, for our misdeeds, and hope, renewal.
Easter, new life. Happy Easter to all.