Tag Archives: death
Death Transformed
Jesus’ Resurrection Death Transformed Friday, April 26, 2019 Christianity—as well as Buddhism, other religions, and natural systems—suggests that the pattern of transformation, the pattern that connects, the life that Reality offers us is not death avoided, but death transformed. In other words, the only trustworthy pattern of spiritual transformation is death and resurrection. Christians learn… Continue Reading Death Transformed
The Death of Death
Jesus’ Resurrection The Death of Death Sunday, April 21, 2019 Easter The seeds of Easter are already found in Christmas. If God can become flesh, incarnating in the material world, then resurrection is a natural conclusion. Nothing divine can die. Easter isn’t celebrating a one-time miracle as if it only happened in the body of… Continue Reading The Death of Death
Jesus’ Death: Weekly Summary
Jesus’ Death Summary: Sunday, April 14—Friday, April 19, 2019 Holy Saturday The image of the scapegoat powerfully mirrors and reveals the universal, but largely unconscious, human need to transfer our guilt onto something (or someone) else by singling that other out for unmerited negative treatment. (Sunday) Jesus takes away the sin of the world by… Continue Reading Jesus’ Death: Weekly Summary
Jesus’ Passion
Jesus’ Death Jesus’ Passion Friday, April 19, 2019 Good Friday Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan continue reflecting on the meaning of Jesus’ death: Jesus was not simply an unfortunate victim of a domination system’s brutality. He was also a protagonist filled with passion. His passion, his message, was about the kingdom of God. He… Continue Reading Jesus’ Passion
Layered Meanings
Jesus’ Death Layered Meanings Thursday, April 18, 2019 Holy Thursday Two theologians I deeply respect, Marcus Borg (1942-2015) and John Dominic Crossan (b. 1934), offer important historical and symbolic context for the crucifixion. The theory of “penal substitutionary atonement” only became dominant in recent centuries. [1] Over the next two days, consider their advanced perspective… Continue Reading Layered Meanings
Doing the Victim Thing Right
Jesus’ Death Doing the Victim Thing Right Tuesday, April 16, 2019 The deep-time message of Jesus’ death is presented through a confluence of three healing images from his own Hebrew Scriptures: the scapegoat whom we talked about on Sunday; the Passover lamb which is the innocent victim (Exodus 12); the “Lifted-Up One” or the homeopathic… Continue Reading Doing the Victim Thing Right
Savior of the World
Jesus’ Death Savior of the World Monday, April 15, 2019 Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. —1 Corinthians 15:57 How does Jesus the victim transform us? How does the lamb of God “take away” our sin (John 1:29), to use the common metaphor? How does Jesus “overcome… Continue Reading Savior of the World
The Scapegoat
Jesus’ Death The Scapegoat Sunday, April 14, 2019 Palm Sunday The ingenious Hebrew ritual from which the word “scapegoat” originated is described in Leviticus 16. On the Day of Atonement, a priest laid hands on an “escaping” goat, placing all the sins of the Jewish people from the previous year onto the animal. The goat… Continue Reading The Scapegoat
Dying and Rising
Christ Means “Anointed” Dying and Rising Friday, April 12, 2019 And when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him. And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came to the sepulcher at the rising… Continue Reading Dying and Rising
Dying Before You Die: Weekly Summary
Dying Before You Die Summary: Sunday, March 31—Friday, April 5, 2019 Until we are led to the limits of our present game plan and find it to be insufficient, we will not search out or find our real Source. (Sunday) Contemplative practice might be five or twenty minutes of “dying,” of letting go of the… Continue Reading Dying Before You Die: Weekly Summary
