“Our images of God matter. Just as how we conceptualize God affects what we think the Christian life is about, so do our images of God.”
“When tradition is thought to state the way things really are, it becomes the director and judge of our lives; we are, in effect, imprisoned by it. On the other hand, tradition can be understood as a pointer to that which is beyond tradition: the sacred. The it functions not as a prison but as a lens.”
Holy Week in the Christian calendar ends in the story of Easter, the resurrection. In last Sunday’s talk we took a different look at Holy Week, at the meaning of Jesus’ passion at the meaning and significance of his message (and I thank Marcus Borg and john Dominic Crosson for their work “The Last Week, my reference for my talk).
What was Jesus’ message? In my view, it was not “worship me,” or even “I go to Jerusalem to die for your sins.” When we read the text, we see a different story – a story of healing, justice, sharing of resources, defiance to a political system that oppressed and brutalized a captured people. The Easter story invites us to participate in the way of liberation in this world, not to sit back and celebrate our salvation in the next one.
Watch Rev. Melanie’s talk now…
Author: Rev. Melanie Eyre, Interfaith Minister
Spiritual Leader of One World Spiritual Center
Founder of North Fulton Interfaith Alliance
