Motley Mystic Monday Moment
Celebrating life, not death, during Holy Week
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Welcome to the Motley Mystic Monday Moment. Each week I'll be providing you with a tool you can use for your spiritual growth and giving you an invitation to think differently about your spirituality and how you're connecting with the Divine (God, the Universe, the Holy – however you may understand this overall life-giving force).
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We've just celebrated Palm Sunday which marks the beginning of Holy Week. This is one of the most reverent and somber times in the Christian calendar and it has always been my least favorite time of the year. I was raised Southern Baptist, which means I was given the belief that Jesus's entire purpose in this life was to suffer and die for the sins of the world.
All the theologians over the centuries have put their spin on this from Martin Luther, John Calvin, Anselm, and Aquinas all advocating for some form of penal or ransom idea of atonement – that Jesus had to pay some sort of price we sinful humans accumulated with God because we are all, as Luther said, "stinking bags of worms."
As A Course in Miracles teaches, though, Jesus couldn't die for anyone's sins, because in Reality – in that true, spiritual plane of existence where we live in unity with one another – sin does not exist. We have created this thing called "sin" because we feel guilty for initiating our separation from God. In our attempt to get back into God's good graces, we have invented religions, doctrines, dogmas and theologies that demand some manner of sacrifice.
It is that sacrifice of Jesus that we observe during Holy Week through somber remembrances and ceremonies that glorify the execution of Jesus. These simply reinforce our feelings of guilt and worthlessness. The Course says, Holy Week is meant to be a celebration, not a week-long guilt-fest.
"This week, we celebrate life, not death," the Course says in chapter 20. This is a time of joy, not of mourning, because it is a week that we can take to remember who we truly are – we are innocent, beloved children of God who are created in love, joy and peace. Our function here is to be the light of the world and if we're beating ourselves up over some perceived "sin" in our lives, then the light of love cannot shine through us.
I invite you to approach Holy week differently this year – using as a way to remember who we truly are and reject the ego's insistence that we are "stinking bags of worms" that need some sort of human sacrifice to make us lovely again.
Let us practice the real meaning of atonement this week. It's not about us feeling guilty for some terrible thing we've done or neglected to do in this world. Instead, atonement, according to the Course, is when we forgive ourselves for believing that we could ever be separated from God for any reason at all.
"Forgiveness," the Course says in Lesson 122 of the workbook, "lets the veil be lifted up that hides the face of Christ from those who look with unforgiving eyes upon the world. It lets you recognize the Son of God, and clears your memory of all dead thoughts so that remembrance of your Father can arise across the threshold of your mind."
Those dead thoughts are anything we use to keep the illusion of separation going. Any grievance we have, whether it's large or small against anyone, keeps us feeling separate from them and it keeps us feeling special in either our suffering or in our success. Those grievances, the Course says, are like a crown of thorns that we insist on wearing and giving to others as we project our pain and guilt out into the world. This is the definition of the crucifixion. As we continue to see ourselves as stinking bags of worms in need of a sacrificial savior, we will cause pain and harm within ourselves and out in the world.
We have a choice, the Course says. We can either continue to give this "gift" of fear to the world, or we can give our Holy siblings "lilies" of love. This week, I invite you to consider which gift you're giving to the world. Bring to mind some of the many grievances you have, and we all have them. It can be as big as the state of the world and who you may be blaming for creating the problems you see, or it can be as small as the person who cut you off in traffic and made you angry or frustrated.
These grievances make up the many thorns you hold in your heart and mind. They are painful, so the ego seeks to give them away – to blame others for your pain. I invite you to use the tool of forgiveness this week – to "throw away the thorns," as the Course suggests, and offer only lilies of love to those you encounter this week.
If you have trouble getting to the stage of forgiveness, that's okay. Start small by saying, "I am willing to see this differently." Just a little willingness to have your heart and mind changed is a baby step toward fully embracing forgiveness for yourself and others.
Remember, we're asking to be forgiven not for the bad or terrible things we believe we or others have done in this world. We're simply asking to be forgiven for forgetting who we are – for believing the ego's lie that we are all separate beings. My friends, we may seem to be separate in body, but on the plane of spirit, we are one in the Mind of God and we have never left that eternal home.
I invite you, this week, contemplate the truth of who you are – God's eternal child, created in peace, love and joy.
You have never been separated from your creator and there is no need for anyone to sacrifice anything to reunite you with your Creator. All you need is a little willingness to forgive yourself for believing the lie of separation and accept that forgiveness.
Here's a quick summary of your tools:
· Remember this holy week is one of a celebration of life, not death.
· We are not guilty sinners in the hands of an angry god, but innocent children of God created in love, joy and peace, to embody that in the world.
· Forgive yourself for believing that you are separate from God.
· If forgiveness proves difficult, ask instead for a willingness to see things differently and remain open for a miracle – which is simply a change in your perspective.
· And remember, you have a choice in how you engage in the world – will you be the source of thorns of fear to yourself and others, or will you be the one handing out lilies of Love to yourself and others this week?
We can celebrate life, this week, my friends, because we already know how the story ends. None of will be left in the dark tomb of fear because resurrection is always available to us. Let us arise from our tomb of fear this week and allow the Light of Love to dispel all darkness.
Music for the journey:
“Rise Up” by the Indigo Girls
About the Motley Mystic:
The Motley Mystic is an online community for people who have realized that the truth speaks with many voices. There is no one religion, philosophy, institution or dogma that captures the whole Truth and nothing but the Truth. No one needs to swear allegiance to one line of thought or belief to discern Truth, because Love is the only thing that’s real. That’s what we explore at the Motley Mystic - all the tools and strategies we need to remove our barriers to Love and live fully as our true, Divine Self.
Candace Chellew is the founder of Motley Mystic as well Jubilee! Circle, an interfaith spiritual community in Columbia, S.C. She is also the author of Bulletproof Faith: A Spiritual Survival Guide for Gay and Lesbian Christians published in 2008 by Jossey-Bass. She is also a musician and avid beer drinker.