In my reflections, if a bona fide member of the academy comments that my reflection contains either an original thought or argument, I will note it in that reflection. Also, if it is brought to my attention that what I have said is also mentioned in another source, I will also note it. My intention in these reflections is to stimulate inquiry, imagination, and broadening of horizons.- JP

Note: The most recent reflection is at the top and my first is at the bottom. You can either start at the bottom of the well and swim up or start at the top and dive in, your choice. – JP

Why Easter                  2023

As of this reflection, we are in the Great Fifty Days of the Easter Season of the Christian Church.  The title of this reflection is the question of the season.  It is not meant to be a cynical question, but rather a question that gets past the eggs and bunnies to why some celebrate this anniversary, why some come to services only on Easter, and why, when Easter is explained to some of them, they reply, “huh?”.

Any explanation of Easter is a statement of belief.  As much as believers want to “prove” Easter is a concrete fact, it is not.  I believe it is a factual occurrence even though I can not “prove” it.  So why do I conduct my life holding this belief as central to it even though I can not prove it?  The answer brings me to Why Easter and considering what I believe to be the beginning of the story.

Consider that when God, Source, became aware, conscious, there was a feeling of delight.  The stories that follow are emendations on how that delight is expressed.  God made a conscious decision to bring our existence into being.  That existence consisting of everything that is, from the smallest particle to the largest galaxy.  The story in the Hebrew scripture focuses on our participation in existence.  It is not a simple story.   

The complexity of acknowledging we participated in a conscious, sentient, conversation with the creator of the universe should give us pause.  A pause to examine our connection with the creator and creation.  A pause to examine our conscious decisions and their consequences.  A pause to consider how we continue.  In that not so simple story and our pauses, we need to incorporate the theological positions upon which we act.

The position which is central to my pauses, is the Hebrew position that there is only one sin.  That sin is thinking you are separate from God and that everything which is not pleasant is an outgrowth of that thinking.  As manifestations of God’s conscious thought, we are inextricably connected to God and being inseparable from God means we are eternal.  As de Chardin and many others have put it, we are unique spiritual beings having a human experience and we will not cease to exist.  So if that is the case, from what did Easter save us?  That question takes us back to the beginning of the story.

Along with expulsion from the Garden, God let us know that there would be a reconciliation.  God intended to become incarnate as flesh and blood and reconcile what we believed to be a separation.  That incarnation Christians believe to be Jesus of Nazareth.  As Jesus of Nazareth, God focused our attention on how to live learning to balance delight and its opposite and provided a tangible example of our eternal nature.  Easter is that example.

It would be presumptuous of me to say I know what God was thinking at Easter, but i can imagine that it might have been something like this.  

——The only way they will have a chance to know physical death is not the end and they are eternal is for me to experience a physical death and resurrect to be with them. ——

For me, Easter lifted the veil.  I do not have to wait for eternity.  I need to be a steward of my eternal nature.  I need to be ready to engage when I am asked, Why Easter?

Long Epiphany                                                                                    02/11/23

Epiphany, a realization, an “Aha” moment.  These are the most accepted concepts of an ‘’epiphany’’.  Think of it as a series of steps to reach a conclusion.  You start at step one and reach the conclusion at step six, going from one to two to three, four five six.  Six is an epiphany if you get to it say going from four to six or even three to six skipping steps between.

However, I submit that an epiphany is not the result of starting with a set series of steps.  I see an epiphany coming as a step in a progression that does not have to follow sequentially and more than likely moves in multiple directions along a time line.  That ‘’Aha’’ moment may appear to come out of the blue, but when you reflect on it there was a building of experiences, thoughts, beliefs which got you to the point of the epiphany.  And in some cases, it may take more than seventy years before the epiphany (personal experience).

At the conclusion of this Season of Epiphany, I thought I had the story of the Wise Men down pat, until I thought about what it took for them to make that journey based on belief and not fact.  The story has been distorted in its telling through the years and those distortions lead us away from the awesome substance of what was happening.

We are not told how many wise men there were, only that they brought three gifts.  They did not come on the night of the nativity, but two years later, and not to a stable, but a house.  We are not told of the spiritual beliefs of the wise men,  Were they Hebrews living East of Bethlehem?  How far East?  Did it take them two years to travel, or did the star not show for two years and they only had a short journey?  And were they only men?  May they have been Zoroastrians who traveled from Persia?  These are questions which need to be dealt with, but still do not get us to an Epiphany.

The epiphany comes when we ask ‘WHY’ did they make the journey.  What belief propelled them and what is the basis of the belief?  What cultural connection dictated the three gifts?  How   do we know they responded to a dream?  All of these steps and questions brought me to my ‘epiphany’.

This story is not a history lesson, but a story of now.  It is not a story of old, but a story of the moment.  Ask yourself, why do I believe in anything, be it secular or transcendent?  Why do I make decisions that seem to be a leap?  Why do I change my mind?  I believe the answer is that we LIVE Epiphany.  Our life at every moment is an epiphany.  You may say you do it the same every time, but the belief that you do is any epiphany of decision.

Do I believe the story of the Magi is real?  I do.  Can I prove it?  NO.  Do I need to?  I don’t believe I do.  My ‘epiphany’ is that I am living an epiphany.  Every moment builds on those previous and leads to those not yet experienced.  It is not living uncertainty, but simply living.  Live your epiphany.