MINISTER’S BLOG — Being Enough: I rise up and reclaim my true identity as a sacred being.
Jesus asked Mary as she stood by his empty tomb crying, “Woman, why do you weep?” — Gospel of John 20:15 —
Mary had no clue that Easter had come and that it was Jesus himself who spoke to her. She was so caught up in her grief over Jesus’ crucifixion that she was completely blind to the possibility of his resurrection. Her pain was so great that she had totally forgotten Jesus had said he would overcome the grave. She had lost sight of the rest of the story. It can happen that way for us too.
The famous American journalist Arthur Brisbane once wrote about a scenario he had imagined, one that involved a community of caterpillars. In this mental movie, he saw all the caterpillars dressed in black and sobbing wracking sobs as they carried an empty cocoon to its final resting place. The caterpillars were deeply saddened by this loss of one of their own. Their hearts ached and they wept and wailed in mourning. They were nearly blinded by their tears as they carried the empty cocoon.
Their grief was profound because they did not know caterpillars, by their nature, are destined to become more. The sad caterpillars did not know the empty cocoon was not an end but a beginning. Absorbed in their grief, they saw only loss. They were, after all, busy grieving. There are times when we too are in such grief over the loss of some former part of life or a previous way of being that we do not even recognize the resurrection when it comes.
How often, like Mary, do we stand at the tomb of what used to be, crying and suffering for that which has already been resurrected? Why do we weep? Because we think our good has been taken from us and it seems like we have lost what we treasured most. We believe nothing can ever be right again in our world. Like the grieving caterpillars, we cry and cling to the empty cocoon of the life we used to know. Why? We have forgotten the rest of the story… transformation is our true nature. We are Easter beings… created to consistently die to the old and rise anew.
Mary had no need to cry, because it was the resurrected Christ who spoke to her. He was not dead but alive. Resurrected! His message then and now: “You too are designed for resurrection.” Transformation is an ongoing process of letting go of the old and becoming the new. There will be many empty tombs and cocoons along the way. They need not cause us prolonged grief because we are Easter people.
When faced with what seems a cruel crucifixion or unbearable loss, the Christ Spirit in us is always there asking, “Why are you crying?” and assuring us, “I am here. Nothing has really been lost. It is only a change… a new way of being that will allow you to soar where once you only crawled.”
No more tears, dear heart. Resurrection is your destiny!