The story of Easter is sacred and beautiful to Christians around the world and is the core of Christianity. It is a story of love. It is an ultimate expression of love and value in which God exclaims that we are worth dying for. It is a story that has the power to meet us in our pain, our fear, and our shame. In his ministry Jesus revealed that God sees all of us as inherently worthy and called us into relationship, especially those who were declared unfit and unworthy by religion. He took this message to the cross and completed his mission. And of course, the story of Easter does not end there but includes the declaration of life over death. Jesus rises and returns to the Father, the source of all that is, giving us everlasting hope.
Like any story, the Easter story is heard, understood, and interpreted in various ways, depending on the time-period and the culture in which you live, your personal experiences, and your world view. And stories evolve, can get distorted, and can be used for power, control, profit, and shame. Stories can also inspire and teach and lift people up to higher perspectives and ideals.
From the traditional, premodern world view, the biblical story of Easter is taken literally and interpretated as Jesus dying to save us from God’s judgement and eternal punishment, because we are unworthy and cannot save ourselves. For some, this is the ultimate sacrifice and story of love. For others, this creates deep fear and the desperate need to prove they are one of the saved and not one of the condemned. Many can relate to this fear and the deep feelings of shame and unworthiness.
There are others who view the story of Easter from a modern, universal, or integral perspective. Believers with these views of the world may look for deeper meaning behind the literal words and search for underlying and universal truths of God’s love and grace. They may also consider the impact of politics and history and how at times the church has tried to control interpretation and enforce compliance for its own benefit. For example, author Jim Palmer, who is a former evangelical pastor, has written about the time of Emperor Constantine in Rome converting to Christianity in 312 AD. “Almost overnight, Christianity was legalized under the Edict of Milan in 313. What was a grassroots spiritual movement was swiftly repurposed into an authoritarian, top-down imperial religion.” At that time the Roman empire needed religious cohesion to stabilize a sprawling empire. He notes that the result was an orthodoxy that bears little resemblance to anything Jesus ever explicitly claimed about himself.
In our lifetime, we continue to see the beautiful story of God’s love and sacrifice being used and distorted for political, religious, or personal gain. We seem to want to divide the world into ideologies of the haves versus the have nots, the right way against the wrong way, or into complete relativity where there is no such thing as intrinsic value or universal principles of right and wrong. What is harder to see and accept is that value and love are foundational and self-evident in nature and continue to evolve in how they are expressed. As noted in the book First Principles and First Values, which I referenced in my last article, love supports and influences growth for the good of the beloved, but love does not dictate and control.
In our lifetime, we continue to see the beautiful story of God’s love and sacrifice being used and distorted for political, religious, or personal gain. We seem to want to divide the world into ideologies of the haves versus the have nots, the right way against the wrong way, or into complete relativity where there is no such thing as intrinsic value or universal principles of right and wrong. What is harder to see and accept is that value and love are foundational and self-evident in nature and continue to evolve in how they are expressed. As noted in the book First Principles and First Values, which I referenced in my last article, love supports and influences growth for the good of the beloved, but love does not dictate and control.
Whether you believe Easter is about God demanding payment for our sins, or God’s victory over what happens when radical love collides with systems of power and control, or you have some other belief, I think it is fair to say we are all broken and hurting and afraid at times and we need grace. So, rather than judging one another, perhaps we can use this season as a reminder to practice outrageous love and acceptance, for ourselves and for our neighbors, especially those who are beaten down and struggling.
Therapy Tip
Shame recovery often involves challenging the things you have learned and what you have come to believe about yourself, life, and religion. Considering God’s love as being without conditions and present to you now may open a whole new sense of reality and peace. This may allow you to find compassion and forgiveness for the people and systems that have hurt you. You can also forgive yourself for mistakes and perceived inadequacy and let go of bitterness, resentment, and unfounded fears. Forgiveness allows you to let go of your guilt. Accepting forgiveness and love and accepting yourself as you are helps to relieve your sense of shame. When this becomes your daily practice, you begin to experience healing, growth and transformation within.