Christian Easter Message -
Jesus Let Go of The Ego

If you are looking for the story of the Christian Easter, click for a narrative poem about Jesus Christ Crucifixion that recounts the entire story.

Or click here for a shorter poem, faithful to the Bible account of Jesus' Resurrection.

This faith article below shares my personal Easter message.
My prayerful understandings are 'of the Spirit' rather than 'of the letter of the law'.
They may or may not be regarded by you as alternative to traditional Christian teachings.

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Contents of Christian Easter Message

Scroll down to your preferred section of the article or read the whole article in the following order.

• Palm Sunday
  
• The Easter story of Jesus gives spiritual guidance for our own hard times
• Jesus was depressed. He was human.
• Jesus' prayer in the garden of Gethsemane
• Jesus did not give in to the ego
• Say Yes To God
• God’s gratitude to you
• You are the righteousness of God in Christ
• Christian Easter Prayer for your personal resurrection from hard times
• Christian Easter message: Jesus is risen. Follow him

Palm Sunday

This article was written on Palm Sunday – the first Sunday in a week which is dedicated to Christian Easter celebrations. The week ends with the resurrection on Easter Sunday.

On Palm Sunday, the catholic church and many other Christian churches celebrate the day when Jesus came into Jerusalem on a donkey. He was greeted with great jubilation and the waving of palms.

In the week that followed, a different crowd came forward. They stood by or celebrated whilst Jesus was arrested, tried, humiliated and hung on a cross to die.

Christian Easter Message:

The Easter Story Of Jesus Gives Spiritual Guidance For Our Own Hard Times

On Palm Sunday, I sat in church asking how I could apply the Easter story of Christianity to my own life.

Back in 1995 the illness ME/CFS had just become dramatically worse for me. I lost my speech almost entirely for about 2 months, I had trouble focusing my eyes – it was painful for me to have them open. The muscle fatigue had spread to my arms; I was in shock that I could no longer feed myself.

Someone gave me the book Unexpected Healing by Jennifer Rees Larcombe – a lady who recovered from severe ME/CFS through her Christian faith in healing.


Christian Easter Message:

Jesus Was Depressed. He Was Human.

It helped me profoundly when I read Jennifer's opinion that Jesus was depressed in the garden of Gethsememene, and depressed as he hung on the cross.
It helped me let go of the shame I felt.
It helped me to look to Jesus to guide me.

As I listened to the priest, I was aware of how much I had drawn on Jesus’ model of how to behave in a time of suffering. In many ways, in talking about Jesus, he was talking about my life too. Perhaps you too relate.

In difficult times, I pray the prayer of surrender that Jesus prayed in the garden of Gethsemene.

Christian Easter Message:

Jesus' prayer in the garden of Gethsemane – Thy Will Be Done

Christian Easter Prayer:
Jesus' prayer in the garden of Gethsemane

"He [Jesus] went away a second time and prayed,
"My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it,
may your will be done."
(Matthew 24: 42, NIV Bible verse)

This same prayer is in the image above.

The priest, Father Nick, talked of how Jesus could have walked away, but did not do so.

I asked myself the question, how does this relate to me?

I did not have the choice to walk away from illness and abandonment.
If I had had the choice, I would have walked away.

Christian Easter Message:

Jesus Did Not Give In To The Ego

The priest then added:
“Jesus did not give in.”

That phrase struck me. One could say that Jesus did give in: his people were disappointed with his passivity and his death. They wanted "a warrior saviour" - someone who would physically fight for them and win– someone who would leave the world looking the way they wanted it to look. They wanted a world in which they - the people of God, the Jews - were no longer living under Roman occupation.

I physically fought the illness and I felt a failure when I couldn’t make myself well.
But I discovered that whilst it was appropriate to fight to survive, on another level I also had to give in and let the illness be.

The priest clarified:
“Jesus did not give into the ego.”
When he said those words, I realized, that in those difficult times, I had had a choice.

I was in a life threatening situation. At any time I could have chosen to die.
I did not choose to die. I chose to keep fighting to stay alive.

I could have let myself be consumed with fear and anger about being ill.
Instead - even though it felt like a constant effort to do so - I choose to release judgment on the next thing that came up.

I had to lie still for most of the time and my thoughts raced with how I wanted things to be different, how things SHOULD be different.

I met these thoughts (at least sometimes!) with the choice to surrender into an acceptance of the present moment.

Sitting in church thinking these thoughts,
I heard God say

“Thank you”.

I started to cry. (I cried through the rest of the mass! – it is not so unusual for me. I know that times when I cry are part of the spiritual healing I have asked for.)

For those long 14 years of very severe Myalgic Encephalomyelitits I felt like such a waste of space.
I felt like worse than a waste of space.  I just seemed to be making work for all the people in my life.  I was constantly in a situation of need.

Christian Easter Message:

Say Yes To God

If I had been asked by God (with absolute confidence that I was hearing God’s voice – a big ‘IF’) to go through what I did, would I have said yes?

In moments of being bathed in God’s love and gratitude, I believe I would say YES to anything He/She asked of me.
Why?
Because His will is my will.
However imperfectly, it is my intention to do God's will.
And because NOTHING compares to God.
More accurately, everything else IS nothing.

Christian Easter Message:

Passing on God’s Gratitude

If you are in a situation where it is so effortful to stay alive, I don’t want to say that it is wrong if you allow yourself to die. It would not have helped me to have someone say that to me.

But if you are fighting to stay alive - physically, mentally, or emotionally, I do want to pass on the THANK YOU that I heard from God. It is for ALL of us.

And to all of you who in so many ways are not giving into the ego, again I want to pass on God's THANK YOU.

Christian Easter Message:

You Are The Righteousness Of God In Christ

What does it mean to not give into the ego?

Do not give into the belief that this body is all you are.
You may be in a body that is not working well at the moment.
You may be in a body that is working well.
Either way, choose to remember that the body does not define you or separate you from others.

(A spiritual practice such as forgiveness can help us to remember we are not the body.)

When situations in your life reveal parts of yourself that you are not proud of, reach out for your identity in Christ, in God?
Let go of your insistence on being small or guilty.
Give God the gift of humility.
Accept God's word for what you are.

Whatever appearances may say, you rest in God.

You are a ripple on the ocean of God.
You are a beam of light that shines from His Sun.
You are innocence.
You are beautiful.
You are the righteousness of God.

The following is another piece from the gospel of John, relevant to this Christian Easter message.

In a moment of crucifixion, when a problem seems to come against us, these bible verse invite us to say a prayer of surrender, and to believe that we may be of great use.

Jesus replied,
“The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.
Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed.
But if it dies, it produces many seeds.
Anyone who loves their life will lose it,
while anyone who hates their life in this world
will keep it for eternal life.
Whoever serves me must follow me;
and where I am, my servant also will be.
My Father will honor the one who serves me.

“Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say?
‘Father, save me from this hour’?
No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour.
Father, glorify your name!”

Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it,
and will glorify it again.”
The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered;
others said an angel had spoken to him.

Jesus said, “This voice was for your benefit, not mine.
Now is the time for judgment on this world;
now the prince of this world will be driven out.
And I, when I am lifted upfrom the earth,
will draw all people to myself.”

(John 12: 23-32, NIV)

Christian Easter Message:
Jesus Is Risen. Follow Him

With the Love we are, at this Resurrection time

(it is always a resurrection time)

Katherine

Katherine T Owen, webmaster,
Author of Be Loved, Beloved (Kindle)

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