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.
Scroll down to your preferred section of the article or read the whole article in the following order.
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.
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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:
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:
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 used to pray the prayer of surrender that Jesus prayed in the garden of Gethsemene.
Christian Easter Message:
"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:
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.
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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.
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:
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.
(by the author of a-spiritual-journey-of-healing.com)
For 14 years, Katherine T Owen was severely disabled with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, unable to walk, with little speech, and with inadequate care.
Katherine's small beautiful collection of poems take the reader with her as she journeys to know both self love and
God's love.
If you don't have a kindle, you can download FREE software to read the kindle book on your computer.
Click to preview or BUY
the PAPERBACK of
Be Loved Beloved
"One thing that struck me was the stripping of ego in the work. Most of us have a comfy ego façade, but weakness and disease tore Katherine’s away. The poems in Be Loved Beloved come from the heart."
Dana Taylor, Author of Ever-Flowing Streams: Tapping into Healing Energy
Be Loved
Beloved
15 Spiritual Love Poems
God Love Self Love
Katherine T Owen's small beautiful collection of poems take the reader with her as she journeys to know both self love and
God's love.
Click to preview or BUY
the PAPERBACK of
Be Loved Beloved
Christian Easter Message:
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.
In Crucifixion, In Hell, In Resurrection – Love/God Triumphs
Christian Easter Prayers
Father God,
I join my mind with those who are right now in a time of torment.
I ask for Your guidance in helping us to follow the example of Jesus.
May we see the innocence in any who behave badly towards us.
May we see the innocence in ourselves.
"Forgive them for they know not what they do."
I join my mind with those who are in the three days of hell.
I hold to the knowledge that "this too will pass".
I join my mind with those who are in a time of resurrection.
Your Joy floods our minds and hearts and heals us of all that has come before.
All things are new.
Thank you God that we are in your hands.
Thank you Jesus that you chose to love and forgive.
We follow your example.
We need your strength to do this and we know you give it.
Amen.
Move to a full list of prayers on this spiritual website.
Jesus is risen. Hold out your hand and let him lead you.
With the Love we are, at this Resurrection time
(it is always a resurrection time)
Katherine
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(by the author of a-spiritual-journey-of-healing.com)
For 14 years, Katherine T Owen was severely disabled with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, unable to walk, with little speech, and with inadequate care.
Katherine's small beautiful collection of poems take the reader with her as she journeys to know both self love and
God's love.
If you don't have a kindle, you can download FREE software to read the kindle book on your computer.
Click to preview or BUY
the PAPERBACK of
Be Loved Beloved
"One thing that struck me was the stripping of ego in the work. Most of us have a comfy ego façade, but weakness and disease tore Katherine’s away. The poems in Be Loved Beloved come from the heart."
Dana Taylor, Author of Ever-Flowing Streams: Tapping into Healing Energy
God prayer healing. Scripture on healing teaches us that God has the power to heal any illness. It is OK to ask God for health.
What is prayer? Choosing to set aside any belief in separation or sense of lack of worth. Choosing to practise the belief that there is a souce of love, wisdom and strength available to you.