Jesus’ Birth and Burial

Luke 2

7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

Luke 23

52 This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 53 Then he took it down, wrapped it in a linen cloth, and laid it in a rock-hewn tomb where no one had ever been laid. 54 It was the day of Preparation, and the sabbath was beginning.

We read St Mark’s version the passion today or the story of Jesus’ death and it led me down this rabbit hole…

Perhaps this is old to you but, I never thought about the birth of Jesus as a prophecy for his burial. But today it really hit me, so I went looking.  I only found mention of Jesus being laid in a manger in Luke none of the other books specifically mention this part of Jesus birth story.  Since Luke was written after the events took place and not by one of the original 12 disciples, it could embellish Jesus’ birth story to add this element of prophecy to the narrative. Both Mark (read today) and Mathew mention the linen cloth and hasty non-traditional burial in their accounts of Jesus’ burial. Perhaps the idea of laying down, wrapped up, at the times of the opposites of birth and death goes deeper than we can see.

But as an iRest Yoga Nidra (sleep) Meditation practitioner and instructor I see these opposites as relatable. We help our clients to lay down or sit wrapped up comfortable as they meditate. We encourage the opposites through the expansion of the mind, thoughts, beliefs, emotions, whatever is present, beyond the body, while still staying in the experience of the body. (Perhaps this could be thought of as birth and death, or just another set of opposites.) This can reveal positive and negative experiences.

Through the act of meditating on the negative thoughts, beliefs, and emotions and soothing them with selfless love and joy we can come to equanimity. It is through this levelheadedness that we experience pure peace. Inside the greatest challenges lies the greatest strengths sent as messengers from which to learn. These experiences of opposites show both good and bad must coexist. Without one it is impossible to understand and appreciate the experience of the other; What does happy mean if you have never been sad?  Luke’s addition to the happy birth story of Jesus was a messenger of his sad burial and death.

The Adoration of the Shepherds, Gerhard van Honthorst, 1622, Public Domain

Burial Picture: Título: Jesús es sepultado. Año: 2018. Técnica: Óleo sobre lienzo, 81 x 116 cm. Descripción: XIV Estación del Vía Crucis para Guatemala.

 

 

Jesus' example in the Me Too Age

Collect: Almighty God, you alone can bring into order the unruly wills and affections of sinners: Grant your people grace to love what you command and desire what you promise; that, among the swift and varied changes of the world, our hearts may surely there be fixed where true joys are to be found; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

John 12:20-33

Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.  Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor. “Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say—‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” The crowd standing there heard it and said that it was thunder. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.” Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not for mine. Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” He said this to indicate the kind of death he was to die.

What an incredible example we have in Jesus! He selflessly sacrificed his own life for all of us. He died, and in that act not only did we all live, but Christianity was established as a great religion.  This could not have happened without Jesus’ leadership and sacrifice.

His example could be used in our world today. There has been a movement in this country called the #MeToo movement in which women and men have begun coming forward and declaring their sexual assault or harassment of the past. I myself have experienced this but choose to not share any details. Some declarations are from the near past, some from years ago. All are traumatic memories that require years of work to heal from, and some wounds never completely heal. My work as both a yoga and meditation therapist has helped to heal many, myself included.

But looking at the example set by Jesus of self-sacrifice in the face of the greater good, it seems to me there are other steps that can easily be taken to heal from these traumas. Jesus died for our sins. But those that sin shouldn't get a get out of jail free card because of this. Accountability is as important as forgiveness. Denying an event happened is not good for the mental wellbeing of the victim or the perpetrator.  The Me Too movement was established to help victims heal. Perpetrators can help in this healing process through honestly apologizing, admitting their mistake, and taking whatever fallout should come.  Through moral and ethical action, we all are healed.

In my world, the yoga world, this happens too. Many events have been reported publicly. Many victims have spoken their truth. But it is mixed when it comes to perpetrators. One would think we would lead by example. But no industry is perfect. And there is so much good that can come out of these teachings. Much like Jesus those that do the right thing, self-sacrifice, no matter how much pain the fallout personally causes them, do better by the yoga teachings and move us all as a society forward to a healthier future.

 

"The friend who is a helpmate,

the friend in happiness and woe,

the friend who gives good counsel,

the friend who sympathizes too --

these four as friends the wise behold

and cherish them devotedly

as does a mother her own child."

Dīgha Nikāya 3.265

Word of the Buddha

 

This week marks the one year anniversary of this blog. I have consistently written weekly for one year. It is now a habit I plan to continue. The Episcopal Church readings, as presented weekly here, are on a three year rotation, year B started at Christmas. I am one third through! BNH

 

Picture from https://www.brainyquote.com/topics/sacrifice-quotes

 

God the Teacher

Numbers 21:4-9

From Mount Hor the Israelites set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; but the people became impatient on the way. The people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we detest this miserable food.” Then the Lord sent poisonous serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many Israelites died. The people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned by speaking against the Lord and against you; pray to the Lord to take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a poisonous serpent, and set it on a pole; and everyone who is bitten shall look at it and live.” So Moses made a serpent of bronze, and put it upon a pole; and whenever a serpent bit someone, that person would look at the serpent of bronze and live.

 

John 3:14-21

Jesus said, “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.

“Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.”

I, like many people, feel that God the Father of the Old Testament is much like a Father of young children, teaching by setting down rules, boundaries, and teaching how to do things.  Compared to God the Father of the New Testament who develops more of an adult relationship with us, his children.  I see both of these teaching methods reflected in the above readings: Numbers: Old Testament and John: New Testament.

In this Old Testament reading we are taught how to repent from sin and pray. All of this is taught through the use of a serpent or snake.  There is a parallel to yoga here. Kundalini Yoga uses the idea of a snake coiling to represent the energy in our bodies rising via the spine or chakras. Medical Doctors also use two snakes intertwined in the Staff of Hermes as their logo. Snakes are not always the enemy. In the Numbers reading today we do find snakes biting and killing. The Israelites believe it a sign of their sin and ask Moses to ask God for help.  God then teaches. In simple, childlike terms, he has Moses create a Gold Serpent to be used as a single point of meditation.  In yoga a single point of meditation is called Dharana. This meditation could be considered the beginning of learning to pray for forgiveness of sins.  The single point of meditation is the sin itself, in Numbers this is represented by the golden serpent. Focusing on that that troubles us, rather than ignoring it, takes it’s power away and allows us to move, with mindfulness, into a new space of forgiveness. Some might even call this Kundalini rising.

In the New Testament reading John builds on this idea of forgiveness of sins.  In the most famous John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” This reading goes on to compare a world in sin or evil to darkness, and truth to light. The belief in God that we first see in the Israelites in Number, that belief that sent them to Moses for further instruction is present here too only it goes further into eternal life.

Literally just prior to reading these scripture readings a question was posed by one of my college students on life after death. My reply was as follows, “For me as both a scientific minded and spiritual minded person, and one that has experienced cadaver dissection, I cannot believe that all our thoughts, consciousness, personality, etc. All that energy, all the koshas suddenly end with death. It has to go somewhere. I believe in the possibility that there is more than we can see. And although I will be cremated eventually on death, I have strong feelings about waiting at least three days to give the whole time to transition (I haven't decided about donation yet).” God teaches us in marvelous ways.  

 

video from : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WX9rSY9yXo

 

Photo from: https://freesvg.org/1470446546