GOOD FRIDAY

What a strange concept to wrap your mind around: "Good" Friday. When I was a kid it used to baffle me how insane grown ups were. The same weekend one could enjoy chocolate bunnies and dyed eggs and a new dress one would also be asked to er, celebrate?, the murder and torture of God's Son.

I still blanch at the thought of Communion. Why must I partake of this blood sacrifice and devouring of the flesh? (Protestant churches are much easier to handle than Catholic or Episcopalian. Protestants just casually pass around trays of grape juice and squares of bread. No sorcery and mumbo jumbo and kneeling before a Christian Wizard.)

However, I was enlightened to its power and mystery at a Gnostic Church two Easter's ago, and I plan to attend this Sunday, and hopefully I will have the stomach to take Communion again.

Jesus, as an Avatar, was, in my opinion, the human blood sacrifice that was necessary to agricultural societies. The "sheep without defect" could be burned satisfactorily on an altar for the nomadic shepard's God. But the society of surplus and land ownership needed the blood of its' men: either in the daily labour of the field or the sacrifice of soldiers in war.

It is not ironic to me, in this time of war, especially in the Middle East where Jehovah's children and grandchildren clash so seriously, that the full moon occured during the first day of Passover, and that Passover is in sync with Easter this year. (This is probably not so much rare as uncommon, given the way the date for Easter is calculated.) And here we are, on "Good" Friday, the day of the week ruled by Love's Goddess, and the first images of Venus are in the news.


I believe that religions are like different languages to God. I do believe that all religions have validity. I dream of a world where Dieties and religions and spirituality are not used as reasons to kill other people with whom one disagrees.

Sometimes the mysteries of the Moon don't become clear for a day or two (or year or two!). I feel overwhelmed when I am reading the news these days. I feel like their are so many horrible things going on in the world, and how even in my happiest moments, there are so many suffering.

But I saw, or perhaps I should say glimpsed,in the beauty of the Libran moon light, that there is joy being created in the world at every moment, too, and still in greater quantities than despair and hatred. The fact that evil deeds and bad things still make the News is a sign that contentment is still more the norm. That most of us find a way to be happy each day.

We must pray especially hard for peace on earth this year. I think we must become active caretakers of tolerance and understanding and faith. I think we must at every opportunity affirm what we love and send some of that energy out into the world.

Perhaps a spiritual Communion with Jesus is just the magic needed for this season: to take the power of the earthly Avatar that loved everyone, even those that tortured and killed him, even those that we ourselves cannot love, even our enemies. All who seek Him find His forgiveness.

I lift up mine eyes unto the hills;
From whence cometh my help?
My help cometh from the Lord.

Praises, Thanks, and Blessings!!!