Page Text: Holy Week , Jesus & Christ , Transforming Evil
Evil, as distinct from sin, is a Cosmic Event. It is big and affects many. This is why indigenous peoples are at home talking about “evil spirits” and why Buck Ghosthorse instructs us that “fear is the door in the heart that lets evil spirits in.”
No exclusion in the seder: “The Last Supper” by Nora Kelly. From We Are Church Ireland ; printed with permission.
Sins are doors in the heart—or better, as I write about in my book on Evil, doors in the chakras—that let evil spirits in. Into our souls and into human history, its institutions and its work places.
Not only our hearts have doors but so too do our base chakra that when healthy connects to Mother Earth and to the cosmos itself (because it is about vibration and all atoms in the universe are vibrating). When the door of the first chakra is closed, when we are cut off from Mother Earth and the Cosmos, Father Sky, much evil can step in such as denial of climate change and the “shrinking of the mind” and depression or despair that we call acedia. In addition, arrogance can take over when humans forget their relationship to the whole, the cosmos, and Mother Earth.
“The Crucifixion” by Ullrrich Javier Lemus. From The Stations of the Cosmic Christ.
For far too long, Christians have interpreted the Crucifixion to be a private event brought about by their individual “sins.” But that is not the story told in the Gospels or by the great mystics of creation spirituality.
One gospel tells us that at Jesus’s unjust and cruel death at the hands of the Roman Empire, there was an earthquake and spirits rose from their tombs. Another, that the veil in the Temple was rent in two. But we now know that the Temple in Jesus’s day boasted two curtains and one of them was a painting of the universe. The universe was split in two—and that is how Jewish consciousness saw evil. Since the Earth stands on two pillars of Justice and Righteousness (internalized justice), when evil happens the entire universe is off kilter.
The ongoing assault of Ukraine by Russia puts at risk a primary source of food for undernourished countries of the world. Video by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations .
Isn’t that what is happening in Ukraine today? Who on the planet is not affected by it? Isn’t that what is happening with climate change today due to the matricide toward Mother Earth? Who on the planet is not affected by it? Our whole world is upended. Evil does that.
The Christ who suffered and died in Jesus is the same Christ who suffers and dies in us. This is why the Crucifixion is so universal a story. People—including just and good people—suffer. All beings suffer.
Adapted from Matthew Fox and Bishop Marc Andrus, Stations of the Cosmic Christ, pp. 122-127.
Also see Matthew Fox, Bishop Marc Andrus, Ullrrich Javier Lemus and M.C. Richards, Stations of the Cosmic Christ Meditation Card and Guide Booklet.
To read the transcript of Matthew Fox’s video teaching, click HERE .
Banner Image: Global surface temperature anomalies on Earth for 2021. Higher than normal temperatures, shown in red, can be seen in regions such as the Arctic. Lower than normal temperatures are shown in blue. Image credit: NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio/Kathryn Mersmann
Queries for Contemplation
What follows from the cross being a cosmic event and not just an anthropocentric happening? Is evil always a cosmic event? And redemption?
Recommended Reading
Stations of the Cosmic Christ
This is a book of meditations on the Cosmic Christ, accompanying the images of 16 wonderful clay tablets by Javier Ullrrich Lemus and M.C. Richards. Together, these images and meditations go far beyond the traditional Stations of the Cross to inspire a spirit awakening and understanding of the cosmic Christ Consciousness, Buddha consciousness, and consciousness of the image of God in all beings, so needed in our times.
“Stations of the Cosmic Christ is a wonderful book. It’s a journey to a profound awareness of what Christ, and what love, really mean.” — Marianne Williamson, author of A Return to Love and A Year of Miracles
Stations of the Cosmic Christ Meditation Cards and Guide Booklet
Beautiful full-color cards from Stations of the Cosmic Christ to aid in your meditations on the Cosmic Christ, featuring the images of 16 wonderful clay tablets by Javier Ullrrich Lemus and M.C. Richards. Step beyond the traditional Stations of the Cross and experience a spirit awakening and understanding of the cosmic Christ Consciousness, Buddha consciousness, and consciousness of the image of God in all beings, so needed in our times. Includes an instruction booklet containing suggestions on how to use the cards.
Responses are welcomed. To add your comment, please click HERE or scroll to the bottom of the page.
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