We don't overemphasize the Birth & Death of other Visionary Leaders, so why is this done with Jesus?
This week I was able to engage in a fascinating study of some of the previously lost, but newly rediscovered teachings of Jesus. By newly rediscovered I mean in the last century or so.
The texts I’m referring to are the Gospel of Thomas and the Gospel of Mary Magdalene.1 They were known of and written about in antiquity, but likely destroyed by the emerging Roman Imperial Christianity sometime in the Fourth Century. Why? Because the Jesus these Gospels present is so different than the Jesus we know from the canonical Gospels of the New Testament.
The rediscovered Jesus that comes alive in these texts is elusive and at first confusing, but his words draw the reader in, as if we must know more. As if we must dig deeper to understand what he’s trying to teach.
These texts, along with decades of recent scholarship now surrounding them, have given us a fresh look at the historical Jesus and the period in which he lived. They present Jesus not as a ticket to the right afterlife, but as a profound teacher of the principles of wisdom and higher consciousness.
I was hoping to complete an overview post about this rediscovered Jesus for you today, but didn’t feel I’d organized the material as thoroughly or as coherently as I wanted to to justify your valuable time. I’ll continue sorting through it and share more when I’m able.
In the meantime if you’re curious and looking for more information on this rediscovered Jesus and his teachings I highly recommend you check out The Wisdom Jesus by Cynthia Bourgeault. If you have an audible membership you may even be able to listen to this fascinating book for free.
A reflection
It occured to me recently that Christmas and Easter are the two primary times of the year our culture engages with Jesus. These holidays of course commemorate his birth and his death. They are both beautiful holidays, but no wonder that with all this focus on Jesus’s birth and death we can sometimes overlook the significance of his actual life.
Let’s place this idea in the context of other great historical figures. We don’t obsess over the birth and death of Abraham Lincoln. Rather we focus on his life and his accomplishments. We study the things he said and did. We commemorate his great speeches and monumental actions. So why do we do the exact opposite with Jesus?
I certainly love Christmas and Easter as much as anyone, I really do, especially Christmas, which is one of my favorite times of year. But what if we’ve been so preoccupied with tying Jesus’s connection with the Divine to the circumstances of his birth (and death) that we’ve missed the whole point?
Certainly most sermons mention a few snippets of Jesus’s teachings, but they rarely tell us much about Jesus’s operating system. What was the deeper meaning of his parables and sayings? Why was Jesus able to have that level of insight? Who helped him discover his abilities as a teacher and a healer? What did he understand about human nature and the power to live a meaningful life?
Few think to ask these questions of Jesus.
I realize of course that Easter isn’t just about Jesus’s death, but also the Resurrection. I’m still not sure what to think of the Resurrection, although I have a theory brewing. While there seems to be some evidence that the Resurrection was a later emphasis2 and not always a key to the earliest Christianities, I’m finding contemporary evidence of other spiritual masters achieving similar feats.
I’ve now heard from two priests, one Catholic, the other Episcopal, that the phenomena of resurrection is not unheard of amongst advanced spiritual practitioners. This seems difficult to believe, but I’ll be exploring this further and will report back on what I learn. What I will say now is that these reports only reinforce my belief that Jesus’s goal for his followers was not that they worship him, but that they become like him.
It’s my growing experience that our ability to access the Divine is found in our ability and willingness to understand Jesus’s own connection to the Divine. Not through his birth or his death, but through his life and his teachings. Rather than a faraway, someday Heaven, Jesus was largely trying to teach us how to live in this life, right now. When Jesus spoke, the Kingdom of Heaven was always at hand.
It’s available now, in the present moment, not in some distant afterlife.
I believe if we shift our focus, Jesus can teach us the same thing he was trying to teach his followers 2000 years ago: how to live.
And for readers who’ve signed up in the last couple weeks, you might enjoy this post on why the mystical or Divine aspects of Jesus’s birth laid out in Matthew and Luke just aren’t that important, and may actually undermine the true potential and power of both Jesus’s and Mary’s stories.
A Recommendation
One of the goals of this substack is to provide thoughtful resources to those in the midst of deconstructing their faith.
Today I’m recommending you check out another substack,
by Carolyn. The writing has a gentle power and hopefulness that I believe many of you will enjoy.You can click below to read one of Carolyn’s latest posts and consider subscribing to her substack:
A growing number of scholars date the Gospel of Thomas to as early as 50 CE, potentially making it even earlier than the first canonical Gospel of Mark, dated at 70 CE. The Gospel of Mary Magdalene is believed to be dated to the early Second Century. Based on this date we can say that the Gospel of Mary Magdalene most likely wasn’t written by Mary herself, but by someone later who adhered to her stream of Christianity.
For example the original ending of the Gospel of Mark. I invite you to go back and read the original ending with fresh eyes. Jesus’s body is no longer in the tomb, but he makes no reappearance before the Gospel ends.
We don't overemphasize the Birth & Death of other Visionary Leaders, so why is this done with Jesus?
This is something I think about a lot actually: we tend to put a lot of emphasis on the death and suffering of Jesus and not nearly as much (if any) on His life. (Theologically, His life only has importance in some formulations of the doctrine of justification but even then it's only touted as fulfilling the law.)
How about if instead of saying, "Jesus died for your sins" (???) we explored other options, like "Jesus lived so you don't have to enslaved to religion ever again"? (I'll definitely write a post like this somewhere down the line!)
Regarding resurrection, there's also another aspect: l have a friend who is slightly (more) on the geeky side, and he uncovered a quote by a quantum physicist (not sure which one, but I can ask him, apparently he's a big deal) who said basically, "If we define miracles as something that cannot happen scientifically, then turning water into wine or resurrection are not miracles."
Thank you for cross-posting... Really happy to be reading this substack!