Easter

Last Sunday was Easter and a friend of mine posted the following: "Jesus, a very merry unbirthday to you."

My brain went through several hoops.  Easter is not about Jesus' birth.  Well, there are some who argue that Jesus was born in the spring and not December. (Shepherds and lambs, etc) If so, then it should be "birthday" as opposed to "unbirthday".  But, we're talking his death!  Well, that's an unbirthday.  Of course, death is the inevitable step in the process of birth.  (Life is a sexually transmitted terminal condition.) Oh wait, Easter is the celebration of Jesus' resurrection, not his death.  That would be a birth of a new stage of life.  So unbirthday is inaccurate. Or is it simply the return of the soul to heaven?  But wait, that didn't happen for another 40 days.

I believe souls exist before the body is born into this world and continues to exist beyond this world's death.  I have never made any statement as to whether the soul has ever visited this world in a prior "life".  I don't know and don't see any reason to care.  Where a soul is before this world's birth is something for my soul to deal with when it is done concentrating on living in this world.

So, Easter is a non-event to the extent that Jesus would ultimately ascend.  His soul is like yours and mine: not subject to the finality of this world.  To the extend that Easter is about the return of Jesus to the state of this world's living after his crucifixion. Is that so much an "unbirthday" as it is an "undead"?

This, naturally, brought be back to rewatching "The lost tomb of Jesus" and looking at the evidence around the talpiot tomb.  In the end, I believe the talpiot tomb is that of the family which includes Jesus.  Does that mean the "Jesus, son of Joseph" is the Christian Jesus?  Could it be a cousin Jesus or a grand nephew?  This is a possibility (however unlikely).

So, can Christianity survive/exist if Jesus' body remained on this world after the crucifixion? Throughout the early years of Christianity, numerous groups considered themselves devout Christians while supporting views which would permit the bodily remains to stay on this world: Audianism, Adoptionism, Apollinaism, Docetism, Nestorianism, Psilanthropism, and others.  If these groups could live according to the teachings of Jesus, and call themselves Christians, can it be possible that Jesus' earthly body remains on this earth?

Is it the location of the physical body of Jesus that matters or the message of God that Jesus gave us?  The message of Easter is about the permanence of the soul.  That is the real message of Easter.  Easter, therefore, is not the birth of anything, but simply the annual reminder of the eternal permanence of the soul.  I say, we should render unto Cesar that which is his, and to God which is God's.  The body to the earth, and the soul to God.

Have a very merry unbirthday to you, Jesus.