What a wonderful day it must have been! That bright-shining original Easter morning when Christ Jesus emerging from the tomb, triumphant over every limiting belief in mortality, put an exclamation point of proof to everything he had taught his followers.
The same power that kept Jesus’ thought uplifted above the cross and lifted him free of the tomb is still among us. The living Christ, man’s divine nature as the likeness of God—which Jesus fully represented—still holds the power to destroy mortal fear and hatred, and to heal and regenerate. The spiritual qualities that constitute the divine nature—such as unselfish love, healing strength, and fearless persistence—are not limited to a select few in the remote past, but are inherent in all of us. They are just as valid in the face of today’s challenges as they were then. Christ continues to come to receptive hearts around the world to bring renewal. Spiritual faith and hope—empowered by the love of God—are still expanding, still quietly overcoming resistance, still marching on.
Of the many spiritual qualities that relate to Easter, one of my favorites is joy. I love the song that opens, “Let us sing of Easter gladness / That rejoices every day” (Frances Thompson Hill, Christian Science Hymnal, No. 413).
Everything I had learned about the continuity of good came together in one memorable moment of a deep-toned, pure, childlike sense of joy.
Easter Sunday was always a happy day for me, full of family, friends, food, festivities. It included church, but for some time I didn’t give much more than a grateful nod to the meaning of what we heard in church on Easter Sunday, namely the victory over enmity and death that Jesus had accomplished. Because my joy leaned largely on traditional activities of the day, it didn’t have much depth.
Then a loved one passed on. A sad feeling of loss made joy seem fragile. This situation was very challenging for me, and I saw that my sense of joy had to either expand to a thought uplifted above mere human happiness or disappear altogether.
So I prayed, striving to better understand the continuity of life taught in the Scriptures and in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy. From the Bible came this stirring promise: “This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent” (John 17:3). And from Science and Health: “Life and goodness are immortal. Let us then shape our views of existence into loveliness, freshness, and continuity, rather than into age and blight” (p. 246).
I realized that this was an opportunity to put into practice what Jesus taught and proved—prayerfully reshaping my view of life into continual joy, rather than falling into sadness and gloom. So my prayers conscientiously affirmed that God is Life itself and man is His exact spiritual likeness. I realized that we cannot lose Life because we can never lose God. Because of man’s eternal unity with God, everyone is perpetually alive with well-being and purpose.
After much prayer, suddenly it seemed that everything I had learned about the continuity of good came together in one memorable moment of a deep-toned, pure, childlike sense of joy. It wasn’t a rooftop-shouting type of joy, but a quiet conviction that filled my heart with overflowing love. I could see that my loved one had simply turned a page in his progressive experience. He had passed from my sight, but not from infinite Life. The heavy sense of loss vanished.
My attitude toward Easter changed. That token nod toward Jesus’ demonstration of infinite Life deepened into a sense of head-bowing humility that resulted in an expanded depth of grateful joy. This newfound gift grew into a calm and fearless trust so enriching that it later became a strong inspirational element in the healing of a lump in my breast (see “Lump dissolved through prayer,” Journal, September 2016).
The expanding action of spiritual qualities such as kindness and respect for others still includes family and friends, but it goes further still to include all that we come into contact with. It’s God-impelled by the activity of the risen Christ in consciousness. And it heals. It’s a gift that broadens the meaning of the greatest gift of all—the resurrection.
Resurrection is not a one-time event. It’s a continually expanding expression of Christly character that uplifts individual thought and ripples outward to all humanity.
Perhaps one of the most practical ideas we can cherish as a takeaway from the Easter message is that resurrection is not a one-time event. It’s a continually expanding expression of Christly character that uplifts individual thought and ripples outward to all humanity. Science and Health describes resurrection in part as “spiritualization of thought” (p. 593). It’s interesting that at least one dictionary defines it as a “revival from disuse.” As we strive to express the love and joy that Easter brings, we gain a deepening conviction that Easter is much more than a celebration of a long-ago marvel. It’s a renewed conviction of the ever-presence of the risen Christ that heals. Why would we let it dry up and wither away from disuse?
With a fountain, the deeper the source is, the clearer and purer the water. Similarly, the deeper our prayerful roots are, the higher our healing demonstrations. The fountain of spiritual power never runs dry, for the fountainhead is God, divine Love. As Christian Science explains, “God expresses in man the infinite idea forever developing itself, broadening and rising higher and higher from a boundless basis” (Science and Health, p. 258).
Jesus proved that the sting of death has not the inevitable power it claims. He left a mandate for all of us to do the works he did (see John 14:12). While we may not match Jesus’ remarkable work, there’s nothing to prevent us from following it in tangible ways. As we obediently and lovingly strive to express the spiritual characteristics of genuine Christianity in our daily lives, we may find that two of the sweetest are love and hope for the healing of all mankind. Such activity is protected under the universal umbrella of the risen Christ, and flows abundantly from the ever-expanding gift of Easter.
