Crucifixion, Resurrection

Quote of the day:
“Everyone wants to go to heaven, no one wants to die.”
--Unknown

On Holy Thursday and Good Friday, one of the standard sermon lines is “there is no resurrection without crucifixion.”

The point, of course, is that new life is not possible until the old one ends. We can live only one life at a time, so a decision needs to be made.

How does an old life end? Is it just discarded somehow? Do old habits and behaviors simply stop? Does a personality change overnight?

Not if a person is healthy. The way an old life “ends” is when it loses its hold on us. The way it loses its hold on us is when we accept it, in all its disappointment and pain.

It’s an unusual thing to say on one of the most significant days on the Christian calendar, but this reminds me of an essential Buddhist teaching. It is this: once one fully accepts (even embraces) the fact that life is difficult, it ceases to be difficult.

It is true that there is no resurrection without crucifixion. But it is also true that there is no crucifixion without resurrection.