Is holding up an icon of a cross and focusing on a blood sacrifice the message of Jesus? We examine what some have mislabeled, the "passion of Christ."
With the movie, The Passion of Christ, having been released out of Hollywood, the idea of promoting the cross, the blood, the horrors of crucifixion is somehow the passion of Jesus (Christ in the movie). We are doubtful, however, that the message of death, burial and resurrection, if true, is what the man would have wanted portrayed. After all, his message was one of love and forgiveness; he also spoke in parables. So, let's take a look at the parable hidden within this story.
The Cup in the Garden of Gethsemane: Separation From God
The crucifixion, to me, begins with Jesus laying down who he truly is and choosing to believe the lie that we are separate from God. This was the cup he drank from in "the garden" of his mind - hence, he took upon himself the sin of the world or rather the false beliefs and misthinkings that the world holds as truth. What is that false belief? The idea that God, or Spirit, is outside of us and far away, that somehow, we are broken, forgotten and disconnected from our source (of life). Jesus felt what we often feel when on the cross he proclaimed, "Father, why have you forsaken me."
Crown of Thorns: False Beliefs
The crown of thorns represents the mind pierced and in agony from these false beliefs that Jesus chose to take upon himself - the condition of the fallen mindset. Simply put, he felt alone and was afraid to die. Think about this: If we see Jesus crucified and dying on a cross, it's really an image of what we have done in our minds concerning ourselves. We (through the evils of religion) have killed the idea that we are sons (and daughters) of God. We have temporarily lost sight that we are part of something greater (God) and something greater is part of us. And this truth cannot ever be destroyed or killed permanently, not even by death of the body or by what we do, because who you really are is spirit (eternal). That idea is the hidden meaning behind Jesus' "resurrection."
The Cross: A Representation
The god-man dying on the cross is a picture, a representation or archetype of each of us. God is on that cross with Jesus. God, or the higher consciousness that is within everyone, is suffering with the man we see being tortured.
Likewise, when we are not aware of our connection, and we disconnect from it as Jesus did when he laid down his life and felt separated from his source, we suffer. If we suffer, God suffers. There can be no separation from our source. That is the message: connection. Even if you do not feel it, you are connected to the divine consciousness and need only be aware of it.
Does Jesus Represent Something? Is He a Parable, Too?
Yes - Jesus is a portrait of mankind. He represents all of us. The blood of Jesus represents the "connectedness" of us all. When we look at "bloodlines," blood physically represents a spiritual truth of us all being connected, and "ONE." When blood is traced, all of us are connected; and so are we spiritually; therefore, "the life is in the blood." As Jesus' life was taken, his blood was spilled. This openly showed that when the connectedness with each other and God was removed, the body was lifeless or "dead." When the blood was poured forth, it is a reminder however, that we are not separate. "Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins." Without the showing forth of our connectedness, there is no forgetting of the illusion of separation from God and each other. And, Christ is the perfect Son of God; who we (mankind) spiritually and truly are as a whole body corporately. "Christ in you, the hope of glory," as the scriptures say. Christ is the recognition of our oneness with each other, and with God.
When we hold up the cross as religion does, to me we are identifying with death and separation. Not a good thing. Why not focus on his resurrection - the truth that we are all one; and we are all spirit and cannot be killed? Only the human form, or body, can and will expire. The real you cannot.
Related reading...
How to Find YOU Meditation