Bones  and  the  Cross

Karen Rootenberg

He didn't die on the cross for our sins. Human beings made that up so that we don't have to be accountable for our actions. He has become the ultimate scapegoat. But the cross has significance. It has a great symbolic meaning. He was crucified on the Cross of the World. And we each bear a cross. Of course mostly we don't want to hear this religious 'crap'. We prefer our suburban spirituality which is so much easier to bear. Eat your vegan, do your yoga, consult the astrology charts for the month. Pray for those at Standing Rock. And these are all good things. I am not saying that they are not. But when one substitutes domesticated suburbia for the 'the wild' we pay a price. And wild is not anarchy. It is connection with the powerful forces that spiritually inhere in this world - in us.

We have made bearing a cross something distasteful. But Standing Rock is a cross of sorts. We are all bearing the greed of the corporations who put profit ahead of life. We are all bearing the cross of our own greed; of consumerism. We bear it whether we subscribe to the idea of Christ or not. The power of intensity can feel unbearable to those who need to be comfortable. And we all do to some degree. Of course. Why would one want to be uncomfortable. But it isn't what we want. The stubborn human mind wants to improvise rather than have a clear beat and rhythm. Just as well that our heart, lungs and inner organs don't improvise too much. When they do we start to get things like cancer where rogue cells take over. One can have too much lawfulness which becomes restricting, stifling and authoritarian. But then human beings go to the other polarity (and humanity insists on polarising) which is a society where everyone does exactly what they want - sometimes called anarchy. In the former we become domesticated and bored and trapped, so we turn to the latter for freedom and it becomes escapism. And in escaping we lose meaning.

Playing an instrument has taught me so much about this. It is when I have the bones, the skeleton of lawfulness that I can put my own interpretation into a piece. But if I play it without this it is really awful. It is sentimental, it is mediocre and without the force of my inherent sensitivity. I substitute and compromise. Really it is not pleasant to listen to domesticated music.

We need the skeleton. The cross is a skeleton. It lives as a form in our bodies. We need the bones, the structure of this skeleton. It was an esoteric reality that not one of Christ's bones be broken.

I personally love majestic pictures which draw me closer to the forces living behind this unbelievable world. I do not love this world particularly. I love the spiritual forces that inhere in this world making it alive. I love the Christ force who brought the turning point for humanity.

I turn and in turning I take up my Cross. And in this turning, in this taking up of my Cross I am accountable. I am deeply thankful for this.

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