Easter is never problematic in terms of what I like to do: dye eggs, stage an Easter egg hunt, eat at least one chocolate bunny, enjoy the warmer weather, and wrestle once again–quietly and in my own way–with the notion of Christ’s resurrection. Perhaps the thing preventing me from feeling fully religious (I’m more comfortable embracing the spiritual) is that I still see the resurrection as an idea. It’s still one great story to me. Don’t try to convert me. I see my life as a journey toward greater religious understanding. I’m happy with my pace.

Thirteen years ago Mr. Chattering and I attended “Historical Jesus,” a seminar led by Oregon State University professor Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan, a professor emertis at DePaul University. Their thoughts on the resurrection seemed so helpful at the time. Here are my best recollections:

* They speculated that as soon as Jesus was arrested, most of the disciples fled Jerusalem on foot.

* Then, by the time news of Jesus’s death reached them, the disciples were twenty or thirty miles outside of town, and three days had passed.

* So obsessed were the disciples with the man Jesus, the teachings, the love they had for him, that they “experienced” the resurrection when they realized that though Jesus had suffered and died days earlier, he had been “alive” in them.

* The resurrection of Jesus then, was a living presence experienced internally by his closest friends.

Hmmmm…

When I enthusiastically paraphrased this lecture to a staunchly Roman Catholic friend, she quipped, “Well, if you believe that, you don’t believe anything!”

Since that exchange, I’ve stayed open to anything that might help me process Christ’s life story–not only with my mind, but with my heart too. This heart work has led me to connect with the contemplative traditions of the East. Today, I gravitate toward teachers who might help me understand what Christ called the Kingdom of Heaven, and how I might know that place on Earth.

I’m thinking that you too–whatever faith history you carry, even if you call yourself “spiritual but not religious”–will be interested in a more recent Borg address presented in March at Washington’s National Cathedral. The subject: The last week of Christ’s life. A regular contributor to Beliefnet.com, Borg’s most recent book with Crossan is called “The Last Week”.