If I asked you what feeds your ego, what would you tell me? There are many, many, ways to answer that question. I have asked it many times in teachings and seminars over the years and have heard many different answers. It is the question how do you know who you are; how do you want people to know who you are; what do you want to see yourself as? It is the question “Who am I” or “Who do I want you think I am”?

It is a much deeper question. What gods are you making for yourself and then bowing down to? After all, it is easier to worship gods of your own creation that are easier to see than the real God of creation. Even if you do not believe in God, you believe in something., As we have said before in this blog, within every person there is a hunger deep down in the human soul (that part of us that is who we really are!) that wants to (or maybe needs to!) “connect” with something higher than ourselves and our own experience. It’s just the way it is. That hunger shows up in many ways.

The problem is when we make our own easier-to-see gods and bow down to them; we ease the real God out of our lives. I do it all the time. The god of cash, or prestige, or esteem, or success, or power — there are many more — are easier to see. It makes us feel special when we worship these gods. Some higher connect that helps us decide how to live and act. Some higher connect that says “YOU ARE OK.”

The real God of creation is a God who wants in to your life — wants to connect with you — regardless of where you are in your God Search. I may reach out to my self-made gods but my self-made gods do not reach out to me. That’s why you can give all yourself away until there is little left and get no inspiration or strength in return. Ultimately the gods we make are dead gods.

The real God of Creation continues to reach out to us — knocking at our soul-door if you will — no matter where we may be in our lives or how many false gods we claim we worship.

Mary, the mother of Jesus went to the tomb where her son Jesus was laid after he died on the cross. She was sad (who would not be!); her heart downcast over the loss of her child. “I’ll go to his tomb and be there with him. He’s gone now. I will never see him again.”

She gets to the tomb and sees the stone rolled away. She runs and tells her comrades he was taken out of the tomb and no one knew where he was. They run to see for themselves. One of the disciples looked in and sure enough, Jesus was not there. They had no clue at this time as to what had happened. They return home.

Mary, however, stays. “I am in no hurry. I just want to be here with him for a brief moment. She bends down to look in. Curiosity, after ALL, gets all of us at one time or another. He is not there.

She stands back up. Sensing someone there, she turns around. It was a gardener.

Now get this. It was Jesus, but she did not recognize him.  So. The body of Jesus after rising from the dead was not the same as before. It had been changed. Transformed. Same Jesus but a different body. Ok. He asks Mary, “Why are you so sad. Who are you looking for?” Mary says, “Just tell me where you have laid him and I will take him away for you.

And then it happened. Jesus says her name. “Mary.” She turns to him. Now she knows him. How?

Could it be that the one who rose from the dead called her by name?

Relationship reestablished.

Connect reconnected.

“It is me, Mary. I have risen from the dead just as I said I would.” Calling out her name changed her as well. In a way her whole world was turned upside down when the relationship she had with Jesus was reestablished after he died. Incredible. The Jesus who rose from the dead reconnected with her. The life-after-death Jesus called by name the one left behind grieving. Everything was changed now.

“Mary, it’s me. I reach out to you”

“I see you Lord.”

She runs to tell her friends. “I have seen the Lord. He is risen.”

This changes all of us.

More coming.