Archetype 63: After Completion
Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
—Matthew 28:16–20
The Reading
The human incarnation of the word eternal has come to an end. Jesus has delivered his message of love. He has proven that love cannot be killed, even by the feared Roman Empire. If love can survive the cruelty of Rome, it can survive anything. We hope.
The Jesus who appears in this reading is the word resurrected. This is the word that lives on in the hearts of all who turn away from the darkness and commit themselves to being children of love. It would seem that we have reached the end of the story. Jesus has preached. Jesus has been murdered. Christ has been resurrected. Love has triumphed.
However, as we all know, the battle between love and darkness continues. Even today, the outcome is uncertain. At any moment, the world could slip into an abyss of hatred that even God’s love cannot penetrate.
Before us lies a divergence in the road. In one direction lies destruction and darkness, the way of Ego. In the other direction lies love and light, the way of Wisdom. Jesus died making a desperate plea to us to choose Wisdom’s way.
The future of the human race depends on whether we listen.
The Hexagram
This hexagram consists of the lower trigram Christ and the upper trigram Chaos. In hexagram numerology, the first, third, and fifth positions are considered strong. The second, fourth, and sixth positions are considered weak. This is the only hexagram in which every weak position is taken by a weak line and every strong position is taken by a strong line. This is the perfect equilibrium. However, it is also fragile. Just a single line change destabilizes the hexagram.
The Archetype
There is a time...
- To celebrate the climax, when everything seems aligned just so.
- To know that the climax is a delicate time, when even a small miscalculation can result in unraveling.
- To pay the most careful attention to details so that we can avoid disintegration.
- To understand that the only path to maintaining what has been accomplished is Wisdom’s way.
Now is that time.
Moving Lines
Other interpretations of Archetype 63:
- Tom Christensen's interpretation [click here]
- Cafe Au Soul's interpretation [click here]
- LiSe's interpretation [click here]
- Richard Wilhelm's interpretation [click here]
Internal Links:
- Return to the Hexagram Index Table [click here].
- Return to Consulting the Christian I Ching [click here].
- Purchase a printed copy of Wisdom's Way; The Christian I Ching [click here].
- Learn about our Online Christian I Ching Workshop [click here].
- Find out about personal consultations [click here].
Reproduced with permission from Wisdom's Way; The Christian I Ching copyright (c) 2015 Roger Sessions.
To celebrate the climax, when everything seems aligned just so.
To know that the climax is a delicate time, when even a small miscalculation can result in unraveling.
To pay the most careful attention to details so that we can avoid disintegration.
To understand that the only path to maintaining what has been accomplished is Wisdom’s way.