EASTER C HC Apr. 02/10
Jesus was a woman
There were 3 good arguments that
Jesus was Black:
1. He called everyone Brother.
2. He liked Gospel.
3. He couldn't get a fair trial.
1. He called everyone Brother.
2. He liked Gospel.
3. He couldn't get a fair trial.
But then there were 3 equally
good arguments that Jesus was Jewish:
1. He went into His Fathers business.
2. He lived at home until he was 33.
3. He was sure his Mother was a virgin and his mother was sure he was God.
1. He went into His Fathers business.
2. He lived at home until he was 33.
3. He was sure his Mother was a virgin and his mother was sure he was God.
But then there were 3 equally
good arguments that Jesus was Italian:
1. He talked with his hands.
2. He had wine with every meal.
3. He used olive oil.
1. He talked with his hands.
2. He had wine with every meal.
3. He used olive oil.
But then there were 3 equally
good arguments that Jesus was Irish:
1. He never got married.
2. He was always telling stories.
3. He loved green pastures.
1. He never got married.
2. He was always telling stories.
3. He loved green pastures.
But the most compelling evidence
of all - 3 proofs that Jesus was a woman:
1. He had to feed a crowd at a moment's notice when there was no food.
2. He kept trying to get a message across to a bunch of men who just didn't get it.
3. Even when He was dead, He had to get up because there was more work for Him to do.
1. He had to feed a crowd at a moment's notice when there was no food.
2. He kept trying to get a message across to a bunch of men who just didn't get it.
3. Even when He was dead, He had to get up because there was more work for Him to do.
Amen!!!
Happy Easter everyone! First of all, let me welcome all of you here
today to our Easter celebration. I would
like to emphasize how happy I am that each and everyone of you is here with us
today. Yes, even if you are not an usual
member of our community I am pleased that you made the decision to join us here
today. Your presence here will make our
celebration an even more joyful one.
Why
do so many of us gather throughout the world to praise God on this magnificent
feast of the Christian community. I
believe the reason is that today is the greatest feast of hope that we could
ever wish for, and that we as humans are always in need of this hope.
The
hope that is given to us through the resurrection of Christ is a hope that touches
every part of our lives here on earth and reaches beyond this life and beyond
death to the next life. When Jesus rose
from the death, almost two thousand years ago, God released a power into the
world that could not be stopped. This
power roamed the planet and found its ways into the hearts of millions and
millions people, from one century to the next and to the next, until it reached
us. And so today we find ourselves
gathered together here, united by the hope that there is more life than death
present in our lives and in our deaths.
This is the hope that is given by the resurrection – that the power of
the resurrection of Christ can touch every part of our existence – every dark
and despairing situation that we find ourselves immersed in. It can bring light into every experience of
darkness that finds its way into our lives.
Jesus’
resurrection from the dead promises us hope in all dark situations – promising
to bring life out of death. But there
are two kinds of death that Easter speaks to in a most powerful way – the death
brought about by sin, and the physical death that each of us most undergo.
One
of the greatest messages of hope that this day gives is that we will even be
freed from our own dark creations – from our own sinfulness. Sometimes the greatest source of our despair
is our own inability to live with the sin that we have given birth to. It is here that the Christian message and the
message of Easter is perhaps the strongest.
The
story is told of a man who had been living under a terrible burden of guilt for
many years. He had done something guilty
which no one else knew about and he was convinced that he was beyond all hope
of forgiveness. Finally, he met a woman
who was something of a mystic. She
claimed to have visions in which Christ appeared and spoke to her. Seeking to test her claim the man said to
her, “You say that you are able to speak
directly with Christ in your visions. I
have a secret which no one else on earth knows.
The next time you are in conversation with Christ please ask him what
sin I committed years ago that destroyed my peace of soul.” The mystic said that she would gladly ask
Christ the question. Several days later,
the two met as agreed. Immediately the man asked, “Did you visit with Christ in a vision?”
“Yes,” she answered.
“And did you ask him what terrible sin I
committed years ago?”
Again she answered, “Yes.”
“Tell me quickly, what did Christ say?”
“He said, ‘I don’t remember anymore.’”
Imagine that – our memory
is sometimes better than God’s! Isn’t it
strange that we hold onto our sinfulness long after God has let it go. But this is the beautiful message that God
wants to write on our hearts today. We’ve
learned that “He commanded us to preach to the people and
to testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of
sins through his name.”
The second death the Easter
frees us from is physical death. None of
us can control this aspect of our lives.
We are all faced with this reality, but the promise and hope that Jesus
gives to us through his resurrection can help us to bring to our deaths the
hope of an even better life and one that will have no end.
In
just a few moments you will be asked to renew your baptismal promises. Through Baptism we were made one with the
risen Christ. At that time we, either
personally, or through our parents and godparents, promised God that we would
reject the darkness of sin and live as liberated sons and daughters of God. Since we made those original promises we may
have, at times, not been true to them. But Christ doesn’t keep track of our
mistakes. His only concern is that we
reject those past sins and begin again.
I hope that our renewal of those promises will allow all of us to begin
once again to live our lives in freedom and peace.
Christ is Risen. Alleluia Happy
Easter everyone.
