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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.