An Easter People
Easter is coming! That’s the Good News. But before we get there we have to go through Maundy Thursday and Good Friday. But these difficult days are also part of the Good News for they are the important affirmation that we live, move, and have our life in the presence of God. There is no place to hide from God. As we listen to drum beats of war grow louder, watch the important work of the Environmental Protection Agency get shredded, and pray for the well-being of our neighbors and family members who may be in fear of deportation, it is important to re-member the incarnate gospel of love. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. And, do not do unto others what you would not have them do unto you. The second adage is “do no harm.” It is a basic rule of law and ethics. The first adage is a positive admonition and basic to the royal law of the gospel: love your neighbor as yourself.
When Jesus entered the city of Jerusalem riding on a donkey, he proclaimed that the Holy One had moved out of the Temple onto the streets where love could mingle with the sounds and smells of the city and take root in the lives of everyday people doing everyday things. The Bible says that the whole city was shaken by the scene. On Good Friday the powers of this world tried to put the genie back in the bottle, but on Easter Morning new wine broke the old wine skins. We are an Easter People. Celebrate the glad tidings of great joy.