Easter

Today has been the Christian celebration of Easter - the resurrection of Jesus the Christ.  This celebration holds the central message and motivation for the Christian religion.  Easter claims that the power of God is stronger than anything of this world.

Jesus' message of the coming kin-dom of God challenged the powers that be, the Empire and the religious authorities, and those powers reacted how they always do.  They sought to stamp out their challenger, to quash and kill this man and his movement that sought to turn the world upside-down.  They managed to kill him, but little did they know that God would not let them have the last word.

Jesus rose from the dead, showing that fear, hate, and violence cannot stop the power of God to give new life and transform the world.  Jesus' message of the coming kin-dom of God - to love God and love those whom God loves - could not be contained by the grave.  It burst forth in the resurrection and has inspired the best of Christian attempts to create justice.

I pray you have had a holy and celebratory Easter.  I pray that despite the powers of Empire and the collaboration of religious authorities still operative today that you were able to find peace and respite this day.  I pray that this day of Easter has renewed your understanding of the unstoppable love of God and recommitted you to love God and those whom God loves.