It's the Easter season, and I have a few thoughts. Or is it that I have few thoughts? Anyway...
A revolutionary thought from my minister: What if it wasn't that Jesus died for our sins? That God didn't demand the sacrifice of his own son? But rather that Jesus died because of human sin? An innocent man tortured and killed because of human sin. And God's answer is Easter. Resurrection. Fantastic thought. (And no, it doesn't matter if one believes it to be literal resurrection - the power is in the story). The implications are phenomenal. And the metaphor is incredibly beautiful. Every day we, through our sin, kill, torture, persecute and harm innocent men, women and children, either directly or indirectly as a consequence of our indifference. And every day, God forgives, and gives us another chance. It's truly mind-blowing.
She also, most wonderfully, said of Christianity and its horrible past with Judaism (and I paraphrase): The biggest irony of Good Friday is that the torture and murder of an innocent man is used as an excuse to torture and murder innocent people. The Gospel has too long been used as an excuse for hatred and persecution. And it has to stop. How very true. The horrors that are committed in the name of Christianity, in the name of Jesus, are the saddest irony of all.
A recent example from the news: Bill Donohue, that blowhard, had the unmitigated gall to say that the pedophile priests weren't pedophiles, but rather, homosexuals, because most of the victims were post-pubescent. He's taking the horror of sexual abuse, and using it to villify and persecute homosexual people. In the name of God, he's spreading hatred of God's people. And what of the girls who were abused? They were sluts who seduced the priests? Or they don't exist? Or what?
Now, while I say, "HOW DARE YOU?", I'm trying to remember that even the people Jesus chose to surround himself with didn't get it, but damn, we've had 2000 or so years to get this right, and we're still missing the point a whole lot of the time.
Happy Easter everyone. And if you don't celebrate, just have a nice long weekend!
