Word to the Wise
Monday, April 9, 2007 - Monday of the Octave of Easter
[Acts 2:14, 22-33 and Matthew 28:8-15]The chief priests assembled with the elders and took counsel; then they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, telling them, "You are to say, 'His disciples came by night and stole him while we were asleep.' And if this gets to the ears of the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble."
One has to hand it to the chief priests and the elders. They recognized the danger of the event! The Resurrection is a very dangerous message! It means that Jesus is not just some charismatic rabbi who ran afoul of the religious authorities. He is risen! That is more than embarrassing to the authorities. It means they are not in control - not of events and certainly not in control of Jesus! The situation is not just a historical thing. It's happening now. In the news today there was a public school that even banned the Easter bunny in an effort to be "politically correct." Politicians and other secular worshippers constantly try to bury Jesus and keep the stone from being rolled back. They only appear to be successful from time to time. The fact, which they do not want to face, is that they are not in control. That stone WILL be rolled back. Jesus cannot be buried in the secular ideologies of our time. Why are they so afraid? What do they stand to gain by trying to bury Jesus? Money and lies will not buy them control of the world. The stone was rolled back once and for all. Christ is risen! Alleluia! AMEN