Happy Easter

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Christ is risen!  Today we celebrate the life and message of Jesus, so I want to remind readers of the true message of Jesus.  

Jesus said the greatest thing we could do is to love.  He also served as a great role model for how to live.  Jesus associated with the marginalized and commanded that his followers care for "the least of these."  He defied the authorities of his time and rejected the status quo.  For that he was executed.  Yet his message lives on.  Even for Christians who do not believe in the literal physical resurrection of Jesus (yes, they do exist) and for those of other faiths or without faith, his message is powerful.  Jesus refused to bow to the Roman Empire or to the powerful religious authorities of his day.  Today, we have an empire larger and more powerful than the Roman Empire and a Christianity that can often be narrow-minded, judgmental, legalistic, war-mongering, and even hateful.  Christianity has been high-jacked by those who believe that to be a Christian means to become part of the empire.  That couldn't be further from the truth.  

So today, think about loving one another.  Love your neighbor who lives next door, the neighbor who lives across the border in Mexico (a man-made border, I might add, established and enforced through violence; not at all Jesus-y), and the neighbor across the sea in China or the Middle East.  

Happy Easter!