|
If
Jesus would have consulted a communications expert regarding
the Resurrection (Easter) any good communications expert would
have told him it was a mistake, the way God had it planned.
They say that if there's going to be a resurrection, it should
be on a mountaintop, with saturation coverage, and advance
publicity. There should be a stand nearby to sell souvenirs;
and up near the tomb, a special reserved section for VIP's,
roped off from the pushing, noisy, eager crowds. You can't
just walk out of death, come back to life in an empty garden
on a Sabbath morning when the world is sleeping in, with only
one weeping woman to exclaim Rabboni!' Any good communication
expert would have told Jesus that. Because if you don't do
it that way, no one will ever know! Right?.... OK, so much
for experts. 
So
now the current conventional wisdom, that's been circulating,
is that Christianity is just a quaint, out of date myth. There
is a famous historic worship service that occurred in the
last days of the Soviet Union'. Glasnost had begun,
but the country was still officially agnostic. During a celebration,
a high-ranking member of the Communist Party gave an impassioned
speech about the myth of Jesus and quaint Christian customs
that no longer had any meaning or power. When he was done,
the people were stunned and quiet. Then the Ecclesiastical
Patriarch, who happened to be the Pope of the Eastern Orthodox
Church, came to the platform. He stood silent for a moment
and then said, "He is Risen." The surprised
people replied in the Easter tradition, "He is Risen
Indeed." The Patriarch said it a second time, "He
Is Risen" and the people responded louder this time,
"He is risen Indeed!" The Patriarch looked
at the people and raised his arms and repeated one more time,
"He is Risen!" The people yelled as the echo
filled the square, "He is Risen Indeed!"
The Patriarch then turned and simply returned to his seat
and sat down. The quaint customs that no longer had any meaning
or power indeed! It became one of the shortest sermons ever
preached and showed the power of God and the myth of agnosticism
was revealed.
|