Easter - the search for the egg that says "Forgiven"

We all have in our lives the 'irregular people' who mess with us or with others around us. I have prayed (not always as I should have or as deeply as I should have, I confess) for one of the least dignified advesaries I've ever had...deviant and with addictive personality too...a dreadful combination to oneself and the enablers they always have...followers thinking they are helping by making excuses. Deviants can strip people of their very own values and truthfulness ...setting people up for isolation as they put the mortar between the bricks in walls that separate people ...always needing to control others ...requiring secrets that hurt others when finally (and almost always) exposed. Without folks like this, most of us could tear down the walls that separate us and become the friends and families we're intended to be. Sharing this thought for this reason...we often quote the scripture about forgiving enemies; praying for enemies...how easy the words - how hard the task. It is just plain hard to find any dignity in some folks....read on....

People, like Easter eggs, come in all colors and designs.  But the Golden Egg is the prize.  It glows like a happy face.  It shines like the light it reflects.  It was once a plain white egg from the same chicken belly the other eggs came from.  It was made golden because of the care in making it clean so it could adhere the gold to itself.  Then it was handled carefully as it was put in place, avoiding as much scarring as possible so the reflection of the light would not be dimmed.  And then it was found...and celebrated with shrieks of joy and jumping up and down and showing it off to all.

Are there lessons from this for the way we live our lives?  Keeping hearts and bodies clean; choosing carefully what and who will be allowed to stroke our egos and touch our values?   Reflecting the light of truth and genuineness?   I will never be a golden egg...But I can work on the clean part and reign in my ego....Oh, and I can forgive and have compassion for my irregular people. (And swallow my pride because I'm likely someone else's irregular person!)

Our Lord took himself down the lonely road to that cross. Such a crowd gathered to witness it, but yet Jesus was all alone, among the undignified. We don't like to admit that he was really, really afraid and filled with dread. And let's think of the hundreds among the crowd who followed the deceptions of the deviants of the day...knowing nothing with any certainty; just following the crowd.  Blindly accepting the setup.  People who were unclean and unprotected. Truth out the chicken house window.

Those words from the garden, " And he went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible with you; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what you will."

And from the cross, "Forgive them, they know not what they do." How blessed if we sin and know it not. But usually, we know only too well. And I have trouble forgiving those who just can't let up on their intended destruction. Sometimes I am arrogant and think I'm better....my sins less destructive. That's a sham.  Then I'm an egghead.  I must forgive and seek forgiveness - so I can have my Savior's peace.

I've heard so many explanations about how the cross experience didn't really hurt Jesus because he was excused from pain by his Father-God. Nonsense...it hurt, it scared his body, his face was totally unrecognizable after the beatings. Forensics would have been needed to determine his identity. It hurt when he was betrayed or belittled because of his beliefs. It hurt when he had to deny himself a woman he loved (yes, of course he did) because he couldn't take her where he was going. Every splinter in the shop; every unkind word; every event of the flu; the bruises from falls; the indignities he witnessed in the temple...it all hurt with the same nerve endings and emotions we have today. There's no miracle, no gift if he was excused from all the human experiences. Then he would have been a fake...a bright plastic egg.

I'm a deviant; your're a deviant.  We're all in this thing called life together.  In 2017, some of us might need to get more real about Jesus. I think I do. Forgiving; without making excuses. Believing; without shrinking when the doubts come and go. Surrendering; without regrets.  So clearly, that man on the cross brought dignity to everyone...to everyone who accepts it there will be the joy of experiencing many dignities of life.  And through the eyes of that hanging man, we can see the dignity in the worst of us.  This is golden!  

No matter how still I sit, or how long I wait for the emotion of it...I still cannot imagine the agony Jesus suffered for me...or why. It is the ugliest gift I've ever received...yet, the one gift that has brought the most beauty to my life. I don't understand.

I accept.  

Golden egg found!