A long time ago there was an emperor who was supremely powerful. His most famous quote was, “I came, I saw, I conquered.” And indeed he did. He conquered Gaul, Egypt and then became emperor of Rome by force. He was impressive, strong, and bold. He ruled with power and violence. This emperor, the Cesar, was said to be born of a virgin, and son of the goddess Venus. After his death is was declared to be a god. His religion declared that might equals right. God was in power and on the side of the powerful.

Around the same time there were two refugees who had their baby where animals slept. That baby grew up to be a homeless nomad who hung out with all the rejects of society, and preached about forgiveness and inclusion. One of his most famous quotes told people to love their enemies as they loved themselves. He said that those who were declared out by the world were invited in. Those who were rejected were welcomed. He taught that the highest power in the universe was not on the side of the powerful but on the side of the oppressed, the uncounted, the forgotten. He was also declared to be born of a virgin, son of god, and one with God.

Both the emperor and the nomad were betrayed by those close to them. Both died, and were buried in the ground.

But on Easter we say that their death is not the end of the story. On Easter we say that the nomad’s story lives on. We say that he was more in touch with ultimate reality than the Cesar. When we celebrate Easter we declare that the story of weakness, vulnerability, grace, and radical acceptance is the story that we want to tell. That is the story that we want to live on through us.

It can look dark out there. Every time we open a newspaper we are confronted with power controlling and corrupting. There really is still so much to be done. It is easy to see the victories of the Cesar’s story.

On Easter we declare that despite all of that, we still have hope. Not the kind of weak hope where we hope everything will be okay, but the kind of hope where we engage, where we live creatively believing that the future can be better than the past.

On Easter declare that the people who are putting their energies into amassing power and controlling others are on the wrong side of history, and those people who are putting their energies into nurturing spaces of community and growth, they are moving the world where it is going.

We declare that the religions that we put ourselves into will be more about radical blessing than about drawing boundaries.

On Easter we say that those parts of ourselves that are destructive and controlling don’t get the last word. That we want to listen to the part of us that is loving, forgiving, and kind.

On Easter we declare that the weakness of the nomad, in the end, is better than the might of the empire.