RELIGION
What is Easter?
A primer for doubters
A long time ago, I spent one Easter on a picnic table behind the local Roman Catholic church exploring the fundamental values of late evening hot sex on church grounds.
I don’t think the fact that my son was born about nine months later was a coincidence. God often gets the last laugh.
I spent many subsequent Easters giving God the finger in different ways. I wasn’t just a non-believer. I was an angry one. I would have just as soon spit on a crucifix as wear one. Why was I angry at God? I’m not sure it’s important. I just was.
I’m a lot older now, so hot sex on a picnic table behind the local church isn’t exactly on my bucket list. Neither is, unlike in my rebellious youth, the fantasy of taking a chainsaw to all the world’s church pews.
Age has introduced a lot of grief, sadness, loss, and not a small amount of self-inflicted wounds. It has changed my priorities.
The self-inflicted wounds, in turn, have introduced me to God, and the meaning of Easter, in unexpected ways.
Even though he was a bit of a prude, I most identify with the apostle Paul, who joyously saw to it that fellow Christians were sent to the gallows. He thoroughly enjoyed this line of work until one day, according to the…
