I know Easter has been over for some time but I resent the
fact that I was too busy to talk about some great articles I read during
Easter.
One of my favorite religion writers is Harry Cook, a retired
Michigan Episcopal priest who happens to also be a scholar of ancient texts
including Biblical texts.
His article in the Detroit News: WORSE THINGS THAN DEATH?
The Easter story carries a challenge to all living souls. (March 31, 2013).
He is different because he sees religion as it is; a myth
with important lessons for humanity.
He says that such myths/stories survive in the human epoch
because they are seen as vessels of truth, if not truth themselves.
He sees Easter and the Easter cross as a call to
remembrance. A remembrance of the Sage of Nazareth (Jesus) in his persistence
in passive resistance and his advocacy as Mohandas Gandhi and Dr. Martin King
Jr. are remembered for the same reasons.
We remember them because they saw that there were worse
things than death and were willing to die for those reasons.
Rev. Cook cites the Gospel of Mark and its ending with women
at Jesus’ empty tomb sitting there astonished, unsure and afraid to tell anyone
about it…the end!
Cook seems to think Mark ended it there on purpose as if to
say… if you want to know how the story turns out, go on and live it yourself.
I hope you see why I think Harry Cook is great and has a lot
of religious wisdom to pass around.
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