Take
today, for example. I write these words
on Maundy Thursday, the evening Jesus shared
the Last Supper with his disciples. In a
minor nod to the fading influence of Christianity
in America, it’s also the end of a four-day
school week for students.
I’m
subbing for a high school science teacher.
While students casually attempt their worksheet
on flatworms (we all know it’s just busy
work), I pick up on an interesting conversation
at the back of the room.
“What
do bunnies and eggs have to do with Easter?”
a guy asked.
A
girl in the next row replied, “They’ve got
nothing to do with Easter. Easter is about
the Resurrection of Jesus from the dead.”
“I
don’t believe that story,” another girl
volunteered. “I think they just made it
up. Didn’t they find his bones somewhere?”
I
couldn’t resist. “No, they didn’t. It’s
one of the reasons people are convinced
it was true.” (I didn’t dare say more, for
after all, we wouldn’t want a preacher corrupting
the minds of our impressionable youth.)
“Well,
I don’t know why it matters, anyway,” she
said. “All religions are the same.”
Another
strapping young man came to the rescue.
“What do you mean, it doesn’t matter? Without
the Resurrection, there is no Christianity!”
“Did
you know the church owns more property than
any other organization in the world?” a
different girl piped in. I’m not sure it
had any relevance to the conversation. But
then again, what does logic have to do with
religious belief (or in this case, disbelief)?
“What’s
that got to do with it?” our young man retorted.
“The Resurrection proved he was the Son
of God. All religions believe that.”
“Actually,
they don’t,” I ventured.
Another
guy jumped in. “That’s right. Muslims believe
that Jesus was a Prophet, but not the Son
of God. There is only one God.”
It
was a fascinating interchange. Christian,
Muslim, skeptic–all engaged in respectful
conversation about matters of religious
belief. No pressure to convert. No belittling
of faith. No hint of nuclear war.
As
I listened to them talk, it reminded me
of the question Jesus asked his disciples
only weeks before his death: “Who do you
say that I am?”
First,
the disciples gave the conventional wisdom
of the day: “Some say you are a prophet,
others say you are Elijah.”
When
Jesus pressed them, Peter gave the classic
Christian answer, the one to which I subscribe:
“You are the Christ, the Son of the Living
God,” (Matthew 16:16).
During
a pause in their conversation, I thought,
“Are the stories about His Resurrection
the result of overzealous followers and
religious primitives, as the skeptic suggests?
Is
he a prophet, rescued by God from the cross,
appalled to hear people calling him divine,
as Muslims believe?
Or
is he, as Christians contend, the Son of
God, who gave his life as a sacrifice for
sin and was
miraculously raised from the dead?
It
was telling to me to reflect that two thousand
years after he walked this earth, 21st century
teenagers were still discussing the implications
of Jesus’ life and death.
My
muse was interrupted when the kid who started
the discussion jumped back in, saying, “Wait
a minute_ I just thought
of something. Bunnies don’t even lay eggs,
do they?”
Steve
leads an informal bible study in the heart
of Cave Creek. For more information, call
(480) 510-9518.
