Easter, 2021

Noli me tangere (Do not touch me). Magdalene
mistakes Christ for the gardener. Fontana(1581)

Death loomed over the lives of the ancients. Existence was focused on finding the next meal and avoiding the predations of nature and fellow human beings.

In a world where the average life expectancy was about 30 years, there was wonder in the Resurrection, a wonder that has all but vanished.

Especially today, it is imperative that Christians recover the sheer strangeness of the Resurrection of Jesus and stand athwart all attempts to domesticate it.

In the 21st century the miracle of Easter has been normalized by science, science fiction, psychologists, Jungian philosophers, historians, and anthropologists, all of whom have alternate explanations for the Resurrection.

The distractions and busy-ness of modern society have pushed aside deep thoughts about life, death, and the meaning of it all. However, in recent years an increasing number of my contemporaries have passed away. Over the past twelve months alone I've mourned the loss in absentia of Jan, the wife of a business colleague; Marc, whom I played bridge with on CalTrain; Richard, the husband of my cousin; Mike, who ran the Toulouse office; Judy, who always volunteered for charity; and Wayne, who let me read his comic books in 4th grade.

After a lifetime of ignoring the Resurrection, I am thinking about it more and more.

Sunday morning is cold and overcast, so I'm posting this photograph of the lagoon from three days ago. Happy Easter!