Commentary

At a Jewish wedding, typically at the end of the ceremony (although the timing varies in different communities), the groom stomps on a glass, the glass breaks, and everyone shouts, “Mazel tov.”

There were four mass shootings in March, a total of 27 dead. The usual thoughts and prayers followed. Once again, various gun control bills have been suggested or even introduced at state and federal levels. None will pass or survive eventual court challenges or survive the refusal of some local police to enforce the laws that do pass.

We know that the crisis is not yet over, but as Easter heralds the return of spring, we see signs of hope all around us.

If resurrection did not and does not mean physically/bodily rising from the dead, what could Paul, the Gospel writers, and the early Church have meant by that word? And what does it mean for us today?

propose that within the constellation of Easter stories, the primary event, the event that changed everything, was the crucifixion, not the commonly understood resurrection.

Is it possible to claim a story is true while at the same time claim it didn’t actually happen? For me, the answer is yes. The Easter story I focus on here is the resurrection.