*Not So Meek and Mild

He shocked the mannered when He raised cups with townies and let a long-haired lady weep across His feet.

He angered the rich when He said camels could pass through needles easier than they into Heaven. He cracked a whip and cash registers flew.

He crashed the market when eighty pork bellies dove over a cliff. A coin from a fish paid His tax.

He infuriated the righteous when He called a cheat down from a tree and took him to dinner. Blue-collared men walked off the job to follow Him.

He enraged the religious types when He healed people on His day off. He was kind to women and said “there’s no marriage in Heaven” so we could marry Him.

For breaking the rules we strung Him high. But like any man, He just hung there. As He died, he cried Father, forgive … and sent a murderer to Paradise.

A few days passed and that strange man came back. He rose from the dead (or so some said) so He could break one last rule:

He barged through Heaven’s doors

made His Holy Father ours

and set the world aright.

• Written by Susan Gates, Ph.D. Reprinted with permission from Pruned. Susan is Executive Director of Faith and Law on Capitol Hill. Happy Easter.