Jesus as a psychological ideal is easy to believe. The Jesus that is no more than a gifted rabbi, philanthropist, and inclusive in his beliefs; that’s a teacher any American can subscribe.
On Easter Sunday, the president of one of the most liberal theological institutions in the country said these words:
But what happens on Easter is the triumph of love in the midst of suffering… Those who claim to know whether or not it happened are kidding themselves.
Easter as the triumph of love? Sounds nebulous enough, right? What does that even mean? You see, even in the most potent element of the Christian faith, the resurrection, one can make Jesus fit into your way of thinking.
If Jesus is not raised from the dead by the Father, then Jesus is just an idea; a psychological detail that can mean anything you want.
Beloved, we do not come to worship today to claim the triumph of love, we come to worship today to claim Jesus’ triumph over the grave.
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