{"id":1944,"date":"2007-04-08T08:35:00","date_gmt":"2007-04-08T08:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/2007\/04\/a-unitarian-universalist-easter-story\/"},"modified":"2011-11-01T15:15:45","modified_gmt":"2011-11-01T19:15:45","slug":"a-unitarian-universalist-easter-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/2007\/04\/a-unitarian-universalist-easter-story.html","title":{"rendered":"A Unitarian Universalist Easter Story"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"\"<\/a> The following is extracted from a 2001 Easter sermon by the Reverend Michael McGee adapted from a story by Jim Wallace.<\/em><\/p>\n

A group of friends of various religious denominations were seated in fellowship discussing the true meaning of Easter one Sunday when the Baptist said: \u201cI believe we place too much emphasis on chocolate bunnies, colored rabbits and Easter eggs instead of the spiritual aspects, which is the real meaning of Easter. That\u2019s what I believe,\u201d said the Baptist. \u201cMe too,\u201d said the Methodist. \u201cMe too,\u201d said the Lutheran. \u201cMe too,\u201d said the Catholic. \u201cMe too,\u201d said the Nazarene. \u2013And the Unitarian Universalist was silent.<\/div>\n
\u201cI believe the real meaning of Easter is that Christ died on the Cross for our sins,\u201d said the Methodist. \u201cMe too,\u201d said the Nazarene. \u201cMe too,\u201d said the Lutheran. \u201cMe too,\u201d said the Baptist. \u201cMe too,\u201d said the Lutheran. \u2013And the Unitarian Universalist was silent.
\u201cI believe the real meaning of Easter is the triumph of Jesus over the Grave,\u201d said the Lutheran. \u201cMe too,\u201d said the Catholic. \u201cMe too,\u201d said the Nazarene. \u201cMe too,\u201d said the Baptist. \u201cMe too,\u201d said the Methodist. \u2013And the Unitarian Universalist was silent.<\/div>\n
\u201cI believe the real meaning of Easter is not only what each of you have said, but also that all people who believe in the sacrifice and Resurrection of Jesus are cleansed of original sin through baptism and are restored to the favor of God and many share in His eternal Life,\u201d said the Catholic. \u201cMe too,\u201d said the Nazarene. \u201cMe too,\u201d said the Baptist. \u201cMe too,\u201d said the Methodist. \u201cMe too,\u201d said the Lutheran. \u2013And the Unitarian Universalist was silent.<\/div>\n
\u201cI believe the real meaning of Easter, in addition to what has already been said, symbolizes that the bodies of all people will be resurrected and joined to their souls to share their final fate,\u201d said the Nazarene. \u201cMe too,\u201d said the Baptist. \u201cMe too,\u201d said the Methodist. \u201cMe too,\u201d said the Lutheran. \u201cMe too,\u201d said the Catholic. \u2013And the Unitarian Universalist was silent.<\/div>\n
The group then turned to their Unitarian Universalist friend, whom they all recognized as a little strange, and said, \u201cYour silence is a mystery to us. Just what do you believe as a Unitarian Universalist is the real meaning of Easter?\u201d<\/div>\n
The Unitarian Universalist \u2026 said: \u201cI believe the real meaning of Easter is the appreciation of life\u2019s renewing cycles and, that for all things there is a season. I believe the real meaning of Easter is the acknowledgment, with its accompanying sadness, of a very human Jesus who was forced to die on the Cross because of his liberal religious views and beliefs. But most important of all, I believe the real meaning of Easter is the Celebration of Thanksgiving for the presence of the sacred in each and every living person and thing; for the presence of the sacred in the birds that sing; for the presence of the sacred in the flowers which sway and the grasses which rustle in the gentle breezes of spring. This is what I believe is the real meaning of Easter,\u201d said the Unitarian Universalist.<\/div>\n
\u201cMe too,\u201d sang the birds. \u201cMe too,\u201d waved the flowers. \u201cMe too,\u201d rustled the grasses. \u201cMe too,\u201d sighed the wind. \u2014 And all the rest were silent.<\/div>\n
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The following is extracted from a 2001 Easter sermon by the Reverend Michael McGee adapted from a story by Jim Wallace. A group of friends of various religious denominations were seated in fellowship discussing the true meaning of Easter one Sunday when the Baptist said: \u201cI believe we place too much emphasis on chocolate bunnies, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":120,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1944","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nA Unitarian Universalist Easter Story<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The following is extracted from a 2001 Easter sermon by the Reverend Michael McGee adapted from a story by Jim Wallace.A group of friends of various\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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