The Rev. Eric Williams, rector     St. Luke's, Jamestown, NY

A lot of what we celebrate at Easter has nothing at all to do with Jesus. The name Easter itself comes from the Anglo-Saxon fertility goddess Eostre who was associated with rabbits because of their famous ability to reproduce.

Eggs and chicks, flowers and baskets of goodies—these are all symbols of nature and of the natural cycle of life in the spring. We could have all of this, celebrate all of this, with no reference at all to the Christian faith, and, in fact, many do. It's like the old joke about the pastor who asks the Sunday school to tell him the meaning of Easter. One brave boy pipes up, "That's when Jesus comes out and sees his shadow and we have six more weeks of winter."

In an age when so many people have never heard or known the good news of Jesus, it is vitally important that we know it, live it and share it. The good news of Easter is that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us and that God raised him from the dead so that we might be reconciled to God through him.

The key word is reconciliation. Christ did not die for the good people, because there are no "good" people. There are only sinners in need of God's mercy, grace and love. It has been very tempting in these recent days of public scandals to pick up stones to throw. Bit it is well worth remembering that in the eyes of God we are the sinners who need redeeming. Each one of us carries within us the capacity for every sin. Each one of us has fallen short of the grace of God.

But thanks be to God who gives us the victory in Jesus Christ, who forgives us our sins and gives us the power to live in the freedom of forgiveness and to take on the ministry of reconciliation in His name.