This gospel does not, in my view, present a very flattering picture of the women in Jesus' life. First, they approach the tomb eager to anoint Jesus' body with oil asking, "who will roll the stone away?" I understand that the author was most likely using this question as a literary device attempting to set up a question to engage the readers' faith. But on a purely concrete level, I wonder, did these women not consider this before they left? It must have occurred to them that when they got to the tomb they were going to face a brick wall, almost literally, obstructing their ability to anoint Jesus' body. They didn't think to bring along a couple of big strong men to help them roll the stone away before they set out on their journey?

Then, we hear that the women were so afraid upon discovering that Jesus had risen that they fled "trembling and bewildered", telling no one about the event!! No one?? Jesus' body is gone, they have no idea what has happened to their beloved friend and Messiah and they tell nobody?? This story does not inspire confidence in their ability to anticipate, to lead, or to gather resources such that they could do what they set out to do.

So what are we to learn from this depiction? For me, at least this year, I see the women as symbolizing our capacity to "not follow through" on their charge. I see them as being called to ministry — in this case by anointing, healing, preaching--and backing off a bit from the fullness of their responsibilities. Let's hold this thought for a moment….

As I have been reflecting upon this Lent, this Holy Week and this Easter experience, I have found myself drawn again and again to the images and the messages of the once popular and controversial movie "The Last Temptation of Christ".

I'm sure some of you have seen it and remember its plot line. I don't think I'll spoil the story if I give those of you who have not seen it a quick synopsis of the highlights….

This movie gives a moving and powerful glimpse of the human Jesus who spent his life trying to discern his destiny. He is depicted as a man who is both gifted and plagued by this haunting sense that he is being called by God to enter into his divinity and to emerge as a leader of the people. He feels all of the normal desires and longings for friendship, love, children, community, meaningful work, and is challenged at almost every turn to step out of the ordinariness of these desires into a relationship with God and God's people that surpasses his and their deepest desires.

At the time this movie came out, there was enormous uproar in the Church about the heretical nature of the film. People were up in arms about how human Jesus was and especially about his love for Mary and his sexual desire for her. Of course, as soon as I heard that conservative Christians were calling for a boycott, I couldn't wait to see it! And so it has been and continues to be a powerful resource for me.

What I found the most sad about the uprising against the movie is that people seemed to miss the most significant, poignant aspect of the film…The last temptation of Christ had nothing to do with his sexual desires. The last temptation of Christ takes place when he is hanging on the Cross, experiencing an agony that many of us will never know. He is hanging on the cross, riddled with pain, his thoughts and fantasies turning inward, imagining what it would be like to change his destiny, to capitulate to the ruling party of the time, to come down from the cross, and ultimately to settle into life as a holy man of God who marries Mary, has children, lives a faithful life, and has the kind of ordinary life that he longs for in the moments of his suffering. He wants to be holy and good, but not the Christ who has to die on the cross. He wants to be a loving father, a man of the people, but wonders if he has to die this way in order to do it. Isn't it enough to be a good man? Isn't it enough to have come as far as he did, demonstrating his willingness to die, without actually having to go through it?

He indulges his fantasy about how it would feel to make the choice to stop the pain, to be good enough, but to stop short of losing his life this way. We lose ourselves in his imaginings, and as the movie traces the way his life would unfold if he made a different choice, we find a man who is haunted by who he could have been had he followed through on his destiny. We see a man connected to a loving, holy life, but who feels that something important is missing-- that the shortcut he took left him feeling unfulfilled, as if he was not all that he could have been. He has given up the pain of the crucifixion in order to hold onto his life—quite understandably. But he also has forfeited the fullness of his Easter destiny —the glorious, forever-after fullness that comes from knowing that you followed your path to the end, with all that you are, with everything you have, into a new, whole, energized, ecstatic self that is so full, so deep, so whole that it surpasses human experience and becomes divine.

We, like Jesus, are faced a thousand times a day with the temptation to take short-cuts. We are seduced by the possibility of doing enough to be good, loving people, but stopping short of falling fully into the arms of Life and into our own Easter experience.

The gospel today reminds us of how human it is to stop short. But most importantly, it provides a testament to the Easter experience that awaits all of us who surrender to it. The Resurrection is not only an experience that happened by God to Jesus—it is Jesus' ongoing gift to us—it is a lasting source of hope, strength and promise that as we surrender to our own destinies as God's beloved, Resurrection awaits us. It is meant to draw us in, to remind us of God's exquisite covenant with each and every one of us. It is a deeply personal gift, given in joy and delight, designed to reveal our own destiny with God, as God envisions it.

In the movie, Jesus fantasizes about changing his life, compromising his identity and his destiny—but the story returns to him choosing to stay on the cross. And after his death, we see him in his Resurrection. He is at peace, forever at peace, with who he is and how he chose to risk everything. He is happy, fulfilled, whole, serene, and vibrant, with no regrets.

Like the Transfiguration experience in the gospel story, Easter gives us a glimpse of who Jesus is and who we are in our fullness. It reminds us of our destiny.

As you come to the altar today, come with a full heart. You have been chosen by God to live fully this Easter event. Come with an awareness of God's desire for you to enter more deeply into covenant. Bask in God's desire to strengthen you for the journey with the Eucharist and the Resurrection. Come with a renewed commitment to take the long way, the whole way. Own this Easter event as your own future, your own gift, your own destiny, given to you in love by the One who makes all things new. God bless you all. Happy Easter.