A Dixie Carpetbagger

Many churches in the American South still hold traditional sunrise services in cemeteries as a sign of recognition that Jesus no longer lay in the tomb on Easter morning. The service starts early in the morning and is timed so that the attendants can see the sun rise when the service is going.  — Wikipeda, “Sunrise Service”

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Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them. And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre. And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus. And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments: And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again. And they remembered his words, And returned from the sepulchre, and told all these things unto the eleven, and to all the rest.

– Luke 24:1-9, KJV

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There are bad weeks, and there are bad weeks.  For a certain carpenter from Nazareth, the events leading up to Good Friday (April 3, 33 AD) could be considered the latter.  Having entered Jerusalem to great fanfare the Sunday before (Palm Sunday), Jesus ended the week crucified by the desires of the corrupt officials He had preached against.

One of the Good Friday passages that ties in with Easter morning is John 19.  In the fifth verse, Jesus is brought before Pilate and the court, and Pilate presents Jesus with the introduction “Behold the man!”  The Latin for this is “ecce homo,” which is the title Ciseri used for this painting:

One of the messages of Easter morning is that each of us must personally “behold this man.”  We can do as Pilate did, and judge without preconception, or we can do what the members of the crowd did, and allow our personal biases and actions to determine our position.  Either way, we must choose.

But the most powerful message of Easter morning is the message of hope.  Hope in the form of communion with God, since the veil has now been torn down, and hope of life beyond, since He who was dead is now alive– for evermore.  For those who now seek the Master, remember that “He is not here, but is risen.”  Amen.

This is my Father’s world.
O let me ne’er forget
that though the wrong seems oft so strong,
God is the ruler yet.
This is my Father’s world:
why should my heart be sad?
The Lord is King; let the heavens ring!
God reigns; let the earth be glad!

This isn’t the end.  The end was passed a long time ago.  This is simply the epilogue.  – Robb Allen

Please note: there is quite a bit more, after the break.  Just didn’t want to throw all this up onto the front page…

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O God, our help in ages past,

Our hope for years to come,

Our shelter from the stormy blast,

And our eternal home.

Under the shadow of Thy throne

Thy saints have dwelt secure;

Sufficient is Thine arm alone,

And our defense is sure.

Before the hills in order stood,

Or earth received her frame,

From everlasting Thou art God,

To endless years the same.

Thy Word commands our flesh to dust,

Return, ye sons of men:

All nations rose from earth at first,

And turn to earth again.

A thousand ages in Thy sight

Are like an evening gone;

Short as the watch that ends the night

Before the rising sun.

The busy tribes of flesh and blood,

With all their lives and cares,

Are carried downwards by the flood,

And lost in following years.

Time, like an ever rolling stream,

Bears all its sons away;

They fly, forgotten, as a dream

Dies at the opening day.

Like flowery fields the nations stand

Pleased with the morning light;

The flowers beneath the mower’s hand

Lie withering ere ‘tis night.

Our God, our help in ages past,

Our hope for years to come,

Be Thou our God while life shall last,

And our eternal home.

If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people; If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.   (2 Chronicles 1:13-14, KJV)

Via the Scalawag, Judge Napolitano, the Cato Institute and Dr. Lott on the MacDonald case. 

Via Robb, a great Gura quote: “Justice Sotomayor, States may have grown accustomed to violating the rights of American citizens, but that does not bootstrap those violations into something that is constitutional”

Jay, Weer’d, Linoge and Miguel respond to Sebastian.  Miguel makes the point that: “McDonald is not just a “case” or an argument or a amicus curiae. Mr. McDonald is a human being which was denied the tools for defensing himself in a violent neighborhood.”

This is correct.  However, there are two quotes that lay out how I feel about this– “… as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise” (Luke 6:31– the “Golden Rule”) and “[y]our enemy is never a villain in his own eyes. Keep this in mind; it may offer a way to make him your friend. If not, you can [eliminate] him without hate — and quickly.”  (Bob Heinlein)

Put simply, the Bradys think that they’re right.  The pro-rights groups (and the majority of Americans) disagree.  We’ll win eventually, and people like this woman will become discredited and objects of scorn.

To lighten the mood, and play you out with music, Laurel’s take on the McDonald case.  Please secure your beverage…

O that old rugged cross, so despised by the world,
has a wondrous attraction for me;
for the dear Lamb of God left his glory above
to bear it to dark Calvary.

I’ve seen it in the lightning,
heard it in the thunder,
and felt it in the rain;
My LORD is near me all the time,
My LORD is near me all the time.