There is one Spirit in us all. Pentecost reveals that loving people who are different from us is a powerful way to experience God.

Jesus gives us a new commandment: to love not by the Golden Rule–not as we wish to be loved, but as God (and Jesus) have loved us. (It’s both a high bar and a forgiving one.) This, nothing else, is what it means to be Christian.

Jesus meets us where we are, with reverence for us wherever we’re at– and also invites us to move on, to grow, to follow.

Whether or not we “believe,” like Thomas we are looking for Jesus, reaching out for the living presence of God in our lives. God is here, and comes to each of us in different ways, so keep your eyes open. Keep reaching out.

Easter is not just a happy ending to a tough challenge. It’s about the power of love to set us free from fear, free from the failure of our love, free from death’s power to control us. God has met all that separates us from God and from life in the cross, and still, always, gives us new life.

The “sacrifice” of Jesus’ blood is not a sacrifice to God to “pay ” for our sins. We’re not the ones who make the sacrifice, and it’s not to God. It’s God’s sacrifice for us: God’s love poured out for us even at the greatest cost, so that we may live overflowing with that same love.

The story of the passion is not about God requiring Jesus to die for our sins: our sin is already forgiven. The story is about two ways of facing the world: with fear, which leads to judgment, separation, violence and death; and love, which leads to forgiveness and life. Jesus shows us God’s love and also models the life of love we ourselves are to live.

Mary anoints Jesus in preparation for his suffering: a Compassionate One tends us in our struggles.