Episode Transcript
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The American poet Sylvia Plath
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died by her own hand after a brief and tragic life
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and she lies buried in a churchyard in England
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and on her gravestone are inscribed these words,
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'even amidst fierce flames
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the golden lotus has been planted'.
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Now, those words are taken from the sacred texts of India.
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But they also speak the truth of Easter.
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There are always the fierce flames
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if we look at the world as it is at the moment
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where violence seems to make no room for peace,
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where division abolishes the common good or any concern for it,
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and when lies take the place of truth.
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These are the fierce flames that
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seem to be consuming the world at this time
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and there may be fierce flames in your own life personally.
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Now, Easter says
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that in the midst of all the fierce flames
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whether personal or global,
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the golden lotus has been planted.
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Jesus is taken down from the cross and is planted in the earth.
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He's laid in a tomb.
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But Easter also says
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that the golden lotus hasn't just been planted,
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the golden lotus has also bloomed.
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Because Jesus who is laid in the earth
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is also Jesus who rises from the tomb,
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who rises from the dead as the golden lotus
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that nothing and no one can destroy.
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So we the Christians have seen the golden lotus bloom
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in the midst of all the fierce flames,
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we say, we have seen the Lord.
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Now, if that is true, that we've seen Him with the eyes of faith,
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then hope becomes not only possible,
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but it becomes absolutely necessary.
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So in this Easter moment we say that hope is our life,
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our life in Christ,
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and without that hope, there is only the death,
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there is only the fierce flames.
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So Christ is risen,
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Christ is truly risen.
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Hallelujah!
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A Happy Easter to you all!
