I heard the Deacon at church on Friday talk about what Christ’s death on the cross and subsequent resurrection meant to him.  He talked about how we are taught that Christ died for our sins, and through his resurrection we may be forgiven, thus opening the gates of heaven to us sinners.  He rejects this simple transactional view for one that is more transformational.  That God did not need a sacrifice by his son to forgive his children.  God could do so out of love as he pleases, and its human hubris that interprets the events in this transactional way.  I think this is where he was going, but I stopped listening and started thinking on my own… that we may think of the demonstration and example of Christ’s sacrifice, in the context of proving that a life commitment to loving others, to doing good, and of humility and sacrifice can be extended through one’s life, through death, and lives on forever in a spirit and form that remains transformational today.  The legacy of Christ and his love lives on today two millenniums later and has spread around the world. This is an example that says that we can transform beyond our human frailties into a spirit and legacy that lives on.  I believe that this is the true message of Easter.  That how we live defines, much more than how we interact with our complex worlds, but how we influence others, and how that influences others, and it extends through generations.  So, we are influenced by Christ’s teachings today, you are influencing today your friends, your families, your casual acquaintances and even potential enemies, and they will influence others in a geometric sequence of legacy that extends on forever.  So, he is risen, and he influences us today, and we should remember always that we are doing the same.  That we are too a transformational influence in our worlds.  What would you like that influence to be?  One of love I hope!