The Secret Identity of Easter Eggs

This story does not have any direct connection to the death penalty. However, it's a beautiful story, a story that fits this time of the year and a story which should give all of us who are fighting for a better world strengh and support. It's written by Amanda Kloer and a friend found it on change.org and now I would like to share it with you:

The Secret Identity of Easter Eggs

Today is Easter, a holiday about new life and new hope. For Christians, it is the day that Jesus, after being unjustly killed by the government, rose from the dead in a miraculous triumph over evil. For many others, it's a reminder that the cold, short days of winter are coming to an end and a long, warm summer is on its way. But whether you celebrate Easter in church, with marshmallow Peeps, or some combination of the two, it is a day for us all to believe in and hope for a better tomorrow.

Earlier this week, the Washington Post ran an op-ed by Rev. Anne Howard, Director of the Beatitudes Society. In it, she told a lesser-known story about Mary Magdalene (who, incidentally, was not a prostitute like the Church has presented her). It supposedly took place shortly after the first Easter. The story goes,

Mary Magdalene, the First Apostle of the resurrection, was a woman of means and influence (and chutzpah), and sometime soon after the crucifixion of Jesus, she procured an invitation to dine at the court of Tiberius Caesar. She had a mission. She went to Rome to protest Pilate's miscarriage of justice, and to announce the resurrection. The ancient tale says that as Magdalene stood up to speak, Caesar was about to peel a hard-boiled egg. When he heard her announcement of the resurrection, he held up the egg and said, "He can no more be raised from the dead than this egg can turn red." And there, in his hand, the egg turned red.

Rev. Howard points out, and I agree, that this story would probably not hold up to historical scrutiny. But it's truth is less important that it's message: stand up for what you believe in, and amazing things will happen. Whether you believe that an egg turning red is a miracle from God or a fluke of science (beet juice snuck onto the egg tray), it was catalyzed by one courageous woman who spoke out against the injustice she saw. Sometimes, tackling issues like ending slavery, lifting people from poverty, and creating a more just and equal world seem as insurmountable as turning an egg red. We think, "Who am I to waltz into dinner with the President and tell him there's been a miscarriage of justice?" Who are we not to? If we aren't the ones to fight injustice and hate and poverty and slavery, then who will?

Some people think this story is the reason many people have a tradition of dying eggs on Easter. And if you are dying eggs (or eating dyed eggs) today, take a few moments to think about what you can do to "turn the eggs red" in your community. How can you stand up for justice, even when it seems impossible? How can you, dare I say it, be a little more like Mary Magdalene?