"The Door is open…Its called Jesus Christ”…..”Easter is intended to show us the radiant light that streams from this door”…To ignore this light is simply a tragedy!

No matter who you are, we all have a concern about death…Because we all will die….What will happen to us when we die?….Whether you live in a penthouse apartment in New York City or a hut in Kenya…We all have the same concern…Today, Easter Sunday addresses this concern - There is an answer and the answer has a name - Jesus Christ. However, while Jesus provides humanity with “a way out” of the dilemma, which plagues us all…The pathway to that door is rejected outright, to this very day….Jesus was a man that spoke in clear and unambiguous terms…He told us point blank what is required to “walk through the door”, which leads to life. For some today, all around the world, rich and poor a like, they will celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ…The man who provided humanity with the only way to defeat the ancient foe - Death…..And then there are some…Who still refuse his invitation…..Pope Benedict XVI tells us…..”Death is no longer a house with no exits, a place of no return…The bolts of death’s dungeon, of the world’s dungeon, are wrenched off, the ramparts are thrown down, the gates are torn from their hinges”……Mankind can travel to the moon and back yet many still refuse to “walk through the door” that leads to life….There is only one door……And not to walk through it is simply a tragedy!

“The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. By the LORD has this been done; it is wonderful in our eyes.”

In 2008 Pope Benedict XVI came to the United States and celebrated the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass at Yankee Stadium in New York City. In order to attend the Mass, one had to get a ticket, which were not for sale. The tickets were given out through the various religious orders and local parishes of New York City, which enabled the rich and the poor alike to attend the Mass. I was fortunate to get two tickets and I took my mother to Yankee Stadium to see the pope. At that time I was working at Morgan Stanley, which is an Investment Bank. My boss was a San Francisco attorney who was extremely gifted and very wealthy. She heard at work that I had tickets to see the pope and I assumed she also heard that the tickets to see him were not for sale and very difficult to acquire. So one day she approached me privately and asked, “Joe - How did you get a ticket?”….She was basically shocked how I could have “pulled that off” because she knew that the tickets were not for sale, even to the very rich and powerful of New York City…Why bring this up today?…..This is how the entrance into heaven will work….The “tickets” are not for sale…”Your money is no good there”…But here is the good news….Jesus Christ provides us with the only “key” to the one door that leads to life and its free!….By and through the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, the “doors” to heaven are open….Why would you not want to enter that “door”?

“Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark, and saw the stone removed from the tomb.”

For many around the world today, there will be a great celebration….Jesus Christ has risen from the dead…Death no longer has power over mankind…..You would think such an “offer” would be celebrated by everyone and for millions around the world, it is just that, a celebration…But for some, it’s “just another day”….What a tragedy!……“The Door is open…Its called Jesus Christ”…..”Easter is intended to show us the radiant light that streams from this door”…To ignore this light is simply a tragedy!