Easter Worship

Alleluia! Christ is Risen!
The Lord is Risen, Indeed! Alleluia!

Full house at St. Margaret's this morning.
Spirited worship.
Full menu for the Parish Easter Breakfast.
Children hunted for Easter Eggs in the Churchyard.

And the Rector told the first Easter joke. This is our tradition. It reminds us
that in the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, God had the last laugh on Satan.

A clergy couple found themselves in line at the Pearly Gates. Looking ahead they could see that St. Peter was diligently making entries on a long scroll of parchment with a quill pen. The line moved very slowly but finally it was their turn.

St. Peter looked up and stood up.
“I’m so glad to see you both. You can help me get things moving a bit. I need some flexible people...like Episcopal clergy. You see, the heavenly computer is down. I have to do everything by hand but if you just agree to return to earth for a day or two when you come back there will be no qualifying questions, I’ll just wave my hand and the gates will open and the trumpets will sound and you’ll be home. You can go back to earth as anything you want. How does that sound?”

The couple looked at each other and nodded yes.

St. Peter said, “Ladies first. How do you want to return to earth?”

“I’ve always wanted to fly like an eagle,” she said.

“Done,” said St. Peter with a wave of his hand.
She was gone.
He didn’t even ask her if she wanted to be a bald eagle or a golden eagle.
Silly me, I think it would make a difference.

“And now you,” said St. Peter turning his attention to the man.
The man looked at the ground and shuffled his feet and cleared his throat.
“Whatever I chose and whatever I do down there won’t make a difference when the time is up, will it?”

“No. No. The heavenly computer is down. We can’t pull you up or even track you down. No worries.”

“Okay, then, this is a little unusual, I know, but I’ve always wanted to be a stud.”
“Done,” said St. Peter and with a wave of his hand the man was gone.
He didn’t even ask if the man wanted to be a surfer dude or a ski bum.
Silly me, I think it would make a difference.

Well, it took six days to fix the heavenly computer.
Then everyone rested on the seventh day.

Day Eight, St. Peter got to work and cleared up the back log.
No more parchment and no more quill pen.

Jesus stopped by to see how things were going and told St. Peter not to forget the clergy couple back on earth.

“I’m on it, Boss,” said St. Peter, “I already set some angels down to track them. The woman wanted to be an eagle. Right now she catching thermals over the Kittanitty Ridge near Hawk Mountain.”

“And the man?”

“He wanted to be a stud.”

There was a twinkle in Jesus’ eye as he asked, “where is he now?”

St. Peter replied, “He’s on a snow tire in North Dakota.”