ARCHER'S EASTER MESSAGE

Our daughter, our son-in-law, and our 5 year old grandson, Archer, visited us this week, and like all the times before, they gave us great joy! As a family of 3 and individually, they are simply adorable, engaging, witty, and thoughtful. Each one of them is a "piece of work," and that fits in well around here.

We played Wii games... and I lost again... even though I had purchased a simpler game before Archer arrived. We went to a "bouncy house," and discovered that Archer's dad enjoyed himself... at least as much as Archer did. We visited an interactive science museum, ate a variety of meals as a family, and waved palms together at our church service. We tried to give Archer a good time, and I think we succeeded. Joy, of course, is a significant part of Easter... but Archer's Easter message is deeper than that.

Archer is a very smart little boy, and he's always had a vocabulary that "mocks" (to use one of his favorite new words) his actual age. I've known that for some time of course, but I didn't know how extremely spiritual Archer is... for a 5 year old, or for just about any age. His mother tells me that Archer either comments on, or asks about, God, Jesus Christ, Christians, Jews, and religious viewpoints... on a daily basis... and that is considerably more thought than most of our church members give these subjects. As a 5 year old, Archer is not an expert on any subject, and he is not a student of any teacher... BUT he is a theologian... and a good one at that. He gives a lot of thought to matters of faith and he definitely believes that this life- the one we're living now- is NOT the end for us. He is sure of this... at 5 years old, and his parents, although very loving and very intelligent, are not church-goers.  Thus, his inquiry is honest, and with this in mind, I initiated a conversation with Archer as we walked "Rocky" around the block. I told him that "grammy" believes that there is life after death, and he said, "There is."

Then, after we had walked a short distance, he said, "There is another name for gravestones, Poppy. They are also called tombstones. Did you know that?" "Yes," I said, "I knew that." "Well," Archer concluded, "Tombstones spawn life." "Tombstones spawn life," he said. "they really do." He offered this piece of theology without a sermon, and he didn't seem to know that I have two graduate degrees in this field. He doesn't know that I've given Easter messages for more than 25 years... but he doesn't need to... because he gave an Easter message of his own! It was succinct and powerful. It was short on research, but long on truth! It was an Easter sermon every bit as profound as the one I will give Sunday. Tombstones spawn life. Indeed they do, Archer! Thanks.