“Then as one man’s trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one man’s act of righteousness leads to acquittal and life for all men. For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by one man’s obedience many will be made righteous.” Romans 5: 18-19.

I can remember my meeting with Mr. Gibbs, the admissions person at Muhlenberg College. He looked at my papers and said, “If it was not for math and a couple sciences, you’d darn near be valedictorian.”

That is about right If I didn’t make the honor roll, it was usually math that could keep me off. A blessing came senior year of high school when I didn’t have to take any. My philosophy has always been, “Why should there be only one solution to every problem?”

But Easter has a simple math that even Hazel can understand. We see it in Paul’s letter to the Romans above. By the sin of the first man all are lost. By the death of Jesus all are redeemed.

People have asked me, “Do you believe Adam exist? My answer, “Well, we all had to start somewhere.” But more importantly, I like to tell folk, “Take your pulse. If you have one, you are either Adam or Eve.”

Each us of are a wondrous creation of God. Because God desired wondrous creations and not automatons, God gave each the ability to say, “No.”

Now if it’s a question of whether we want another helping of dessert, that’s good. If it’s a question of shutting God out of our lives, that’s a different question entirely.

In Jesus God delivers a counter to Adam ‘s “No.” Easter Sunday is God’s “Yes” to creation. I loved the lessons of the past Lenten season. I must admit in the lectionary they are quite long, But I’ve always been amazed that we can watch NASCAR, football, soap operas and other children’s programming for hours, but can’t sit still to hear God’s word.

One is from St. John’s eleventh chapter. It is the story of Lazarus.

Poor old Lazarus has been in the tomb for days. This is added, I believe, to show he wasn’t in a coma, it was believed in that day the soul could linger for a day or two. Jesus calls to him “Lazarus come out!”

In Reformer Martin Luther’s German it is “Lazarus, komm heraus!”

It reminds a little of Sergeant Schultz in Hogan’s Heroes. “Raus! Raus! Raus!!!

Lazarus comes still bound up like an Egyptian mummy. Jesus asks that he be unbound. This is significant. Lazarus’ resurrection and ours call for change. In Jerusalem there is a garden tomb. It is divided in to two areas. In one part the body is prepared for burial. In the other it lays in state for a Hebrew year.

The bones are then placed in what are called ossuary boxes. In Lazarus’s, and Jesus’ resurrection, we see a dramatic statement. Neither will be boxed in.

“Nobody puts Baby in a corner” is a famous movie line.

What boxes do we deal with? What binds us from serving God and his creation? Unforgiveness, grudges, racism, sexism, all come to mind. How will we work our own Easter math? In our baptisms our sin penalty is subtracted and our Christ’s new life and righteousness added. How will God call to be his resurrected folk this season?

How about subtracting 15 minutes to the alarm clock so we can spend time with God each day?

Adding time we can spending with others, in person or on the phone?

Subtracting a highly inflated cup of coffee and adding the money to the offering envelopes?

Subtracting, our “They should know better” attitude of others and adding the humility to realize that they “are just folk who sin differently than we do? Subtracting our view that skin color separates us and realizing that we all have the same color of blood?”

Above all, let us greet each morning with the knowledge that God, by Jesus Resurrection, has added an eternity of love to our lives. We are called to share that love with others.

In a favorite Ziggy comic an older gent tells Zig, “The best way to add years to your live is to add life to your years.”

Each day may we take on the new life Jesus has given us and watch it multiply in lives of sacrifice and service to others. Raus!