"Christ is Risen. He is Risen indeed!" Words that changed the world. "Risen indeed"! Certainly the initial call to worship that first Easter morning was not, "Risen indeed"! Neither was a musical prelude of organ, trumpet and timpani the initial call to worship. Nope. An earthquake - an earthquake was the opening announcement that Easter has invaded the world! An earthquake, as Pastor Thomas Long put it, "which rippled a seismic shock through humanity and signaled that the fault lines of the human heart have shifted dramatically toward grace and forgiveness and life." You might recall the title of the biography of the rock star Jim Morrison, "No One Gets Out of Here Alive." The Church would argue the point, as the one who was crucified, dead and buried - is alive again.

The Resurrection changed the men and women who experienced it. Almost to a person they felt they had let Jesus down - that they had deserted him at the time of his deepest need. The fault lines of their hearts were clogged with guilt. The Bible recalls not one word of defense on behalf of Jesus, spoken by those who loved him most. I picture the friends and followers near the cross - watching his pain. They must be heartbroken lovers, not able even to forgive themselves. They felt their own fault lines most clearly.

As they stood quietly in the presence of the cross they heard - among the final words of Jesus - they heard, "Father, forgive them." And his followers recognized that the words of forgiveness were directed not only to ones holding a hammer - or positioning a nail. Directed - not only toward those who earlier in the day had beaten him, flogged him, pressed thorns into his brow. The words of Jesus were directed also to - perhaps especially so - to his closest friends who failed to intercede on his behalf.

They had to strain to listen. "Father, forgive them." Words spoken through the parched lips of a dying man. "Father, forgive them." And then he died. But now, at least, his followers could get on with their lives. Regrets? To be sure. Regrets they had, but they were not weighed down by guilt. "Father," he had prayed, "forgive them." From God's lips to their ears -through to the fault lines of their hearts.

It could be argued that the most powerful words of the Gospel are not only spoken at an empty tomb, "He is not here - he is risen." As powerful as those words are, they are matched in might with words from the cross, "Father forgive them." If ever you have received forgiveness, you know what a relief and release that is. Easter and forgiveness are part of the same chorus in God's song of salvation!

Now, new life in Christ isn't limited to the far side of the grave ... it is here. It is now! Eternal life does not begin when our hearts stop beating and our blood ceases to flow. New life in Christ begins when the water begins to flow - flow over a child's head, in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit! As St. Paul is quick to remind us, in Baptism we share the death of Jesus, that we may share his Resurrection!

Timothy and Emily are going to experience such new life - as they are unwitting partners in their own new birth. They won't know about that new life .. but they'll learn. Their parents and sponsors and Godparents and grandparents will see to that. Their Sunday School teachers will tell them all about it. This crowd of witnesses also will promise to lend a hand!

Baptism is all about Good Friday with the words of forgiveness on the dying lips of Jesus. More so, Baptism is all about Easter, and new life - both this side and the far side of the grave. And so it is that this morning Emily and Timothy will be assured of the forgiveness of their sins. Some might say, "Forgiveness? They are babes in arms. Forgiveness? How much forgiveness could a boy need ... a boy with the name of Timothy Kennedy? Well, tons of it - take my word. And Emily, cousin to Timothy will need tons of forgiveness too. And our powerful Savior, risen from the dead, is stronger than sin and has tons of forgiveness to offer. Sorry Timothy and Emily - and sorry parents: it is in our genes to sin. But alleluia to Timothy and Emily, and alleluia to us all - it is the DNA of Jesus to forgive!

Pastor John Ortberg tells a story which at first blush seems to have nothing to do with Easter ... but as we think about it - we understand that it is the very heart of the Easter tale! Pastor Ortberg's daughter was graduating from college and his wife was the commencement speaker. "We gathered with a group of faculty, alumni and administrators before the ceremony." Pastor Ortberg writes. "At one point, the university president invited three seniors into the center of the room and told us all they were going to be putting their lives on hold, as it were, to volunteer for three years in schools and hospitals serving the poorest of the poor.

Then the president faced the three students. It was earthquake time. The president said, 'Somebody you do not know has heard about what you're doing. He wants you to be able to serve without any impediment, so he's giving you a gift.' He turned to the first student and looked her in the eye. 'You have been forgiven your school debt of $105,000.' It took a few moments for the words to sink in. The student shook her head, then began to cry. The president turned to the next student. 'You have been forgiven your school debt of $70,000,' then to the third student, 'You have been forgiven your debt of $130,000.' Earthquake time, and all three students were trembling, trembling, trembling. Their lives had been changed in a twinkling by the extravagance generosity of forgiveness - in this case, forgiveness of overwhelming debt. Someone they'd never met." Pastor Ortberg concluded, "For those of us who watched, it was as if we had experienced the forgiveness ourselves. There was not a dry eye in the room."

Can you imagine. A mountain of debt - destroyed by an earthquake of generosity! An unpayable debt. An unforgettable gift. An unseen giver. That story, my friends, is the ultimate Good News of Easter. Our unpayable debt has been forgiven. You already know, of course, our Benefactor is not anonymous. "At the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Baptism is the sound of forgiveness; it is the earthquake echo of Easter.

My friends, sound the refrain: Christ is Risen; he is risen indeed. Clogged fault lines to the heart have been cleared - cleaned through the waters of Baptism. And what does this mean? We are forgiven; we are forgiven indeed!