The message of Easter says that we are not stuck in the past.  The story of the cross and the empty tomb says that we are no longer slaves to guilt but have been set free.  Peter wrote to the ancient church that “we’ve been given a brand new life and have everything to live for, including a future in heaven – and the future starts now!” 

If the future starts now, and it does, then we can be set free from guilt. We can walk away from heavy-handed nostalgia and recognize, like Carly Simon used to sing, that “these are the good old days.” 

I like to read Peter’s letter in the days after Easter because his message reminds us that God’s spirit is at work now.  There is a tendency after celebrating the resurrection to ask “What happened to the huge crowds?  Where did all of the lilies go?  Was that Sunday just a momentary blip on the radar screen of life?  Are we back to the same old same old?” 

The apostle Paul wrote to the church in Rome, “If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live at peace with all.”  This instruction is clear but it comes with an “if.”  “If it is possible.”  Paul knows that we are not always able to mend every wound.  Every broken relationship cannot be reconciled.  Some things will remain damaged.

That truth can be found throughout the Bible.  A college student discovered he needed a course in the Bible in order to get his literature degree. He wrote home to his parents and asked them to mail him his Bible.  His dad gently and thoroughly wrapped it and took it to the Post Office.  The clerk looked at the carefully wrapped package and asked, “Anything in here that can be broken?” he asked.  “Only the Ten Commandments.”  Do you know why it is so easy to break them?  All of them have something to do with relationship. All of them point to the work that it takes to be in relationship with neighbor, spouse, family or God.  Relationships are fragile and easily bruised.