Imagine Jesus walking in a 4th of July parade, telling everyone who will listen to him, “I am the real Uncle Sam!” “I am the true 4th of July!”

It would get attention, right? It would get notice. And, whether people agreed with him or not, people would probably understand what Jesus was trying to say: “You're celebrating our nation's independence,” he’d be saying. “You're honoring the Spirit of 1776. I am that the true Spirit of 1776! I am this nation's true independence!"

Well, guess what? In effect, that’s what Jesus is doing in today’s gospel story! By entering the Temple on the Feast of Dedication and proclaiming, “I am the Good Shepherd!” Jesus is saying--very clearly and very provocatively--that he is the real meaning--the real embodiment--of that holy day; that holiday.

Needless to say, two thousand years ago--in Jerusalem at least--all of this would have been obvious. No one would have had to explain it. Whether they agreed with him or not, two thousand years ago, for Jesus to have entered the Temple on the Feast of Dedication and proclaimed, “I am the Good Shepherd,” people would have known what he was saying. Today, it’s not so obvious! And so, in order to understand what Jesus is saying to us today through this story, we first need to understand the story itself.

We know it as Hanukah. And, as Hanukah, we probably think of it as the Jewish equivalent of Christmas. We give lots of presents; they give one present. But they give one present a day for eight days; we give presents on just one day. And if we know more about Hanukah than that, we probably know something about a small supply of oil miraculously lasting for days instead of hours.

In Jesus’ day, what we know as Hanukah was known as the Feast of Dedication. And, instead of being like Christmas, the Feast of Dedication truly was more like the 4th of July!

Two hundred and fifty years earlier--about as far back for them as 1776 is for us--Israel was in a bad way. The country had been invaded before. The Temple had even been destroyed before. But, somehow, this was worse.

This time, instead of destroying the Temple, Israel’s enemies had simply taken it over for themselves. Not only had God’s house been taken over by people hostile to God, however. They had sacrificed unclean animals--pigs--on God’s sacred altar.

This had never happened before! And, for many, it was even worse than destroying the Temple. Things were now happening there that should never have happened. God was being mocked and his house was unfit for him to live in.

Then, just when things looked darkest, an uprising occurred! Guerilla fighters fought back and, eventually, they not only recaptured the city, they also recaptured God’s house, the Temple.

It was this that the Feast of Dedication celebrated, a sort of a 4th of July holiday and religious holy day all rolled into one. God’s people were celebrating--and, year after year, continued to celebrate--the cleansing and renewal of Jerusalem and its Temple. (And yes, part of what was being celebrated was the discovery that, once the Temple was back in Jewish hands and the sacred oil lamps were relit, the oil--which should have lasted only a few hours--miraculously lasted eight days, proof that God had come home again!)

Happy Hanukah! But, as time wore on, it was not Happy Days are Here Again! The guerilla fighters who kicked the bad guys out of town and rededicated the Temple eventually put themselves in power, making themselves not only priests, but king. (Sort of like the Taliban has been trying to do in Afghanistan today. And, like the Taliban in Afghanistan or Pakistan ...)

They were bad at both! They were so bad, in fact, that, when the Romans got tired of their corruption and deceit and put their own people in charge, people in Jerusalem were actually relieved. A Roman government may have been brutal, but at least it were fair.

By Jesus’ day, people were longing for change. They were longing for freedom and for restoration, not simply for the way things used to be, but for the way things were supposed to be!

And so we come to the politics of Easter! When I hear Jesus say, “I am the Good Shepherd,” I think of my Sunday School images of Jesus. He’s smiling. He’s friendly and loving. And, as the Good Shepherd, he’s got a white and fluffy sheep on his shoulders, more cuddly and cute than a pet dog.

There’s nothing wrong with those images! I’ve deepened my love of Jesus through those images. But, when Jesus walks into the Temple on the Feast of Dedication--the Temple on the Feast of Dedication--that’s not the image that he’s conveying!

To go into the Temple on that day--of all days--and say, “I am the Good Shepherd,” means one thing above all. “I’m the boss! I’m the rightful priest and King for this people, and not just this people only. I am the rightful leader--the good leader; the peaceful leader--for all people. I am the Good Shepherd!”

That’s why this message is called The Politics of Easter. How else to put it? When God raised Jesus from the dead, God was saying, “I’m making him the boss! I’m putting him in charge and in control! He’s the Good Shepherd.”

In our second reading today, John gives us a vision of God’s throne room. The whole heavenly host--which, by the way, means the whole heavenly army--is there, along with all the angels and archangels.

Two thousand years ago, what they were doing would have seemed remarkably familiar. Standing in front of a throne, dressed in white robes, and saying, “Salvation comes from the one who sits on the throne. Praise, glory, wisdom, thanksgiving, honor, power, and might belong to him forever and ever” was exactly what nobility did before their earthly kings and emperors.

Only this is no earthly king! This is God and his Christ, Jesus! Instead of bowing down to an earthly ruler, the heavenly host bows down only to God and his Christ.

And so, here’s the point. Whether we’re comfortable with it or not, there is a political dimension to Easter. Not a “left” or “right,” Democratic or Republican dimension to Easter, but a political dimension nonetheless.

Because Christ is risen, Jesus is Lord. As a result, as a book I’m reading says, salvation is available to all, without qualification. As the book also says, therefore, hell is a choice people make, not a sentence imposed on them. No one need live without hope or without God, unless they insist on it!

This is good news! This is news the world needs to hear. The politics of Easter say that Jesus is Lord and he’s standing at the door, inviting all to join him in the Kingdom of God. For Christ is risen. He is risen indeed. Alleluia and Amen!