The chairman of the senate sub-committee, a sour-faced man with perfectly coiffed white hair that looked as it would not move in a hurricane, pounded his gavel on the bench and leaned toward his microphone. "Mr. Saint Peter, I must confess that I do not see the relevance of your testimony, but out of respect for your reputation, and in light of the fact that you came all this way, my colleagues have voted to hear you out. I hope that you will be quicker in coming to the point, sir. Now, are you ready to continue your testimony?"

"I am," said St. Peter.

"Well, sir," said the Senator, "when we took a break, you were, for some reason, talking about something that happened two thousand years ago. Now would you please continue and try to get to the point, sir?" He shot an annoyed "I told you so" glance at the senators to his right and left, the ones who had forced him to allow Peter to testify.

"Senator, sitting here now, so long after these events, it is difficult to convey how ashamed I was of myself during that time. I had told Jesus that I was ready to die with him, and instead, just as he said I would, on that horrible, horrible night, I denied him three times. And then the cock crowed. And he turned and looked at me, and I realized. I just doubled over right there, and I put my face in my hands and I wept. Me, a big burly fisherman, sobbing right there in front of people. I was so filled with shame. I couldn’t even function."

"We’re here to take testimony on an important moral issue, Mr. Saint Peter, not to be your therapist," the Senator interrupted. "This sounds like an idle tale to me." One of the other senators, a woman, shot him a glance that said, "Behave." He glared back.

Peter continued, unperturbed. "Funny you should say that about an idle tale, Senator. A few days after they had tortured him to death, these out-of-breath, scared, amazed women came running and told us this wild story about finding the rock rolled away, and no body, and angels telling them that Jesus had been raised. I was still so full of shame that I couldn’t even focus. But when I finally got myself to think about it, I had to agree with the other men. Their story was utterly outlandish, and on top of that, it was women who were telling it. Senator, in those days, women were not considered to be trustworthy."

The Senator smiled a tiny smile and shot a glance at the female senator. She sighed, and leaned forward.

"Women," Peter continued, "could not testify in court. Period. Their word was thought not to be reliable. It didn’t matter who the woman was or what you knew about her; women, all women, were thought not to be trustworthy.

"So, you see, Senator, we thought that it would be unthinkable that God would make women the only witnesses to the most important thing in history, and would send them to testify about it to us. That broke all the rules; that violated every social norm we knew. So we rejected it; we agreed that it was just an "idle tale" told by hysterical women.

"Did there not come a time, Sir," the Senator interrupted, "when you did come to believe their story? We need to get on with this."

"Well, Senator, as I was saying, after we’d all agreed that this wild story told by these untrustworthy women was not to be believed, I, for some reason, kept thinking about it. And I started to remember that Jesus said he would suffer and die and be raised. So, it seemed a little more plausible, although the thought of a dead man being raised was still a long shot, especially when it was women who were telling it.

"Then I started to think about how Jesus had acted during his life. Truth be told, he had embarrassed us over and over because he totally refused to respect any social norm, or rule of morality, or religion, or law, that excluded people from God. It had been downright scandalous. He’d eaten with scum and prostitutes and tax collectors. . . ."

One of the men sitting just behind Peter squirmed and coughed.

Looking back, Peter said, "Sorry, Matt." Then, addressing the Senator, he continued, "Anyway, one of the rules he broke all the time was about the place of women. He spoke to women he wasn’t supposed to speak to; he touched women who were ritually unclean; he forgave one women taken in adultery; he let women study with him; why, he even let a woman wash his feet and dry them with her hair. It was scandalous all right.

"But it started me thinking. ‘If he was always willing to break all those social customs,’ I thought, ‘maybe he is willing to let women testify, even to this.’

"Senator, people who know me know that I’m, well, sometimes . . . just a little impulsive."

There was a guffaw from the crowd, many of whom were Peter’s friends. The gavel sounded as the senator said, "Quiet!" Peter smiled sheepishly.

"So, anyway, I often think with my feet, so before I knew it I was running to the tomb. And I saw the stone rolled away. And I stuck my head in, and I saw that it was empty."

The Senator, annoyed, asked, "All right, what happened then?"

"I just went home, amazed. I still am."

"So," the Senator said, with a rising tone of condemnation in his voice, "Two thousand years ago, you were amazed, and you still are. Is that what you’ve taken up our time to tell us today, that you’re still amazed?"

Peter was quiet. It was clear that his answer wasn’t really directed to the Senator. "Oh, yes sir. Still very much amazed. The more I think about it, even after all this time, the more amazed I get."

Now the Senator’s anger erupted. "MISTER Saint Peter," he growled. "This subcommittee is charged with considering a very serious matter, a matter that affects nothing less than the preservation of the status quo of our way of life. This, sir, is not a matter to be taken lightly. And your idle tale — the point of which seems to be that you were once and still are amazed — seems to me to have absolutely nothing to do with the issue before us and is a deliberate attempt to waste this committee’s time and distract us from the important work the people expect us to do. Can you, sir, explain how your idle tale is relevant to the issue before us in any way?"

"I hope I can, Senator. You see, sir, you are here to consider an important issue. But it is not just a political issue, or a moral issue, or a security issue, or an ‘American way of life’ issue. It is an issue that affects people. Real people. And here’s how my ‘idol tale’ is relevant, Senator. You see, I denied Jesus, but in many ways, we all deny Jesus. In many ways, we are all responsible for his crucifixion. God had every reason to give up on all of us; just leave us to our own evil ways. By all rights, Senator, I should have looked in that tomb and seen a dead man.

"But I didn’t. That tomb was empty. Jesus was resurrected! It is the most astounding enactment of God’s love imaginable. And that, Senator, changes everything. Because the tomb was empty, we know that God loves us and will stay with us even after we’d done that terrible thing to Christ, even after we’ve done whatever terrible things we do in our lives. Because that tomb was empty, we know that Jesus’ life, a life of inclusion, a life of breaking the rules to bring people to God, a life of servant hood, is validated, is authentic, is the model of how we are called to live. Because that tomb was empty, Senator, we know that strength and growth in the kingdom of God does not come by power, authority, miracle, or sitting in high places,"

He looked up at the Senator, who bright red now, frowned.

"but we know that growth in the kingdom of God comes from Christ-like lowly service. And because that tomb was empty, Senator, we know that we are all children of God, and that we will never be abandoned by God, and — here’s what you’ve been looking for, Senator —because that tomb was empty, we can never abandon any of our sisters or brothers, including those, Senator, who are affected by your "serious issue."

That is why I am here. That is why my testimony is relevant. Because that tomb was empty, everything changed. We are Resurrection People, and we will act like Resurrection People. We will strive for justice, and we must respect the dignity of every human being.

The Senator drew a breath, but Peter kept going.

"And even when it seems hopeless, even when worldly men like you call us naïve, we do not live in despair. Resurrection People live in hope. Resurrection People, Senator, do not live in condemnation; we live in grace. Resurrection People, Senator, do not live in death; we live in life. And Resurrection People, Senator, do not live in isolation; we live in community with our sisters and brothers, with the people you would reduce to an issue.

"I’m here today, Senator, because Resurrection People do not live in silence; we speak out against injustice and poverty and abuse and neglect and indignity wherever we find it.

"My ‘idol tale,’ Senator, is relevant, and here’s why. Because the tomb was empty, I’m here to tell you that the Risen Lord is no respecter of your status quo. And that, Senator, is not a matter to be taken lightly."

The room erupted. The last thing the CSPAN viewers saw was the Senator pounding his gavel and shouting "Order!" — before one of his aids threw a switch and cut power.

Well, that’s what Peter said about what this "idol tale" meant to him. There are lots of other things that he could have said. Of course, we don’t know what the issue was. It doesn’t matter. There will always be issues.

By the way, if you were called to testify, what would you say?

Well, guess what? The tomb is empty, and we are Resurrection People. And you are called to testify.

Isn’t it exciting? Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!