I is for Imperat,

Day 5
final word of an old Easter chant. "Christus vincit, Christus regnat, Christus imperat"--Christ conquers, rules, commands. Im-perat is what an imperator did, or, in the plural, the imperatores, the Eisenhowers and MacArthurs of the old Roman legions; though at day's end the ultimate imperator was Caesar himself as, in our own moment, is George W. Bush.

Or so they liked to think, and still do. In truth even the highest of human honchos find themselves hemmed and bound by greater commanders, faceless, nameless, impossible to control or override. St. Paul calls them "powers and principalities." In everyday speech we speak vaguely of The Market, The Special Interests, The Government, The Forces of Nature. Lately we hear of The Arab Street, newest permutation of old Caesar's worst nightmare, The Mob. Not knowing who's issuing orders or pulling strings, we often fall back on a helpless They. "They're raising gas prices." "They're polluting our culture." "They're limiting our rights." "They're corrupting the Church."

Nameless They stirs a nameless dread. Of this I'm convinced, that They don't know who I am and They don't give a fig, any more than Their slave Nero gave a fig for the grunts on his empire's far frontier. "They" is a cruel god, cold and heartless.

"They have taken my Lord away. I do not know where They have laid him" (Jn. 20:13). On Easter morning Mary offered They the tribute of her tears and despair. Who will blame her? The gracious One who commanded the obedience of wind, waves, and demons (her own seven among them) is now dead. They killed him. So is God not They? Or is They not God? Regardless, who else but They shall she worship?

She turns and sees Jesus. He stands there newly unshadowed and therefore unsettling, almost terrifying (see Rev. 1:13ff). A minion of They, she thinks (Jn. 20:15b). Again, who will blame her?

"Mary," said Jesus. And--Yes!--there was light. Then lightness of mind and heart, with joy in the present and delight in the future. What else could there be? Christus imperat. They didn't. They don't. They never will.

This too is Easter's good news: the all time Commander in Chief knows my name--and treasures it.