Easter Story: The bird cage sermon

There once was a man named George Thomas, pastor in a small New Eingland town. One Easter Sunday morning, he came to church carrying a rusty, bent old bird cage, and set it on the pulpit. Serveral eyebrows were raised, and as if in response, Pastor Thomas began to speak.

"I was walking through town yesterday when I say a young boy coming towards me, swinging the bird cage. On the bottom of the cage were three little wild birds, shivering with cold and fright. I stopped the lad and asked,
"what you got there son?"
"Just some old birds," came the reply.
"What are you going to do with them?" I asked.
"Take 'em home and have fun with them. I'm gonna tease 'em and pull out their feathers to make 'em fight. I'm gonna have a real good time."
"But you'll get tired of these birds sooner or later. What will you do then?"
"Oh, I got some cats. They like birds. I'll give 'em to them."

The pastor was silent a moment.

"How much do you want for those birds, son?"
"Huh! Why you don't want those birds, mister. They're just plain old fieldbirds. They don't sing-- they ain't even pretty!"

"How much?"

The boy sized up the pastor as if he were crazy and said, "Ten dollars?" The pastor reached in his big pocket and took out a ten dollar bill. He placed it in the boy's hand. In a flash, the boy was gone. The pastor picked up the cage and gently carried it to the end of the alley where there was a tree and a grassy spot. Setting the cage down, he opened the door, and by softly tapping the bars, persuaded the birds out, setting them free.

Well, that explained the empty bird cage on the pulpit, and then the pastor began to tell this story.

One day Satan and Jesus were having a conversation. Satan had just come from the Garden of Eden and he was gloating and boasting.

"Yes sir, I just caught a world full of poeole down there. Set me a trap, used a bait I knew they couldn't resist. Got 'em all!"

"What are you going to do with them?" Jesus asked.
"Oh, I'm gonna have fun! I'm gonna teach them how to marry and divorce each other, how to hate and abuse each other, how to invent guns and bombs and kill each other. I'm gonna have fun!"
"And what will you do with them when you grow tired of that?"
"Oh, kill 'em... Damn 'em."
"How much do you want for them?"
"Oh, you don't want these peple. They ain't no good. Why, you take them, and they'll just hate you. They'll spit on you, and curse you and kill you! You don't want those people!"

"How Much?"

Satan looked at Jesus and sneered, "all your tears, and all your blood...."

Jesus paid the price.

He picked up the cage.

He opened the door.