Their names were Zager and Evans. You may not remember them, but if you were around in 1969 and old enough to be listening to your transistor radio, you will certainly remember their song, which hit number 1 in July of that year. It was called, "In the Year 2525." I heard it the other day for the first time in a long time, and the lyrics really caught my attention in a way they never had before. Believe it or not, these words from the hippie generation contain a very profound insight—an insight which you can also find in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and in the writings of our Holy Father, Pope John Paul II. Listen now as I read the lyrics to you (I could sing them, but this is Easter, and I won’t subject you to that. Lent was the time for doing extra penance!) . . .

Woah-oh

I call it, "the de-humanizing of humanity." That was the insight Zager and Evans had—and it was certainly a radical insight for the late 1960’s, when people believed they could fashion a world of love and peace on their own terms, apart from God and his truth.

To some extent, Zager and Evans saw through the lie. They understood that technological progress (as good as that can be) does not always equal human progress. Think again of this song: it’s all about becoming less and less human, is it not? If they ever do develop a pill, for example, that we can take to program all our thoughts and actions—at that moment we will lose our precious gift of freedom. And we will be de-humanized in the process. If machines take over all our actions (as this song predicts), we will become less human, not more human. We will become just like robots. And, of course, people today already make use of reproductive technologies which replace the marital act (we didn’t have to wait until 6565 for that to happen). Thus children are conceived in laboratory test tubes or petri dishes—not through the loving embrace of a husband and wife. Once again, it’s humanity being de-humanized.

Now Zager and Evans didn’t speak in theological terms (except to wonder about God’s disapproval), but their insight is deeply theological, deeply religious. Because in this song they’re talking about some of the terrible effects of sin—especially the sin of pride.

We live in a world right now where committing serious sin is often equated with "living life to the fullest." And yet, for all of our self-indulgence, we aren’t very happy, are we? We’re told that it’s okay to have any kind of sex you want, to lie and cheat and steal as long as you don’t get caught, to live life for the moment—and yet the vast majority of people in our culture are angry and miserable. Why? It’s because too many of us have bought the lie which says that sin makes us more human, more alive. But, as Zager and Evans have reminded us, the exact opposite is true: sin by its very nature de-humanizes us. Although it may give us momentary pleasure, it ultimately alienates us from God, from others, and even from ourselves.

So what can we do about it? Is there any hope for positive change? Is there any way to break out of this de-humanizing spiral that the world seems to be caught in?

Yes! Unfortunately, however, you won’t find the answer in the song, "In the Year 2525." But you will find it in the songs we sing today in this church!

In Romans 6, St. Paul writes, "Are you not aware that we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Through baptism into his death we were buried with him, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live a new life."

Jesus died on the Cross and rose from the dead in order to undo the de-humanizing effects of sin. Or, to put it in a more positive way, Jesus Christ came to "re-humanize" the human race: to make our lives on this earth qualitatively different (qualitatively better), and to make eternal life possible for every human person.

That’s the meaning of Easter.

This is why we need baptism (as St. Paul indicates in that text from Romans), and this is why we need Jesus Christ at the very center of our personal lives—this Jesus who rose from the dead 2,000 years ago. Without him, we cannot be saved when we leave this earth; and, without him, our sins will certainly de-humanize us while we’re on this earth.

During the last few weeks, the world has learned much more about the former dictator of Iraq—a man who was rightly described as brutal, vicious, vindictive, paranoid and hateful—even toward his own people!

This is the extent to which sin can de-humanize a person.

Contrast this man with the canonized saints of the Church—or with the soon-to-be-canonized Mother Teresa of Calcutta!

We know the adjectives people have used to describe Saddam Hussein. Think now of the many adjectives people used to describe Mother Teresa during her earthly life. And forget for a moment the explicitly religious adjectives like "holy" and "devout" which Catholics and other Christians tended to use. The fact is: even those who had no religious affiliation whatsoever spoke of this woman in glowing terms! They called her loving, compassionate, caring, selfless, truthful, merciful, forgiving, and peaceful. All qualities which denote what is best in the human person.

Well, let’s be clear about it: Mother Teresa was not any of these things by accident. She had a strong prayer life; she was devoted to the sacraments, especially the Eucharist and Confession; and she had a deep personal relationship with Jesus Christ, who brought out the very best human qualities from within her.

This same Jesus, risen and alive, can bring out the very best in us—if we allow him to.

Let me conclude my homily today with a new ending to the song, "In the Year 2525." The original tune by Zager and Evans ended with a repetition of the first verse, "In the year 2525, if man is still alive, if woman can survive they may find . . ."

My alternate Easter ending goes like this: