Easter, 2014
20/04/14 04:06
I don’t spend much time worrying about what others think or believe. I am not the world’s greatest evangelist. I am much more comfortable practicing my faith in the midst of a people of faith. I have to push myself to say much about my faith to those whose beliefs are different than mine. In the many situations where I find myself speaking to those who have different beliefs, my usual reaction is to ask them to tell me about what they believe rather than boldly declare what I believe. I have a sense that my actions speak louder than words and that I am called to share the love of God expressed in Jesus Christ through acts of loving kindness to others.
There are things that others say that puzzle me. One is the tendency of some Christians to create a kind of polarity where the opposite of faith is doubt. They characterize doubt as some kind of a lack of faith. I don’t see it that way at all. As we traveled together through Holy Week, we see all kinds of doubt from people of faith. Peter denies Jesus. The disciples desert him. Jesus himself quotes a haunting scripture of doubt, “My God, My God! Why have you forsaken me?” The scriptures and the stories of our people are filled with stunning moments of doubt from great people of faith.
Much more threatening to faith in my opinion is a lack of commitment. And there all kinds of low-commitment and low-investment Christian churches around. There are congregations in our community who throw lavish Easter Celebrations and don’t even observe Lent. I can’t even conceive of the meaning of resurrection without death. There is a church in our town who is making a big deal of their drive-through Easter Services. Imagine! Worship God and you don’t even have to get out of the car.
We’ll be plodding away with a crowd of people who not only get out of their cars, but some of whom come to church pushing walkers. Others come to church defying medical diagnoses that would keep some in bed. Others will be coming to church after having pulled an all-night work shift at the hospital or the firehouse or the police department. And all of this is after a grueling Holy Week with services every day and talk of grief, death and loss at every turn. We don’t do no commitment or low buy-in faith very well at our church.
Lack of commitment seems to me to be a much more serious threat to a religious lifestyle than doubt.
Doubt means you are taking your faith seriously enough to raise serious questions. And there are plenty of questions to which I do not have an answer: “Why did this person die and another survive?” “What is the best way to care for a loved one - in an institution or by bringing that person into our home?” “How do I respond when the coach says ‘No practice, no play’ and practice conflicts with church activities?”
Here is one that I get often that I do have an answer for: “How do I get my children to be involved in the church.” The answer is: show them how involved you are and tell them why it is important to you?” I cringe when parents allow middle school children to call the shots when it comes to church attendance - it looks like church isn’t important enough to the parents to stand up for what they believe. I cringe when parents place all sorts of other events higher on the priority list than church. It sets such a poor example for the children.
Easter isn’t a magic day. The realization of the power of resurrection doesn’t come easily. Mary, at the tomb, has to look in and wonder, question the angels, question the other disciples, even question Jesus himself before she can believe. Thomas has to touch to believe. The disciples on the road to Emmaus don’t recognize Jesus for the better part of a day.
Faithful Christians might need to go through the cycle of the seasons of the church year over and over again to really understand the intimate relationship of faith and death and resurrection. I know that I discover new things each year. Perhaps that is why we follow the six-week season of Lent with a seven-week season of Easter. Coming face to face with death and grief and loss and sorrow and sadness takes some practice. Accepting love that never dies takes even longer. 40 days works for Lent. Easter takes 50.
This morning we come to the joyful conclusion of one journey and immediately begin another. Easter isn’t the season of rational arguments and developing dogma or sets of beliefs. It is the season of experiencing love that is stronger than death - life that is triumphant in the face of grief and loss. It is the season of coming to faith that isn’t threatened by doubt. It is the season of making lifelong commitments.
In 1981, our son Isaac was baptized at the sunrise service on Easter morning. Some of my family members thought that I was a bit touched. “Imagine! Getting us up for a 6:00 service! Why can’t they have the baptism at a more normal hour? 11:00 was good enough for our parents and it’s good enough for us.” But I love the statement of a baptism in the season of resurrection. Easter is a great season for making promises. I have never regretted the promises I made on that morning.
There is a gospel song in my mind as I prepare for this day in the wee hours between Easter Vigil and the sunrise service: “On that great getting up mornin’ (fare thee well, fair thee well).” The song is about some day in the future when all of the saints of God will be reunited in God’s realm. I love the image. Of course I’m a morning person. I like getting up early in the morning. I made my family get up for our son’s baptism.
It seems like it is good practice for the resurrection that is yet to come.
May your Easter be blessed!
There are things that others say that puzzle me. One is the tendency of some Christians to create a kind of polarity where the opposite of faith is doubt. They characterize doubt as some kind of a lack of faith. I don’t see it that way at all. As we traveled together through Holy Week, we see all kinds of doubt from people of faith. Peter denies Jesus. The disciples desert him. Jesus himself quotes a haunting scripture of doubt, “My God, My God! Why have you forsaken me?” The scriptures and the stories of our people are filled with stunning moments of doubt from great people of faith.
Much more threatening to faith in my opinion is a lack of commitment. And there all kinds of low-commitment and low-investment Christian churches around. There are congregations in our community who throw lavish Easter Celebrations and don’t even observe Lent. I can’t even conceive of the meaning of resurrection without death. There is a church in our town who is making a big deal of their drive-through Easter Services. Imagine! Worship God and you don’t even have to get out of the car.
We’ll be plodding away with a crowd of people who not only get out of their cars, but some of whom come to church pushing walkers. Others come to church defying medical diagnoses that would keep some in bed. Others will be coming to church after having pulled an all-night work shift at the hospital or the firehouse or the police department. And all of this is after a grueling Holy Week with services every day and talk of grief, death and loss at every turn. We don’t do no commitment or low buy-in faith very well at our church.
Lack of commitment seems to me to be a much more serious threat to a religious lifestyle than doubt.
Doubt means you are taking your faith seriously enough to raise serious questions. And there are plenty of questions to which I do not have an answer: “Why did this person die and another survive?” “What is the best way to care for a loved one - in an institution or by bringing that person into our home?” “How do I respond when the coach says ‘No practice, no play’ and practice conflicts with church activities?”
Here is one that I get often that I do have an answer for: “How do I get my children to be involved in the church.” The answer is: show them how involved you are and tell them why it is important to you?” I cringe when parents allow middle school children to call the shots when it comes to church attendance - it looks like church isn’t important enough to the parents to stand up for what they believe. I cringe when parents place all sorts of other events higher on the priority list than church. It sets such a poor example for the children.
Easter isn’t a magic day. The realization of the power of resurrection doesn’t come easily. Mary, at the tomb, has to look in and wonder, question the angels, question the other disciples, even question Jesus himself before she can believe. Thomas has to touch to believe. The disciples on the road to Emmaus don’t recognize Jesus for the better part of a day.
Faithful Christians might need to go through the cycle of the seasons of the church year over and over again to really understand the intimate relationship of faith and death and resurrection. I know that I discover new things each year. Perhaps that is why we follow the six-week season of Lent with a seven-week season of Easter. Coming face to face with death and grief and loss and sorrow and sadness takes some practice. Accepting love that never dies takes even longer. 40 days works for Lent. Easter takes 50.
This morning we come to the joyful conclusion of one journey and immediately begin another. Easter isn’t the season of rational arguments and developing dogma or sets of beliefs. It is the season of experiencing love that is stronger than death - life that is triumphant in the face of grief and loss. It is the season of coming to faith that isn’t threatened by doubt. It is the season of making lifelong commitments.
In 1981, our son Isaac was baptized at the sunrise service on Easter morning. Some of my family members thought that I was a bit touched. “Imagine! Getting us up for a 6:00 service! Why can’t they have the baptism at a more normal hour? 11:00 was good enough for our parents and it’s good enough for us.” But I love the statement of a baptism in the season of resurrection. Easter is a great season for making promises. I have never regretted the promises I made on that morning.
There is a gospel song in my mind as I prepare for this day in the wee hours between Easter Vigil and the sunrise service: “On that great getting up mornin’ (fare thee well, fair thee well).” The song is about some day in the future when all of the saints of God will be reunited in God’s realm. I love the image. Of course I’m a morning person. I like getting up early in the morning. I made my family get up for our son’s baptism.
It seems like it is good practice for the resurrection that is yet to come.
May your Easter be blessed!