What to tell the Easter crowd...

I had a clergy friend who joked one Easter that he would see many of those who showed up for church again at Christmas time. It was a bad idea. Several families were offended, and left his church.  Should they have been offended? Should he have not said what he said? I don't know. From my perspective, you worship with those who come. Period. And if they only come at Christmas and Easter? Then celebrate the heck out of Christmas and Easter with them! That's what I say. Where would we all be if Jesus had decided to only take seriously the regular, weekly synagogue crowd? You go with whomever shows up. That's the gospel, my friends. Oh, and you don't pre-judge them on other standards, either, even if you can extract and distort a nasty zinger from the pages of scripture. Jesus had some rough words for the religious leaders who did that in his day.

I learned years ago that there are only two things that play well in the pulpit on Easter and Christmas: the STORY, and any new slant on it that jazzes you up in your sermon prep study (usually, if it jazzes you up, it will catch someone else's attention, too). But don't forget the STORY! Give people room to find their place in it; don't always tell them where to find themselves. These are smart people--they don't need us to arm-bar them to get it.

Speaking of jazzed up, as I was studying Jesus' trial in John 18 in preparation for Good Friday's message, I saw something I've never noticed before. The text says that when the chief priests asked Jesus about what he had been saying or preaching about that got him in so much trouble, he tells them that he always spoke publicly, and not in secret, and that if they wanted to know what he had been saying, they should ask his followers, and they would tell them! Wow. What I got from this is that Jesus was willing to hang his whole trial on what his followers said about what he said. And, I told the St. Paul's Good Friday crowd that Jesus is still doing that today! Jesus is hanging the whole Kingdom of God thing and the gospel on what WE say about what he said. That means we had better get it right! If our version of the gospel isn't totally accepting of everyone who shows up, if our version of the gospel isn't loaded with grace and redemption, if our version of the gospel cuts and excludes and marginalizes people, then we are basically telling the world that this is what Jesus thinks about them. Can anyone say "awesome responsibility"?

One final thing. Everyone who shows up on Easter ought to hear a lot about love. It's really all love, isn't it? Sin has been solved on the cross, and the resurrection reminds us that, going forward, it is all about love, forgiveness, reconciliation, learning how to live with each other in peace, building up each other, and ushering in the Realm of God right here, right now.

Anyone who leaves an Easter service feeling scolded or browbeat should find a new church. We all ought to walk out of worship on Easter like we, too, have just left a cold tomb behind, and are walking into the light. If drama is the "willing suspension of disbelief," then this is high drama! All of us should be willing to suspend our disbelief, instead to believe that the Risen Christ continues to rise in us, continues to love in us, continues to heal in us. Someone wrote, "there is now no condemnation in Christ Jesus", and how right he was!

Now, Yinz, we've got some rising to do. Get out there and let the love fly freely. Stop asking people for their ID before offering them grace. Please stay within your pay grade when making decisions about who is "worthy" of this stuff. Jesus sure expended a lot of energy on that cross, and even more in conquering death, sin, and suffering. Don't sap his strength with judgment. To quote a bishop I once served, "Let's take this baby out and see what she'll do!"

Happy Easter, Yinz!