One of my friends on Facebook posted this link:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bruce-reyeschow/why-churches-should-stop-_b_843880.html?ref=fb&src=sp#sb=1484799,b=facebook
He leans a little more leftward than I do, but his comments left no doubt that he disagrees with this author. On this, a more liberal person and a more conservative person agree wholeheartedly. Since that tends to be a once in a lifetime occurrence in these charged times, I thought I'd personally delve into the idea that Easter should just be an "ordinary" day of worship as the author articulates.
I'm going to do this by debunking a few things point by point:
The first very misguided statement is this one:
But ... I kinda think that God may simply be humoring us in our misguided attempt to throw an Easter party for God.
Hold your horses just a minute there bud. The Church isn't throwing an "Easter party for God." The church is holding a celebration in honor OF God and what God has done for us. We are coming together in thanks and praise of Jesus whose death and resurrection has conquered death, evil, and injustice. We come together to give praise that God shows that He has the last word in all things, and that word is good. It's not a party for God, but it's a celebration of what God has done--just as a 50th anniversary celebration isn't a party for the couple, but a celebration of what they have accomplished in sticking together for so long. It's a matter of focus.
In our hopes to please God, we go all out, especially for Easter.
Wrong again, Bruce. Our worship is NOT an attempt to please God. It's a way of honoring and praising God. To put this in good Protestant, Lutheran terms: there is nothing we could ever do that would please God. Even if we attended church 24-7 our thoughts and hearts would drift from worship, and we would not give our 100% that God demands. But God acted through Jesus to forgive our inability to focus on Him and His will 100% of the time. God acted through Jesus to forgive our inability to please God by serving our neighbors and feeding the hungry and visiting the sick and enacting His Kingdom on earth. When we could not please God, God acted through Jesus to bestow what we call GRACE. That's a very loaded theological term, and I really don't have time to delve into all the intricacies of it in just these few statements. But in simplistic terms, because God has acted through Christ, we don't have to work to satisfy or please God. God is already pleased. We worship in thankfulness to Him, not to please Him.
Why shouldn't we give 110% and do it all up for God on Easter, you wonder? Quite simply, because it usually is more about perpetuating our own habits and expectations, than about sharing our faith in meaningful and life-changing ways with those who might be searching.
In one way, you are correct, Bruce. Some of us clergy get hammered on Easter if we don't sing the right hymns or mispronounce a name or forget someone in the prayers of the church or fail to acknowledge someone's beautiful Easter dress. There are certainly those who attend church because it's the "thing to do on Easter." Such people are indeed "perpetuating [their] own habits and expectations." But do you think you really know the hearts and minds of everyone who is sitting in those pews on Easter Sunday morning? Do you think you know the hearts and minds of congregation members who have been touched by God's love throughout their years, and they are indeed looking to share that love with others? Do you realize that "faith sharing in meaningful and life-changing ways" actually takes place more OUTSIDE the walls of the church than INSIDE?
Worship is the place where God's Word is preached and His sacraments are administered. It is the place where we hear a pastor, preacher, deacon, or whatever particular title you want to assign, proclaim God's love for all those gathered. He or she announces how God's work happened, is happening, and will continue to happen. For believers, this strengthens their faith and equips them to share their faith in "meaningful and life-changing ways" in their daily lives. For those who are seeking, it offers an opportunity to reflect upon the faith being articulated and how it might apply to their lives. It is through continued exposure that most "faith sharing in meaningful and life-changing ways" occurs. Few get the experience of Saul on the road to Damascus, although it can happen. Easter, with its pomp and circumstance can provide such an experience for some.
You see, by creating these "productions," especially around Easter, most churches only perpetuate the practice of coming to church only on special days because we have, in fact, said that this day is more worthy than any others...rather than put all our energy into one kick-butt worship service, use the Easter season as one that might inspire the rest of the year. We should plan our services with unabashed creativity and inspired energy as if this is what it will look like every Sunday ... and then we must make it so.
O.K., Bruce, I think this is the crux of your argument right here, and in some ways I can sympathize with you. I too have wondered why worship can't be full of energy, vibrancy and "life" each and every Sunday. I wondered why churches didn't pull out all the stops each and every week.
But there is a fallacy to your argument, Bruce. Easter IS different. Easter IS special. Easter IS more worthy than any other day. I don't know if you have kids or not, Bruce, but do you make their birthday more special than any other day? Do you think to yourself, "Hmm, my kid looks forward to his birthday so much, I'm going to make every day like his birthday."? Are you beginning to see how asinine such a thought is? While there is some merit to celebrating a new day of life, it lessens the impact of your kid's real birthday. Same goes for Christmas. Do you (or your wallet for that matter) really want to go down that road?
Easter is THE HOLY DAY of the church. It's the day when God's redemptive action for humanity takes place. Without Easter, there is no Christianity. If you stop at Good Friday, you've got another act of injustice and death. But Easter CHANGES EVERYTHING! That's why it's so special. That's why it's so significant. All other days pale in comparison.
Finally, Bruce, I'd like to ask you what you do with Good Friday? What do you do with the cross? What do you do with suffering? What do you do with the pain and anguish that people feel in their lives? A perpetual Easter message with trumpets blaring and choirs singing and bells ringing denies the other side of the equation. Jesus didn't just experience the resurrection. He experienced the cross. He experienced pain. He experienced darkness and death. Celebrating Easter every Sunday hides all of this. You can't have the resurrection without the cross. You can't contemplate and reflect with trumpets and bells. Sometimes, you have to sit in silence. Sometimes you need to sit through the minor key hymns like "Ah, Holy Jesus", "Go to Dark Gethsemane", and "Alas and Did My Savior Bleed." You've got to experience the entirety of the meal, not just the part you like. It's the way life works.
We're "suffering" through the season of Lent in my church right now, Bruce. I'd invite you to come and worship with us through those 40 days next year and contemplate what Jesus went through. I'd like to invite you to experience the low points and the tragedy of Jesus' death, and then see what your heart does on Easter morning. Tell me then if Easter isn't special. Tell me then if we shouldn't make a big deal out of it.
I have my suspicions, you'd change your tune.
No comments:
Post a Comment