The Cost of Easter

The Lord blessed me with another opportunity to provide a message. This time for our Easter Sunrise service....

During the time I was thinking about the Sunrise Service message I was to deliver, someone pointed out to me an advertising campaign from Wal-Mart – “Easter Costs Less at Wal-Mart”. For some reason, I immediately knew where my message would come from. Was not sure what it was yet, but it was going to be based on this ad from Wal-Mart.

As I thought about it, my first thoughts were ughhh…now we are equating Easter with commercialism and spending money. It’s that way with Christmas and now Easter is under commercial attack! The most I remembered seeing before was the cute Cadbury bunny ads with the bunny clucking like a chicken and laying chocolate eggs or the newsprint ads displaying bargains on your new Easter outfit for Easter Sunday or the coming springtime fashions. But this seems different, flashier. The highest, most holy celebration of Christianity is now being sold as another reason to run to the store and buy stuff to save money? Is this a sign of our times?

There’s a message there, yes, but I was unsettled. That’s not a message for an Easter Sunrise Service.

Once over the commercialism aspect, I then was struck with the “cost” statement. Easter costs less at Wal-Mart? What of the cost of Jesus dying on the cross? Was this ad poking at that? A Wal-Mart Easter costs less than the cost of Jesus dying on the cross? Now I am feeling offended! How could someone dream up this kind of slogan for Easter knowing that the cost of Easter was the suffering and death of Jesus on the cross! How dare they! I feel like writing a letter! Boycott! Boycott!

That’s a message, but I was still unsettled. That’s not a message for an Easter Sunrise.

The cost thing…keeps tugging at me. Hmmm… I’m thinking Easter doesn’t cost anything. I’m distracted from what is really important. There is a story I read of Leonardo da Vinci, I don’t know if it’s true or not, but it is said that after he completed his masterpiece of the "Last Supper", he took a friend of his to see his just completed work. The friend's first comment was, "Look at that cup! It’s beautiful. My eyes are drawn to it. It’s wonderful! It’s striking!" Without batting an eye, Leonardo took a brush and painted over the cup. "Nothing in my painting should attract more attention than the face of Jesus."

I was distracted by this Wal-Mart ad talking about the cost of Easter and it was drawing my eyes away from the face of Jesus! Jesus gives the free gift of new life! Jesus paid the price from Alpha to Omega, once and for all, so that we have NO cost at Easter. He will wipe every tear from the eye. The sting of death is gone and the old order of things is passed away. He paid with a cost that filled a tomb and then emptied it with a mark down that says “free for the asking”! To all who are thirsty He will give drink without cost from the spring of the water of life.

The One seated on the throne says “those who overcome the spiritual distractions of the world will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children.”

By worldly standards, "At Wal-Mart Easter Costs Less", but in the Kingdom of God, Easter is free for the asking!

Stand or Deny!

I love IT!

In my home town!

Stand or deny!

I think more billboards like this are necessary!

For the Story...

Numbers Games

I’m no statistician, but I like to play with the data and plot it different ways. So when I learned that a recent study was completed in 2008 that has similar data back to 1990 about religion, I wanted to play with the data. The percent of population numbers, while interesting, do not necessarily show the story of how rapidly a particular group is growing. I found the “Estimated” numbers from each sub header, both in totals and percentage of population and wanted to see what the growth rate per year changes looked like. So made a rate of change in members(self declared) per year for each of the categories and plotted it as shown in the graph.

It tells a story that is perhaps not unknown to United Methodists (as evidenced by the recent events in Kansas West), as the Mainline membership growth rate has taken a nose dive since 2001 to the tune of losing over 900,000 members per year, and a very large chunk of that is the Wesleyans/Methodists, although all are dropping. Others that have a declining growth rate who are now losing members are Jewish and Eastern Religions. While still having a positive growth rate, Pentecostals and Atheists/Agnostics are not growing as rapidly as in the 1990s.

So who is growing at the highest rates? “Generic” Christians take the prize followed by Catholics, Baptists, “Other Protestant” and “Other Religions”.

So it appears that the mainlines are losing members to generic churches and perhaps some to the other categories. I have very mixed feeling about this. I like the connectional system for it’s ability to provide relief and care for the hungry, hopeless and helpless and yet, I am uncomfortable with some directions the connectional system has been taking that seem to me are giving up the tenets of scripture and tradition in favor of reason and experiences (and not necessarily the heart warming type experience of Wesley at Aldersgate).

While on one hand, a church shrinking could be a message to the church that perhaps you are becoming “lukewarm”, neither hot nor cold, and God is providing a message. Perhaps our Doctrines and Rules have become like the Church of England telling Wesley not to preach out in the town squares with raucous singing of tavern melodies (albeit with Christian words and meaning).

On the other hand, it could be an indication that the church is challenging the “lukewarm” life of a people who do not want to hear about it, so they go and find a message that satisfies their ears and sensibilities or their particular fellowship needs. Are they challenged to grow in their faith? Are they still members after 5-10 years? Do their ears lead to some other style after tiring of the one that led them to the last “generic”?

Perhaps there is a road in between? Perhaps the Mainlines and the other Traditional Christian denominations become the home of the mature in faith, while the Generics become the faith initiators.

I don’t know the answers. I know God is at work. Lord, I pray you show us the way. Amen.

Do you see the Geodes?

I already made a comment at the “The New 12th Gate” about this on 7villages, but I also feel I need to make a post. I must say that I did not listen to the items presented there, but I did search out and find some lyrics by the contemporary folk singer, Carrie Newcomer. The liner notes about the song “Geode” (see page 3) spoke to me. I repeat them here…

“My home in Southern Indiana is a rolling green land abundant in limestone and the mysterious rocks called geodes. Geodes are so copious in this part of the state that we pile them in our gardens and think of them as commonplace. I am fascinated with these unassuming brown and grey stones that contain inside them a sparkling center of quartz crystals. They are surprising beautiful and a wonderful metaphor. They remind me to look deeper, because often within what may appear quite ordinary is a core of beauty and mystery. Sometimes I will take visiting friends on muddy walks along the hills and hollows of my home pointing out the creek beds full of geodes. Often they confess that if I hadn’t pointed out these unadorned stones their presence would have been missed entirely. But once familiar with the signature lumpy look of geodes these friends begin to see the stones everywhere. This is how paying attention works. At first I have to look quite deliberately to find the sparkling center of things, but eventually I begin to notice the patterns and come to expect the unexpected.”

How often to we look for the “geodes”? Geodes can be people. They can be Bible passages. They can be the sermon you heard Sunday. These plain, vanilla looking things can be a wonderful delight if one takes the time to see what is hiding under the surface. Do you see the Geodes?

You can't mean me!

I had an opportunity to fill a pulpit this past Sunday at church. Here is my short summary.

(for more Strange Breed cartoons, visit www.strangebreedcartoons.com)

We start with Jonah, a prophet of Israel, given a task by God to call the ruthless, warmongering, heathen Assyrians of Nineveh to repentance. That’s the enemy!

We continue with a prophet and probably a patriot of Israel, attempting to flee in the other direction on a slow boat to Spain, manned by heathen captain and crew. Now, add a raging storm and prayers from heathens to their idol gods. Add the heathen captain preaching to a sleeping Jonah, “pray to your god!” says the captain to Jonah.

Who is the prophet in this book?

The heathen sailors try to save Jonah’s life. The heathen crew pray to God and make vows to continue. The heathen of Nineveh, including the King, turn to God. Everyone turns to God. But where is Jonah, the prophet of Israel? Jonah remains angry. Jonah is sitting on a hill outside of Nineveh. Jonah, a prophet of Israel, remains sitting on a hill in the dry wind, angry.

What I learned?
1. I am Jonah at times.
2. The Word of God might speak to me from anyone.
3. I do not want to stay Jonah sitting in a dry wind.
4. I pray I recognize “Nineveh”s when God gives them.

An Arm Waving Moment

During our annual charge conference, I was given an opportunity to give a report as Lay Leader about our congregation over the past year. I somehow forgot that I might be called upon to provide a report and did not “prepare” anything. Low and behold, I was called to provide a report. I reported how over the time as a member of this wonderful community of believers, I have seen growth in trying to reach out beyond our walls into the world. Our stewardship was improved. We were able to change events from budget meeting to needs meeting. Our fund raising events changed from budget crisis to raising funds for the Advance, UMCOR, Habitat for Humanity, our local Methodist agency (Open Door), and others.

We also started a building project to increase the size of our fellowship hall. I related that I do not “know” what mission (beyond our church fellowship needs) this new building project will bring, but I was sure that there was a mission coming. I could see it and feel it in our congregation. While I said this, I started waving my arms around (unconscientiously) as if to emphasize the spirit flowing among our congregation. Well our rather observant DS took note of my arm movements and continued to use this as an example a number of times after this!

I initially did not know what she meant, but realized after her reference, I had waved my arms around! How wonderful! Isn’t the Spirit like that? Flowing around, waving between believers, flowing in the community, moving, like the rushing of the wind and flames dancing even upon the unintentional movement of a lay leader's arms in an extemporaneous moment. Praise the flow of the Spirit!

Painting: “Women Waving”, by Sharon Hodgson.

What Me Worry?

So here it is....

Matthew 6:25–34 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? …

1 Peter 5:7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

Philippians 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

I know these things. I trust in the Lord. But, my retirement accounts are looking like the big drop on the world’s largest roller coaster. But I see layoffs of my co-workers with hundreds more coming over the next year. But I see my project winding down to nothing early next year. But I see no new projects coming in the new year or next.

But...but…but…BUT WHY DO I STILL WORRY!

Sigh…Time for casting that anxiety with serious prayer and petition, starting with the thanks for what God has provided.

Image: Alfred E. Neuman by Norman Mingo