PAIN IS THE ANSWER
For goodness sakes, does all the dizziness in our world ever make you wonder
what future generations are going to think of the church?
What will they make of the thousands of church conflicts that are causing a
major ruckus across Christendom? What about the flock of clergy who are
given the left-foot of fellowship - that is, who are kicked out of their
pulpits without so much as a goodbye, a handshake or a tip on the next dog
race?
And when people 100 years from now notice the dropping attendance records in
many Christian churches, will they wonder what monsters were hiding in the
cemetery chasing people away from the pews on Sunday morning?
Pilgrims, these are troubled times and nobody seems to know what the Easter
answer is for the church in America.
Yes, it's Easter again and many of us will smile through another
resurrection service without hearing one clear answer that will save today's
church. If Jesus is the Lord of the resurrected body, then it's time He gave
some answers to how the body of Christ can be resurrected.
Will it be a miracle? Is it possible to awaken on Easter with Jesus standing
at the foot of our bed intoning an announcement of a new church? Or will we
be subjected to hard labor; visiting the imprisoned, clothing the naked,
hanging out with the lonely and then doggedly begging for new life?
Oh Lord, invade this church and give it new life. Awaken it to possibilities
for ministry. Free it from concern about numbers and money. But infuse it
with joy and celebration. Because, Jesus is coming - He is just around the
corner ready to pounce.
That's what we have always believed, that Jesus was ready to jump off the
roof of some church and land upright ready for battle. We believed he would
bring with him breastplates of righteousness for all of us to wear into
battle. We wanted Him to be our hero and leader. Instead, we have a
diminishing church and no plans for doing battle in the real world. The
salvation of the church is messy work, and all we can think about is the
whiteness of our robes.
I'm told that preachers of old were most concerned with appearances. Would
it be proper, for instance, to bury someone in just a winding sheet, a cloth
sheet wound around the body? Or must everyone have a coffin?
But today, the big worry is survival. If Easter has meaning today it ought
to reach into our personal lives with power. But it should also reach into
our corporate lives, into the frail church to deliver it from complacency.
It's true. The church has been numbed. We are dazed and sluggish,
unable to respond to a culture blurred by change. We say our prayers and ask
for answers. And the divine responds with silence.
Then we wonder if there is some holy joy in our weakness. Does suffering
bring us answers? Does the grim bring us happiness eventually?
How is it that Good Friday is so easily overcome in our world? Perhaps
that's the secret, that the pain of holy week is never over, even after the
resurrection victory. Is it possible, pain and struggle are the keys to
survival?
Clark D. Morphew
Posted For 3-27-02
