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Monday, March 30, 2009
A Day To Remember
Some childhood memories of Easter...
+My brother and I loved the transparent drama of an old hymn that began, ever so softly, "Low in the grave he lay, Jesus my Savior; waiting the coming day, Jesus my Lord." Then it rang out, "Up from the grave he arose, with a mighty triumph o'er his foes!" From there it carried on with a holy bombast and looped around for a few more soft-loud, soft-loud verses. We gave it four thumbs up!
+The day before one Easter my pals and I were playing down by the railroad tracks, and we came upon a hobo sitting in a lean-to shed. I spoke to him and next thing he demanded I sit by him. Confused and afraid, I did so. My friends finally persuaded him to let me go and we all walked away. Why didn't I just get up and run? I can't say. That night my family decorated Easter eggs, and mine kept going wrong. I was sure my episode with the hobo had put a jinx on me.
+Our boisterous interim pastor began his Easter sermon by welcoming the C.E. guests who were present. "I don't mean Christian Endeavor, either; I'm talking about the folks who attend church only on Christmas and Easter." To my adolescent ears that was funny. Others were less amused.
Well, who wouldn't go to church on those two most festive days of the whole year? Glorious music, joyously performed. Bright decorations. Spiritual warmth all aglow. The minister fully primed to preach.
All these years later, this pastor is grateful to anyone who chooses to worship with us on any day of the year. They could have gone anywhere else, or nowhere, but here they are. Who knows what drives a person in our secular society to attend church? Who knows what jinx or hunger, what hope or dream, directs them to our open doors?
And now, here they are. Here we are, all of us, brought together by the amazing grace of God. Building memories that will last a lifetime. Touching each other's lives in the meantime, with the grace and peace that we share in the name of our Risen Christ.
posted by Jack Buckley at
3:44 PM
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