Today is Easter. It snuck up on a lot of people (myself included) because it was so early in the liturgical calendar.
I read this article in the NYT about Easter sermons and Obama's speech on race. Great article, you can check it out here.
Yet, there was one quote that really irked me.
The Rev. Leith Anderson, president of the National Association of Evangelicals and lead pastor of Wooddale Church in Eden Prairie, Minn., said he would not be preaching about the racial issues raised by Mr. Obama’s speech and expected few other evangelical pastors to, either.
“Easter is about Easter and the Resurrection of Jesus, and it’s pretty unlikely that any other topic would eclipse that,” Mr. Anderson said. “That’s not to say those other topics aren’t important, but this is the most important.”
Most evangelical churches, he said, “are Bible-driven, not current-events-driven."
To me, this encapsulates my problem with my old Pastor recycling his Easter sermon (in fact, he recycled all his sermons) and the disconnect of the churches I grew up in. Easter is about new life, both in this life and in whatever is to come. Why can't we be both? We can't we celebrate a living God and a risen Christ as well as bring light to the darkness of humanity, without the covert missions to "get them saved?" Isn't Easter about the power of one-ness over sameness? The power to confront those things that cause death to us (such as racism) and yet belief that new life is looming?
Anyways. I pray that today, we celebrate the chance of new life, the ability for all things to become new.
I pray that today, our cries over lost dreams, betrayal and disappointments will be replaced by tears of wonder and delight.
I pray that today, as we celebrate the Risen Prince of Peace, that we have peace. The awareness that everything needed to thrive in life is within our grasps.
He has Risen and continues to bring resurrection power to those who yearn for it.
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