It's almost here (a column)

Hello all! I'm noticing that in my posts, they're now coming about once a month, at about the same day of the month. I'd like to blog more, but I really don't have much going on in my simple little life.

However, I felt like Jesus had placed this on my heart and mind for some time, so I went with it, and this column will actually run in Friday's edition of the local newspaper (today!). My hope and prayer is that it gets us to really thinking, that it would speak to all of us and challenge us, especially looking at the near future (is that an oxymoron?). Hope you enjoy it, and have a blessed weekend as we reflect on such a wondrous occasion!

In my random mind, I'd like to think of this weekend as if it's the Super Bowl for churches. In my heart, I'd like to believe that they've done weeks of preparation to get ready for this Sunday, whether it's the adult choir tirelessly rehearsing their musical, getting all the candy ready for their egg hunts as part of their festivities, or that the sermons leading up to Resurrection Sunday have been gradually building up to the exclamation of "He is not here, for He is risen!"

Excuse my naivete, but I'd also like to hope that for all the programs and messages and festivities that have been planned, that just as much prayer has gone into each ministry. I've come to learn that you can plan all you want, but if you don't ask God to meet you in these place and events, then they've all been done in vain.

Yes, Easter Sunday. It's almost here.

We've spent insane amounts of time making sure that we've found the perfect outfit to wear. We've thought about what the Sunday lunch spread will include. We've made sure that, if we have family coming, that everything is ready to welcome them to our homes.

And there's nothing wrong with these things. Outside of the last example, I've been there, done that (but sadly, I didn't get a t-shirt). But as I found myself being reminded once again last Sunday that it was, in fact, Palm Sunday and that the next Sunday would be Resurrection Sunday, I questioned whether I had really thought about the events in the middle.

How a group of people, who had been so welcoming to Jesus in His triumphant entry, found themselves days later asking for His death.

How Jesus met with His disciples in the upper room, and in the greatest act of servitude, washed their feet.

How Jesus already knew who would betray Him and deny Him, yet chose to dine with them.

How He asked some of His disciples to pray for Him as He went to pray on His own, only to find them asleep later on.

How Jesus healed the soldier whose ear had been cut off by Peter--a soldier who was sent to take Jesus away.

How a man, Simon of Cyrene, was pulled from the crowd to carry the cross of Jesus.

How the thief hanging on the cross next to Jesus asked to be remembered, with a response by the Lord that he would be with Him in paradise.

How the centurion finally came to realize, once the sky darkened and the earth quaked, that the Man on the cross truly was the Son of God.

How His disciples and followers must have felt, a wide range of emotions, as they pondered whether He would do as He said and rise from the dead three days later.

Because on Sunday, we'll hear how the women were about to prepare His body, how the disciples ran to find Him, that the stone was rolled away, and the Lord revealed Himself and that the promise was kept--He lives! Yes, there will probably be a few sermons that take a different path, but for all the Easter services I've been to, you walk away with the joy and excitement of a living, death-conquering Savior.

But can I be honest for a bit, to those of us who consider ourselves the faithful in our churches? We know that, as we walk into our congregations on Sunday, there will be faces that we typically don't see. Some of them may never have been to your church, some have been coming for a few months, and then there's some who will only come on Christmas and Easter. 

With the latter, I've heard them sometimes referred to as CEOs--Christmas and Easter Only. It's not a nice thing to say, because once we've done that, we've already cast judgment, and isn't the whole point of this day to welcome people of all backgrounds to an inviting Savior? 

Let's get past that on Sunday. Let's take the opportunity to meet them where they are, in our churches, and share the Gospel with them, through the Word or by deed. It's like Vacation Bible School. Yes, some people might use it as a baby-sitting service, but you don't treat it as such. You use the time you have with the kids to teach them about Jesus.

And can I express one more thing? Don't add insult to injury--if you find that a visitor on Sunday is sitting in "your spot" (by the way, who made up this thing about particular seats in church?), don't be that person who asks them to move. On Twitter, I've stumbled across a quote that I love which says, "No matter if your church has 20 or 2000, go early, greet enthusiastically, give up your seat if needed." I'd like to think there would be nothing better than for the faithful folks in the church to show some love to visitors by truly expressing their delight that someone (or a family) decided to worship alongside you on Easter.

But, the quote doesn't end there. The last part of it? 

"Repeat weekly."

Yes, when the energy from the Easter service wears down and visitors are few and even the faithful folks barely make it to a Sunday service a few months later, the enthusiasm of church and having guests visit the church shouldn't die down either. Because every time we meet in God's house for worship, we always have the ever-present truth that we serve a risen Savior. Not just on Easter, but every single day.