Only
we didn’t. In an effort
to be relevant, many of
us opted for a steady
diet of topical messages
often amounting to little
more than pop psychology
with a scriptural proof
text like,“How to defuse
depression,” or, “How
to affair‑proof
your marriage,” or “Stressbusters.”
Few
of these topics are dealt
with in Scripture, so
we preachers scrounged
a plethora of Bible versions
to find just the right
word to match our homiletic
need. I guess you could
say we got lost in translations.
Who needs serious biblical
texts when you’ve got
itching ears to scratch?
Consequently,
we rehash marriage principles
between Mother’s Day and
Father’s Day. The fact
that these holidays often
obscure Pentecost Sunday
doesn’t matter to us.
Isn’t it more
important to preach a
practical and relevant
message than to honor
the coming of the Holy
Spirit and the birth of
the church on Pentecost?
Many
evangelical and fundamental
churches feel secretly
prideful that they don’t
honor the formalism of
the church year or the
structure of the lectionary.
But we unwittingly follow
a more subtle liturgy
of our own. By the time
we have our annual stewardship
drive, family emphasis
series, Mother’s and Father’s
Day messages, Independence
Day festivities, Back
to School and Harvest
events, together with
Christmas and Easter,
there’s little time left
for general Bible teaching.
Is it any wonder our churches
are filled with biblical
illiterates?
Meanwhile,
our liturgical brothers
and sisters follow a time‑honored
calendar that removes
church from the horse
and pony show. Their focus
is not the need of the
parishioner, but rather
the worship of the Savior.
Ash
Wednesday occurs this
week. While the masses
recover from Mardis Gras,
liturgical congregants
attend worship to receive
the mark of the cross
on their heads just as
they have for over a thousand
years. For the next forty
days, during the period
known as Lent, they will
observe a variety of disciplines
to help them prepare for
the passion and resurrection
of Christ.
In
contrast, most people
in my tradition have hardly
heard of Ash Wednesday.
A fair number of others
would scoff at the asceticism
of voluntary fasting.
Last
year, in solidarity with
Jesus as well as my liturgical
brothers and sisters,
I determined to observe
Lent. I decided I would
give up caffeine.
It
was a lame sacrifice,
more symbolic than real.
But you wouldn’t have
known it by the revolt
my body waged against
me. I was tired, lethargic,
depressed, and really
ticked off by my dependence
on this drug.
But
that’s probably a topic
for a different time.
All I knew was that I
really could have used
that sermon on Stressbusters.
