Communion for five please...

After teaching last sunday over evil and chaos, and using the brilliant new Batman The Dark Knight movie scene where Joker is in the interogation room of the police station and Batman is forced by Joker to break one of his rules... and its brilliant... and some people got it and others didn't...

and so goes the church.

Its seems that some people get it while others simply don't, and I struggle on what approach is the best approach to herd them along into a more meaningful and HONEST relationship with Jesus/God. It appears that many are content with mere showing up while others are not. I know that it is a progressive walk and this is one of many steps on that walk, so I'm hesistant to push. I know this because it was part of my walk. In the southern united states, it is a cultural and social thing to do: go to church. Its not really because you are a christian and just love to get up and go worship, its sort of the expected thing, and hopefully, somewhere along the way, something "clicks" in your little head and heart and it becomes meaningful and expressive and relational.

but we have to slow down and be purposeful don't we, and that is very difficult in this society. A society of cell phones and text messages and internet and schedules and deadlines and...

so this thought came to me this morning. To accomodate the busyness of every day life, maybe we should put a drive thru window at the church, like Bon Qui Qui at King Burger, with a menu of what's available and you can order it there (and leave your monetary donation of course).

"Communion for 5 please", I ask over the intercom at the drive thru window. The red LED display confirms my order for 5 communions and flashes a "do this in rememberance of me" quote...

God i hope not. ~npp

Happy Resurrection Day

I have no idea how Easter became associated with a "bunny" and what that has to do with colored eggs. There is probably a story that covers the details of this, but I haven't spent any time looking it up.

I am a huge Easter fan. I actually like it better, from a purely christian perspective, than say Christmas. Easter for me is a time of new beginnings, renewal, the end of an old covenant and the entering in of the new. Spring. Life blooming eternal. It is a very spiritual time. "Do This in Rememberance of Me". And I simply love communion at this time of year. This act of bread and wine (or Welch's Grape Juice for you non-drinkers) somehow brings me closer in "communion" with the Christ. Unexplainable as it may be, it is a beautiful thing.

I do not really get so emotional that I start using words like "the blood of the lamb" and "its all about the cross" and things of that nature. I actually am more subdued by it all. I can't relegate it down to a few canned phrases. What I feel cannot be adequately expressed in this manner. It is simply more than I can understand. I remember going to the theater with our church group and watching "The Passion of The Christ" and simply being awestruck. When the movie concluded, somehow it felt disrespectful or at least inappropriate to just get up and leave. I physically remained in my seat for several minutes contemplating what I had just watched and experienced. Somehow it was more than the typical Easter Sunday Sermon that you normally get. It brought reality to this story. Showed what real Passion (suffering) was like. Made me realize that when we used to sing, with gusto, "Are Ye Able Said the Master, to be crucified with me" ... well the sturdy dreamers may have answered yes, but after seeing the reality of it - I would probably have to say no. It would be unlikely I could suffer the fate of Jesus. Even though more deserving in a theological sense, it is much to high a price for me.

So I do not go to church on Easter. Have not for years. I know, it seems kind of out of sync, but I do not. Each year I go camping in the Piney Woods of East Texas with several family members. I walk the trails early in the morning, while the sun forces its rays through the morning sky and penetrates deep into the forest. The dogwood blooms are everywhere here, and they are a reminder of the crucifixion. I am alone with the God of the Universe. We are close here. Much closer than if I were in the Sanctuary. I leave that place for those "Christians" who want to show up on "special days". We call them CMEs...Christmas, Mother's Day & Easter Christians.

So I leave you this weekend, away from this computer and my occupation, and I go to the place where I find God each and every year. And I remember. And am thankful. "Do This in Rememberance of Me".

Happy Resurrection Day! ~npp