A TALE OF TWO PARADES

      On the morning after Mary anointed him by pouring a pint of pure nard on his feet, Jesus arose, put on his tunic and sandals, and set his face toward Jerusalem because he had work to do there. According to Mark and Matthew, he sent representatives to bring him a donkey from a nearby village and, as the Grand Marshall of his own parade, he sat upon it and rode it into Jerusalem. He rode it to fulfill Zechariah's prophecy (9:9): "Shout aloud, O daughter, Jerusalem. Lo,  your King comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey."  He rode it into Jerusalem to show that he was the promised king of Israel. There is little doubt about that, and although many of the people in Jerusalem didn't see his entry in this way, his followers did and the Pharisees did. Indeed, according to John, after they heard that Jesus was coming to town, his "fans" (many of whom had been awed by Lazarus' resurrection)... took palm branches- long since a symbol of goodness and triumph- and ran to meet him, waving their palm branches back and forth, and crying out. "Hosanna, Hosanna," which means "O save" or "please save." Yasha na, yasha na. "Hosanna, hosanna. Blessed is the King of Israel who comes in the name of the Lord." This was their chant, and it was a troubling chant... because it offended the Jewish rulers and the Roman rulers alike... and it put Jesus on a collision course with both of these powerful groups.
      It was as if Jesus, who had avoided conflict up to this point because his "time had not yet come," was now saying, "Bring it on." Riding a donkey into Jerusalem was a threatening act. It was humble in the sense of being obedient to his Father... but the message to the world was anything but humble... which is why the people along his parade route spread palm branches and their outer garments on the road before him.  Hosanna, they cried, and the Pharisees became nervous because they didn't want Rome to come down on them. "Tell your people to shut up," they said, but Jesus let them proclaim him king, noting that if they were silent, the very stones they were trodding on... would shout out.  So, he rode his donkey and entered the city from the east... through the Golden Gate. It was a gala event, even though the crowd mistakingly thought that Jesus would lead a revolt against Rome, much like Judas "The Hammer" Macabbean had done a century before.
      "Hosanna, Hosanna," they cried. They were excited, and who could blame them?  We would've been excited too. Everyone loves a parade... and we wave our arms and yell out for much less reason that these hopeful Jews had.  Every year people get a little crazy at St Patrick's Day parades, even though don't even know who St Patrick was... and the Mardi Gras is a rambunctious series of parades and parties. Everyone loves a parade, even small parades, like Dairy Days in Fredericksburg, Iowa, where their motto is "We owe it all to Udders," and Chicken Days Parade in Wayne, Ne., where they also feature a Chicken Clucking contest and sell "Cluctibles." Parades are fun... but this particular Palm/ Passion Sunday parade was deadly serious... because there was another parade... entering town from the west. Pontius Pilate was the Grand Marshall of this one, and there were no palm branches- just soldiers, and steeds, and symbols of power.  Even though Jerusalem was the most important city in Israel, the Romans used Caeserea as their capital. Indeed it was named for Caesar, but during the Passover festival, the Roman Governor and all of his soldiers marched into  Jerusalem to maintain order and secure the peace. Their annual parade was a show of power, and the people along their parade route didn't need hope... because they had the world, and everything it offers, in the palms of their hands. Who needs a palm branch when he has a saber? Who needs a prayer when they have power to crucify a man?
      And so, each parade begged for an audience. The people cheering Jesus were quite ordinary, even lowly, but they had a deep-rooted hope in God... and they longed for a day when this broken and hurting world would be mended and healed, and what is more, they knew that they needed a Savior! This is why they cried out, "O save, please save. Please, please, save!" The people cheering Pilate, on the other hand, were mostly in, or wanted to be in... the "in-crowd." They believed that they had heaven right here on earth, and in a sadly ironic way, they were right, because things were as good as they were going to get for them.  In the end, the Bible says, (Rev. 7:9) "people from every nation will raise palm branches" and praise Jesus as their Lord and Savior. These will be those who knew that they needed a Savior and who put their trust in Jesus. The world was never in their hands. Life may not have been easy for them. The parade of the rich and powerful was always more popular... but heaven will be theirs for eternity.  On this Palm/Passion Sunday, in the year of our Lord, 2015, there are still two parades begging for an audience. Which one will you be attending?

RANDY'S EASTER FLOWERS

      Easter is... a time for family. Little kids gather around the dinner table and color eggs, as mom and dad join in, and even the most reluctant of teenagers join mom and dad at church, and yes, even dad goes to church... on Easter.
      Easter is a time for dressing-up, for feeling special-even rich. Little girls wear new dresses, sometimes little boys where ties (or have them sewn on their shirts), and adults who have grown accustomed to jeans...search through their closets for something dressier, praying that it still fits.
      Easter is a time for candy- lots and lots of candy. There are Easter egg hunts- more than one if you plan it right- and there are little and not so little... chocolate bunnies, and more than candy alone...
      Easter is a time for food (period). There are Easter buffets all over town, and many families still host Easter meals in their homes... featuring ham generally... and delicious homemade pies.
      Easter is a time for toys, plush animals, and cute things. It is a time for giving, and like Christmas and Birthdays, Easter brings joy and lifts hearts all over the world.
      Easter is a time for life! Even more than Punxsutawney Phil, Easter celebrates spring! Flowers are beginning to bloom and the birds are singing. Easter tells us without saying a word that our long days of being cooped up inside... are over... and that things which appeared to be dead... were not. Indeed, for many people-even many Christians- Easter proclaims Mother Nature's comforting cycle of lifelessness giving way to renewal, but they are wrong because...
      Easter is a time of AMAZING GRACE AND AWESOME POWER. There is nothing automatic or predictable about resurrection. Everyone knows that what is dead is dead. Jesus' followers knew this, which is why they left their hiding places on Easter morning to anoint his dead body. The women who were the very first to visit his empty tomb... weren't expecting... an empty tomb. Not all all. They were simply paying their respects to a man they loved, just as people do everyday throughout the world. They were aware that, even though the flowers bloom and the snow melts, people stay dead when they die. There is nothing natural about Easter. It is a miracle! A miracle which blew the minds of Jesus' most devoted followers because it is inexplicable. They couldn't explain it. Neither can we... and we dare not try. Love cannot be explained, neither can faith, or honor, or grace, or Easter, which the church calls Resurrection Sunday. Easter cannot be explained, but it can be proclaimed! It can and must be proclaimed. Shouted from the rooftops and from the mountaintops too. HE IS RISEN! HE IS RISEN! GLORY TO GOD, HE IS RISEN. O death, where is thy sting? O darkness, you cannot hide the light that I see. O rain, you will never blot out the rainbow. O suffering, you will never silence my voice. O doubt, you will never destroy my faith... because He lives! He lives. Surprise of surprises, his tomb is empty. He is standing over there- can you see him? He is living in your heart. Can you feel him? Because He lives, I will live... abundantly, purposely, and eternally. Because He lives, life is worth the living!
      Before my brother Randy died, he ordered a "bulb garden" for Sherry and me, but we didn't know about it until it arrived... after his funeral. It was a wonderful thing for the "R" to do, and I planted it right away. A bulb here, a bulb there. Planted with love by a person who didn't know what he was doing. I'm not much of a gardener and as it turned out, I planted some of the bulbs upside down. Sometimes that's what I do with sacred things- I mess them up and plant them upside down- but Easter is much bigger than me... and its truth transcends anything that I might do with it- whether I'm dressed to the nines or wearing rags, dining at a pricey restaurant or eating a sandwich at home, ushering at church or not in attendance at all. Easter comes because it cannot be stopped... and on Easter Sunday following Randy's death, his flowers were standing tall in the bright morning sun. They were beautiful, and they were a sermon to me. Amen.

ANCIENT WORDS (That I Love)

      Ancient words, ever true, changing me, changing you. We have come with open hearts. Oh, let the ancient words impart. Holy words, long preserved, for our walk in this world. They resound with God's own heart. Oh, let the ancient words impart. Words of life, words of hope, give us strength, help us cope. In this world, where e'er we roam, ancient words will guide us home! (from Michael W. Smith's song, Ancient Words)
      Ancient words. In the beginning "the earth was dark over the deep sea, and God's Spirit swept over the waters- God said, 'Let there be light.' And God created humanity in God's own image, in the divine image God created them, male and female... (Gen. 1) God is our creator. He is a life-giver and his words alone give light and form. We are created in God's image, with all the promise and responsibility that this brings. May God bless these ancient words! Then the day came when father Abraham led his boy, Isaac, up the mountain, to sacrifice him in obedience to God. He arranged the wood, tied him up, raised his knife... and God cried out, "Abraham, Abraham... on the mountain of God, God provides the ram." (Gen,12) Never sacrifice your children in the name of God because, when a son is sacrificed, it will be his! May God bless these ancient words. "Then God said: I am the Lord your God. You shall have no other gods before me. Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy. Do not do any work on it- not you, your children, your servants, or the alien who is residing with you. Do not murder, or steal, or lie." Ancient words from Ex. 20. "You must be holy because I am holy. When you harvest your produce, you must not harvest all the way to the edge of your field, also do not pick your vineyard clean or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave these for the poor and the immigrant." (Lev. 19) Put God first, honor your parents, leave your hands off your neighbor's stuff, don't murder your neighbor, nor his reputation with gossip and slander. Ancient words. Words that give our own lives order and guidance, May God bless these ancient words. "Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love. Wipe away my sins, according to your compassion, Create a clean heart within me," (Psalm 51) Our God is a forgiving God. He forgives 70 times 7, and he is a giver of second-chances and new names. We are invited to lay our burdens down and be new again. May God bless these ancient words!
      "Ancient words, ever true, changing me and changing you. Holy words... of our faith, handed down to this age, Came to us... through sacrifice. O heed the faithful words... of Christ."  "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never hunger and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty," (John 6) "I am the good shepherd. I know my own sheep and they know me." (John 10) "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me will live, even though they die, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die." (John 11) Don't let your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. When I go and prepare a place for you, I will return and take you to be with me. I am the way, the truth, and the life. (John 14) I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will freely give water from the life-giving spring. I will be their God and they will be my children." (Rev, 21) Ancient words. Our God lives, and because he lives, we will live. There's a great day coming- just as surely as tomorrow is coming- when our hearts will come to rest in him, when we will live with him, dine with him face-to-face, and drink freely of his living water. This is the greatest truth ever told. This is the greatest hope ever given, and it springs from his ancient words. Ancient words will guide us home! Amen.

A NOTE TO BRITTANY and Her children and grandchildren

      When Donald IV grows up and has a family, maybe even Donald V (who may have Donald VI), and you find yourselves reminiscing about their ancestors, tell them that Donald's great-grandparents grew up in the 1950's. Tell them the things were settled and simple in the 50's- settled because everyone had prescribed roles to fulfill and simple because few people had more than what they needed. Tell them that religion was an accepted part of our life then and that President Eisenhower told us to go to our synagogue or church of choice each week. Tell them that people were encouraged to keep unorthodox thoughts to themselves and never to launder family secrets in public. It was a time in which people gave themselves to appearances, and really did try to meet the expectations that society had of them. Should they ask, tell them that we saw the first McDonalds that ever existed in Iowa and that it didn't have any seats or kid's meals. Tell them that most families owned one car because women were expected to stay home, and one TV set because families were expected to spend time together. Movies had happy endings in the 1950s, and good guys always wore white on TV, Crude language was censored and  married couples on TV wore pajamas and slept in different beds. While it's nothing to brag about, tell them that almost everyone, including their great-grandparents smoked in those days, and that the phrase "being gay" meant "being happy." Tell them that there weren't many fast food places in the old days and that there wasn't even much concern about being fast. Things moved slowly and predictably in the 50s... but our world was infected with "isms."
      We had racism, which systematically punished people for being black, and we had sexism that kept women in their place. Discrimination against "gays" wasn't necessary because they were all in hiding, and the same can be said for the Jews who had changed their names. Many women were fulfilled as housewives (later called homemakers), and a few women, like Donald's great-great grandfather's boss, found success in business. Some black people broke through as well, and some gay people "came out"... but by and large, it was a time when people were supposed to fulfill the roles that they had inherited at birth.
      Then, "all hell broke out." People began to protest a war that their peers were dying in and some of them were even fleeing to Canada, to avoid their patriotic duty. At about the same time, parents were encouraged to treat their children as "little adults," and the children began to see their parents as either "friends" or "foes." What is more, many people began to resist that roles that had been prescribed to them. Black people marched for liberty and justice and women burned their bras in protest to sexism. People everywhere demanded the freedom to do whatever they wanted... or nothing at all... and they insisted on having a voice in America's future! The white, male establishment resisted, but it was in vain... because youth and change must be served. Religion was not spared either, and those who worshiped the Dollar Almighty decided that their stores ought to be open on Sundays. From this point on, people began to seek more and more individual freedom, fewer and fewer commitments, and things began to move faster and faster.
      This is pretty much (unless something terrible has happened) the world that our great and great-great grandchildren find themselves living in, and I would say but two things. 1) I pray that they're enjoying the freedoms that were established in the old days because discriminatory "isms" cannot be tolerated; and 2) I fervently hope that they have re-established the sense of faith, family, community, commitment, and honor that made our country great in the first place. It was a mistake to put people into a box and keep them there... but it was terribly unwise to destroy the very pillars that held our country together! Tell them that in the old days, we might have been a little less free, but we were a whole lot better anchored! Tell them also that we love them and that we are so glad that they are in such loving hands.

WHO IS A HERO TO YOU?

      I might as well admit it- I'm the self-proclaimed captain of the "word police" and I am frustrated by the way in which the word "hero" is being used these days.
      My father flew a plane to the front-lines in the European theater of WW2. His plane was shot at on many occasions and he had more than one hair-raising experience.... but he was NOT a hero. At least, that's what he told me. As part of what Tom Brokaw calls "the greatest generation," dad did not believe that a man who did what he was supposed to do was a "hero," and he didn't say that out of false modesty. Doing tough things, even brave things, were part of what a person needed to do when circumstances demanded it. There was nothing heroic about it. If you had to hunt for your food during the depression, you did; if you had to let a few die to save the many, you did; if you had to work extra hard to make up for your lack of education, you did. To dad, men who went to war were simply following the call of duty. My dad had more courage than I do. He never backed down from anything, but he didn't think of himself as a "hero." In his view, he was a good soldier... and I think he would agree that he put country ahead of self, but he never responded to any call to be a hero.
      There are heroes, of course. They are those who voluntarily and repeatedly put themselves in harm's way for the sake of others... or who willingly sacrifice themselves so that others might live. Soldiers who throw themselves on live grenades are heroes. The man who volunteers to go back down into a mine for a person who can't save himself; the holocaust prisoner who volunteers to die for another prisoner; people who give all that they have so that someone else will get a chance and then cheer them- to me, these people are heroes! It is one thing to do what you have to do, and it is quite another to put others ahead of self, especially if that means dying for them.  Honorable men and women should always be called "sir" and "ma'am," and our entire way of life is based on the work and sacrifice of those who put duty ahead of self. Each of us should reach these levels of maturity, but those who knowingly give up their own lives (or put them at risk) so others can live... are rare and precious.
      To me there is a difference between really good firefighters and a heroic firefighters who rush into a tower of fire because they must save life! Perhaps I'm nit-picking. Self-proclaimed policemen do that, but I fear that we diminish real heroes when we use the term for those who simply do things for others once in awhile. Have we reached the point where anyone who takes the time to do something for others... is a hero? Are we so self-absorbed... that any act of kindness surprises us? I pray that "knowing that we're in this together" and "being neighbor" to one another is a standard that we will all reach. There is nothing heroic about being a nice, or responsible, or even a giving person. Let's save the label for those who have earned it.

CRYING FOR THE MAINLINE CHURCH

      I think my pension will be safe, but I'm concerned about the future of the mainline church, whose membership numbers are in free-fall. In an effort to be relevant, these churches are becoming more and more irrelevant because their "relevancy" has never been anchored in the world, or in any social position. The "only thing" that the church has to offer the world is Christ, but Christ is more than enough. The world already has social gatherings, and committee work, and wonderful music, and Christmas plays, and forums where people can exert influence and exercise power. The world already has all sorts of social service clubs, counseling centers, food banks, and meeting rooms. But the world does NOT have Christ, who is the bread of life, the light of the world, and the giver of life.
      Of course, churches need ways of doing things. They need an organization, and while I'm not much for meetings, I do love fellowship events. We also need to feed the poor, clothe the naked, and heal others... but these ministries must come out of our relationship with Christ... because Christ is all that we have to offer. Unless we (as a church) are inviting people to know Christ and helping them to grow in Christ, we can't possibly be relevant... because that is what churches are supposed to do. Scripture tells us that the early church devoted itself to Bible study, prayer, communion, and love of one another, which they showed in concrete ways. Their members were called "Christians" because they had given themselves to Christ, and they showed this by living in ways that stood distinctly apart from society's ways. The powers-that-be considered them odd, but even they gave Christians praise for the depth of love that they showed to one another.
      Churches are assemblies of people who have chosen to live sacrificially for Christ and to forgive one another 70 times 7, and when we really do these things, others will take notice because no one else is offering them the chance to discover real freedom and purpose. In a world where people feel isolated, unforgiven, and fearful of being known, there is a great need for the inviting, forgiving, and healing love of Christ! This is what people need. This is the church's purpose. This is our relevancy, and it cannot be replaced by other causes and agendas. There is a lot to be done in a broken and hurting world, no doubt, and the church must not be blind to this. However, the answer we have to give is Christ. Christ crucified and risen. Christ is our source of life, purpose and relevancy... or so it seems to me. This brief blog will not turn the tide. I know that, and I know that the kingdom of God will be just fine without the mainline church. But I feel really, really sad for the thousands of members that we are letting down, and for the untold numbers of people that we could have introduced to Christ.