Keeping it real on the way to the Cross

As Easter approaches each year, I often get sense of anxiety. I worry that I will not be able to preach a sermon that is worthy of the mystery and joy of the season. After all, the Resurrection is really the high holy day of the Christian calendar, if we preachers don't have something to say on Easter Sunday, then we might as well hang it up.

Of course, theoretically, the pressure really isn't on us. It sorts of boils down to whether or not God gives us something to say. Or, perhaps more accurately, whether or not God can break through all my blocks and distractions to get out whatever message needs to be proclaimed. This is sort of rule #1 in preaching and ministry generally. It's either God's work or its not. And if its not, its pretty hard to justify, at least over any length of time. Yet, even though preachers should know this, it is still easy to forget. It is easy to sort of buy into the ole cliche' "if it's to be, it's up to me."

One helpful aspect of all this is that Easter comes at the end of Holy Week. So by the time we are expected to be "real," we've already had a fairly substantial dose of reality. Thursday and Friday help pastors and congregations alike remember that Sunday isn't so much about us. Except to the extent that we are surprising beneficiaries.

Coming to understand ourselves as a sinners is both a burden and a blessing. It is a burden to the extent that we aren't necessarily the people that we imagine ourselves to be. It is a blessing to the extent that we realize that no one else is much surprised by all this. It can be tough to live with though. We want to be good. We want to avoid the betrayal. We understand the nails and the thorns, we would just prefer to imagine that they have been placed for the sake of someone else.