I recently saw a video of a pastor preaching to a very large congregation with a two word sermon… WAKE UP! I’m not sure how long his sermon lasted, but after several minutes, I got it. I think those in his congregation not only heard it, but felt it as well. With Easter, being one of the twin towers of Christian Holy days, upon us this week, this sermon was a good reminder that I (we) might just be sleeping through the whole thing.
I tend to lose focus when things around me start to become familiar or routine. I get a little droopy-eyed when I sense that the scenery stays pretty much the same. This tendency also bleeds over into my spiritual life when I feel like I’ve been-there-done-that. Easter may seem like a familiar story unless we pause to reflect on what the lingering results of Jesus’ words on the cross, “It is finished” look like in the 21st century. The cross and a miraculous resurrection just don’t make much sense as long as we are doing a pretty good job of staying out of trouble and helping others in need from time to time! It doesn’t carry the personal relevance when we don’t understand the reality of our own brokenness alongside the reality of the completed work of Christ on our behalf.
Waking up can be startling! It can also be slowly crawling out of our groggy state and wiping the sleep from our eyes. Awakening will demand that we become aware and begin looking at the “normal” things around us in “abnormal” ways. We can begin asking a different set of questions. What if… I began to live like I actually have a clean slate? What if… Christ’s death and resurrection is truly enough – that I don’t have to work hard enough to be a “good Christian”? What if… on earth below could actually look a little like “as it is in Heaven?” What if… living on this side of history is really full of amazing grace? Waking up will change the way I/we act and think about the people and events all around us. This gets me a little closer to what Easter is all about. It also gives me a reason to wake up and smell the coffee. Open our eyes, Lord!
