Easter is pretty nice event- whether you consider yourself a Christian or not. Spring is right around the corner. Family meals are planned. Eggs are dyed. Chocolate bunnies are beheaded. Once-a-year treats are gobbled up. (Peeps, Robin Eggs, mint M & M's or Cadbury Eggs anyone?) Maybe we even throw in some lillies, new clothes and a nice church service in there too.
But there's a darker side to the Easter holiday for those who are interested in Jesus- Good Friday. The joy of the empty tomb only comes courtesy of suffering and death. The idea that "Jesus is Alive" means what is does because Jesus was once dead and gone. Although we may not usually pay much attention to this part of the Easter season, it gives us some great opportunities to reflect, confess and maybe even grieve. Of course, getting into those modes don't happen automatically or easily for all of us.
With that in mind I wanted to share a song with you that's helping me move in that direction. Here are the lyrics. For a fuller effect, listen to a preview of the song (track 8) or download the full monty for 89cents HERE.
Let’s Confess It
Words and music by Brian McLaren, 2007
Let’s confess it: there’s a lot of evil, lust and greed in our world. Oppression and sin build up pressure within until there’s an eruption of corruption. Beneath the skin, we skid and spin in spiritual crisis where vice is the norm, and justice, kindness, humility, and civility are all too rare.
Unaware of our despair, we smile in denial and say “It’s all OK. No need to change, no need to grow, just have another drink or smoke, tell another joke, and don’t think or rethink. Make another buck, with some luck you can buy a bigger house, store more stuff, drive fast, look good, keep up.”
Lord have mercy. Lord have mercy.
Meanwhile, addiction, rejection, and a lack of reflection spawn friction, dejection and a loss of direction. Every family, community, and nation are shaken. Creation’s resources are carelessly taken. And pollution scars every ocean, mountain, breeze, and shore, with visible symptoms of our inner war.
We’re all victims. We’re all villains. We’re stuck in the web that we spun ourselves. But God lights a spark of hope in the dark to help us cope with all that’s wrong and needs to be made right. God has come into all our pain, shame, and loss through the cross, and calls us to a path of life, love, purpose, and peace.
Lord have mercy, Lord have mercy.
If we humble ourselves to believe and receive, a river will flow and a candle will glow in a secret sacred place within us, very deep, where we have been wasting in shadows, halfdead or half-asleep. We’ve been falling in a vicious viral downward spiral that leads to death. Let’s wake up, hear God calling, take a deep, fresh breath.
Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
“We confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done and what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart and we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your son, Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and please forgive, that we may finally and fully learn to live in dignity and unity, integrity and harmony, delighting in your will and walking in your ways, to the glory of your name. Amen.”
Lord have mercy. Lord have mercy.
May each of us realize and confess the mess that we're in and seek that mercy and restoration that Jesus offers us.
Happy Good Friday
To help us prepare to celebrate the life of Jesus this Easter we're offering a 4-week run of Life Groups. Each group will meet once a week during the month of April to delve further into the themes of Sunday's teaching conversation and experience deeper community.
