it was kind of sad this year to pray up at the MUB. what really hit me is that we’ve been involved as a church for almost 20 years in the Memorial Day events. each year it seems like the group of vets gets smaller and smaller. there used to be 20-30 of them in the parade, now just a handful remain. it is obvious that those who served in WW2 and Korea have been heavily invested in this remembrance. those who fought in more recent wars just aren’t there in any numbers. why?? maybe it has to do with the ”popularity” of a war, maybe it is just part of a cultural shift in which a new generation doesn’t do the traditional things their parents did.

what really has me conflicted though isn’t the sadness that a great generation is dying out. no, what conflicts me is trying to answer the question, “would i fight for my country?” once upon a time i would have said “YES” without hesitation if the conflict was just. now i see a country that more and more is distancing itself from God, and i wonder– should i fight for a land becoming more blasphemous every day. here i am preparing a message for this sunday on what it means to live as an “alien” or “sojourner” in the land. lately i’ve sure been feeling more than ever before that this world isn’t my home.

so i still honor the men and women who fought the good fight and secured freedom for this country. i still believe that the state has the right and responsibility to stop oppression. and i still cherish the freedom i have as a pastor to preach without any outside interference. but i wonder what tomorrow will bring. and i keep thinking that we as a church are starting to better understand what those first christians knew– that this their citizenship is somewhere else (phil. 3:20). 

so tell me– would you still fight for freedom?

So I had this not so nice vision of heaven the other day. I got to the pearly gates and was met by an unhappy  group of people (actually they were ticked). Who were they? The folks who shouted “hosanna” and cheered Jesus on his way into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. Why were they mad? Because for many years I have preached that this was a fickle bunch who praised Him on Sunday and yelled “crucify Him” on Friday. The thing is, as I studied this year in preparation for Palm Sunday, I got a sense that I’d gotten it terribly wrong.

Seems that if you spend some time reading the accounts of both Palm Sunday and Good Friday, you will find that these were maybe two totally different crowds of people. The Sunday bunch were disciples who had just witnessed Jesus raise His friend Lazarus from the dead. The Friday crew– a group assembled mainly by the Pharisees and Sadducees (Jesus’ enemies). Were they two different groups, or was there a lot of overlap: some people cheering on both days?

Right now I’m not sure. But I do get that haunting feeling I may owe a whole crowd of folks a BIG apology when I get to the heavenly gates. Great! One more time that I opened my mouth and blew it. Wadda ya think, am I in trouble?

terry