Holy Thursday

I was invited to preach at a friend's church on Holy Thursday 2008. The worship was centered on the Seven Last Words of Jesus. Mostly this is limited to the tradition of the Good Friday where usually either pastors or lay leaders speak. Good Friday and seven last words happen almost like clockwork from 12 noon to 3 pm with pastors speaking for approximately 10 - 12 minutes. At Fairview Community Baptist Church, however, my friend coordinated efforts to have the seven last words on Thursday night, and have people from surrounding communities speak. We had a 20 something male lead the music, 2 chaplains, a teenager, a teacher from Asbury Park, pre-seminary student, and a caregiver. I was probably the longest speaker that evening (sorry can't shake old habits), and everyone gave a succinct, inspired message. I simply was overwhelmed with what was happening; I was learning that in a few words, depth can be communicated.
As a part of worship, we shared in communion, bread and juice. One of the pastors of the church gave the introduction that evening. During communion, she led us in spontaneous song and the singing had to be the most beautiful that I have heard for years. Some songs that I have know, others that I have not, yet, could not help but sing. These songs were praises to God, out of gratitude for what God has provided for her. This pastor, an African American female, has experienced life, and not the best parts of life. Because of her race, gender, and culture, she has experienced difficulty, the harsh reality of life. Yet, she is singing fully, reverently, and filled with confidence that her Lord will provide for her again and again. At that moment, my life did not seem so difficult and harsh as I believed that it was. Being without a house for a year and living with Aunt Sue was an experience that I should have appreciated more. Our children sleeping all in the same room was a unique experience and one that could and will shape my children positively and give them funny memories for a lifetime. Every morning Luke would crawl into bed with Aunt Sue ("Bubba"). I should have sang, been singing Blessed Be Your Name. Not singing, of course, because well that would be good, but you get a sense of what I saying. I should have prayed as in the Lord's Prayer, "Thank you God for giving us this day our daily bread." Simply enough, my life was not bad at all. Spoiled brat. I learned much about God who had the grace to put up with my whining for that year. I wasted too much time wallowing and not enough time living in those moments and experiencing life as many do in the world around me. Big deal that we had one bathroom and 3 bedrooms. We had a home with a lot of grace and love, food to eat, and our family healthy and goofy and loving living with Bubba (Aunt Sue). We learned a lot about ourselves, about one another, and more importantly God ... if we stopped long enough to listen and see glimpses of His grace.