It’s Easter, and a preacher must find something to say
Now is the time to break the silence and escape our bubbles to talk about what we see unfolding in the world around us, writes REV. RANDY BUSH
Easter sermons are harder to write than Christmas sermons. Whatever else might be said on Dec. 25, there is something universal about the birth of a child to which everyone can relate. But Easter involves an event without precedent. Its narrative is about a tomb discovered to be empty and a resurrection from the dead proclaimed by a group of religious believers.
It is precisely the uniqueness of Easter that makes it difficult to preach about. Any talk about baby chicks emerging from dark, tomblike eggshells or tulip buds pushing out of hard, stony bulbs can only be quaint analogies at best. Resurrection has no parallel, no direct analogy and no universal point of reference to aid its storytelling. Yet on Easter Sunday, people come in droves, finding their way to church pews perhaps long neglected, and doing so precisely on the one day that the sermon is the most difficult to compose.
Of course, sociologists and social-media pundits are quick to point out that many people are not finding their way to church these days. A growing portion of the American public is quite comfortable self-identifying as having no religious affiliation.
Some of this rejection is tied to the very message of Easter Sunday, with its faith claims that contradict accepted natural laws and rational logic. Some of it also is due to a disappointment with the institution. The bad press and troubling reality of church-abuse scandals, pedophilia and the well-publicized support of some Christians for seriously flawed politicians have exacerbated the “anti-church” trend in America.
Whether Easter involves preaching to the choir and to pew-sitting parishioners, or whether it is treated as another Sunday spent avoiding all things liturgical, the challenge before us is having something meaningful to say right now. Finding the right words has become increasingly difficult over the past few years. Saying what is on your mind is quite easy, but that is not the same as really talking or
communicating with someone else. Being able to say something is not the same thing as having something to say.
In many ways, we are evolving into a post-verbal society. Words are too often imperfect communicators, easily dismissed as being distorted or ill-informed or fake in content and sentiment. What often replaces verbal communication now is the sharing of images. Visual storytelling is how many of us create narratives around which we build our lives, find our affinity groups or discoverwhat motivates us.
Images have always played a key role in telling stories. Think of space exploration and you envision an astronaut planting a flag on the lunar surface or the tragic Challenger space shuttle explosion happening againsta clear blue sky.
Think of the civil rights struggle and you recall the image of young people being attacked with firehoses and snarling dogs or of men frantically pointing toward an assassin’s outpost while huddled over the fallen body of MartinLuther King Jr.
More recently, the news has been full of images from the student-led marches — of tens of thousands carrying signs demanding commonsense gun control measures, or of the tear-streaked face of Emma Gonzalez standing in silence to commemorate the time that elapsed during the shootingin Parkland, Fla.
Housesof worship have alwaysrelied on images to help tell their stories. Architecture, art and stained-glass windows all play a part in communicating spiritual messages. But in the end, words remain the main tools of the religious trade.
At their best, spoken liturgies, recited scriptures and phrases artfully arranged into sermons and meditations can offer comfort and hope for a hurting world. But in those same settings, words of apology left unspoken for acts that betrayed trust damage true communication. Words that fill the air but never mention the real pain and suffering happening outside of sanctuary walls only diminish the faith story in the ears of modern listeners.
That is why having something to say remains the biggest challenge of all. In this fractious political season, initiating conversations with those around us — especially those outside our bubbles of like-mindedness — is a powerful tool for change. Asking others about family, work and hoped-for goals, despite the struggles of presentday life, can create a shared vocabulary necessary for positivesteps forward. And if words are hard, images can help. Allow a conversation to emerge after seeing a picture in the paper or on social media. Now is not the time to be afraid of differences of opinion. Now is the time to break the silence and talk about what we see unfolding in the worldaround us.
Every faith leader knows that the biggest religious topics are difficult to capture in words. Yet we persevere, not because our language will get things right, but because we hope our words will get theconversation started.
Breaking the fast after the long month of Ramadan allows for conversations about God’s gracious providence everyday of our lives.
Listening as a child asks, “Why is this night different from all other nights?” allows grown-ups to turn a Passover ritual into a dialogue about what is means to find true liberationfrom oppression.
And to choose to put into words on Easter Sunday something that is ultimately beyond words is to value an imperfectly expressed hope over a silent despair. Having something to say is always worth the effort.