Easter Honesty

This is not an easy season.  Yes there are many opportunities to celebrate but as one attempting to  function with a modern mind I am always wondering how we are to live as a people who profess that God raised Jesus from the dead.

Soren Kierkegaard likened faith to living by "virtue of the absurd."  Bringing his thoughts to our context and you could say that when we stand and recite those bookend exchanges, "Alleluia, Christ is risen! The Lord is risen indeed, alleluia!" we are not doing something that is logical or reasonable.

My sense is that I am not alone in this concern.  The fastest growing number in demographic studies of religion in the U.S. is of "nones."  More people are refusing to claim a religious affiliation -- especially the one practiced by their family of origin -- than ever before.  Pretty soon the nones will out number all other designations.  They already outnumber Episcopalians.

Fear not. Theirs is not an "enemy camp." I think it is in most ways a healthy response to how most mainline denominations, Roman Catholics, evangelistic mega-churches, dominionist, millenialist and neo-protestants have practiced their religion in recent years.

Every religious group is prone to the error of demanding something less of its members.  Every time that happens an insult is at least implied.  When our children are first befuddled by the absurdity of our claims we shush their innocent questions.  I remember parents asking me if confirmation classes would help "settle them down."

Please let's be honest with each other and the world around us.  We have chosen and are still choosing to be faithful to a God who by definition does not need us.  Who does not benefit from any human attempt to be proven as existing.  Who is seen as failing whenever and wherever evil persists or tragedies happen.

But when we celebrate Easter we have gone far beyond seemingly simpler claims that there is a God.  We have pushed all reasonable concerns aside.  We are saying that God is love.  More than anything else, love.  Not Episcopal love, just love.  Not Christian Science love, or Mormon, or Buddhist, or Muslim and on and on.  No love is easy.  Not ours of our children and especially not God's of us.

We need to be honest about love.