April 5, 2015 – Easter – “Wasting Easter” from John Knox Kirk on Vimeo.
A sermon preached at John Knox Kirk of Kansas City, Missouri, on April 5, 2015.
1 Corinthians 15:1-11
and Mark 16:1-8
Editorial note: I’m working on correcting spacing issues. Thank you for your patience in the meantime.
I once heard of a church that always had a beautifully decorated sanctuary on Easter.
It was the pride of the whole town—
–highlighted by 500 lilies that were arranged in the sanctuary
for the special day—
–sometimes just a bank of lilies;
–sometimes in the shape of a cross;
–sometimes almost randomly strewn around
like an artist with a canvas.[i]
They were memorial lilies.
People gave five dollars for each of them,
and every year, the bulletin insert listed 500 names,
those remembered by the giving of a lily.
Five hundred lilies…five dollars each.
They were beautiful.
In the 16th year of that tradition—it came apart.
One of the older members of the congregation, a woman,
went up after the Easter service
and said, “I’m going to the hospital to visit a friend,
can I take one of the lilies to her?
I know I can’t tell which one I gave,
but anyone of them will do… they’re all alike.”
And without really getting an answer to her question,
she went up to the cross of lilies—500 lilies—picked one up—
She paused,
–AND THEN turned to those who still remained in the sanctuary
and shouted in a shocked voice:
“THEY’RE PLASTIC!”
Well, there was much concern.
Not at first just over their being plastic,
“but, we gave five dollars for these lilies, but if they’re plastic,
they could be the same ones we paid for last year.”
Well, committees met and huddles were formed—official and unofficial, you know—
and the WHOLE tradition collapsed.
Someone came up with the figure,
over 15 years, that $37,500…for the exact same lilies!
The minister gathered those concerned together,
and tried to defend the practice of having plastic lilies.
They were carefully stored and covered, he said,
and they had, indeed, lasted for years—and they were beautiful…
His defense, it seems, was along two lines:
The practical defense:
in response to what has happened to the money, he said—
“We have used it in a contingency fund.
We have been able to help transients,
and to meet emergencies that have not been budgeted,
and let me assure you,
the money has gone to good use.”
And there was whispered and reluctant acceptance by some,
rejection by others.
His OTHER line of defense for the action…was THEOLOGICAL.
He said, “After all,” and he said this with enthusiasm—
“After all, the plastic lilies are more appropriate to Easter—
–because they always bloom…they never die.”
And then he said: “After all, we don’t want to waste Easter!” [Read more…]
