You know what’s the most important news item going on this week?
The war in Iran? No.
The TSA mess at airports? No.
March Madness? No.
The most important news of the week is old news—2,000-year-old news. It’s HOLY WEEK.
Ok, I know what many of you are thinking: “Oh God, Smith’s going to give a sermon again.” Relax. I’m not some tight-ass moralistic crusader! Listen up.
I often think of nekid women. Actually, I think of them as clothed, and then they magically become unclothed under the influence of my boyish charm.
I admit to having bouts of Schadenfreude. I especially enjoy it when ICE agents slam protesters to the ground, especially the histrionic, demon-possessed women who scream hysterically while trying to fight the officers. I could watch those videos all day. I must say, some of these crazed lesbians could give Hulk Hogan a run for his money. It’s good theatre. Now, I know why the gladiator-and-lion events were so popular in the Roman Colosseum. I wonder if they had any matches between humongously unattractive Karens and Roman centurions?
I’m pretty good at saying the F-word! I remember I was 16 before I heard my father use that word. I was in disbelief. I think my children were more like 16 days old when they first heard me exercise my F-word lexicon. How are children going to master linguistics if they are not exposed to the most flexible and utilitarian word in the English language?
I could go on—tripping old ladies, littering, making children cry. I know, dear reader, all this shocks you, as you’ve always thought of me as being perfect, just because I AM ALWAYS RIGHT in all my opinion pieces—but that doesn’t mean I am perfect in other aspects of my life. Indeed, it is hard for someone with my ego to admit it, but I am HUMAN. And this is why Easter is my favorite day of the year. You see, whether you know it or not, we are all weighed down by all the things we do wrong (sin), and these chains make it hard to find peace and reconciliation with that white-haired fella sitting on the gilded throne above the clouds holding a Louisville Slugger. Notice I didn’t say “scepter.” I like a big strong Boog Powell image of God.
In case you haven’t heard, there was this dude named Jesus. He looked kind of like a hybrid of Keanu Reeves and Tiny Tim. Seven hundred years before he was born, it was prophesied that he would die on a cross to redeem the world of its sins—and he did. I know this might all sound like hocus-pocus nonsense, but if you take a deep dive into the subject matter—his lineage and his teachings—it’s very likely you will be blown away by what is known as “Truth.” The more you read and study, the more you might say, “damn, there is too much here for all of this to just be coincidence.”
This year, I’ve been working on a few things. We Smith men are very left-brain-oriented (that’s why we are so much smarter than the sissy Joneses, Johnsons, and our other rival clans). We have emotions, but our self-control mechanisms keep us from blathering and babbling about them like a bunch of reality show housewives. I am really good at being an intellectual Christian, but I have felt that God wants me to be more intimate with HIM. So, I’ve been trying to journal—writing down my innermost feelings and prayers—in hopes that this would make me “feel” more gratitude, as opposed to having intellectual gratitude. It has not been easy for me because, like a lot of John Wayne/Clint Eastwood types, I have no idea what I’m feeling. Feelings are kind of a girl thing. I’m always busy, and taking time to reflect and be emotive ain’t really part of my makeup. But then there’s Easter!
Ever since I was a little boy, I’ve always loved Easter Sunday, and it just dawned on me that it has always been the day I have really felt the gratitude I’m currently seeking. Even before I understood the Gospel, I felt utter joy on Easter. The Holy Spirit seeks you, even if you don’t seek Him, and as a boy I felt His grace way before I read or understood the Bible.
There is no more glorious place on earth than springtime in Virginia. At Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Greenwood, nestled outside of Charlottesville, the majestic Blue Ridge in the background, magnolia, dogwood, and gardenias perfuming the air, I can still see my Uncle David a few pews ahead of me, adorned in the loudest sports coat in all of Christendom. Then the organist would play “Welcome Happy Morning,” joy filled the church, and everyone was beaming. Every Easter, when the organist hits those first few notes, it is always the happiest few seconds of the year for me. I realize it is that joy and gratitude I have on Easter that I am trying to cultivate, such that I can feel daily what I feel on that special day.
In 1526, William Tyndale translated the Bible into English. Until then, the Bible was written in the Latin Vulgate. It had to be published in Germany and smuggled into England. The Reformation was liberating. People realized that, by reading the “word,” they didn’t need a manmade institution to touch the divine. To me, androgynous-looking clerics wearing purple robes and funny-looking miter hats are more like a transgender fashion show than my notion of 1st-century Christianity. There were no churches, only “the Way.” If one is a political libertarian, as many of you are, then Christianity matches your natural inclinations. John Adams once stated that the principles of civil government and Christianity were the same. If everyone practiced its tenets, there would be no need for government. Natural law—the rule structure of right and wrong, which is the basis of a happy, prosperous, and orderly society—is not manmade; it has been manifested to us by our Creator. Those of us who are proponents of limited government, myself included, might be misallocating our time and resources by spending too much time jawboning about politics and forgetting that our efforts to change the world might be more productive spent shoring up the foundation that everything we hold dear rests upon. If that foundation crumbles, then we have nothing.
So, if you wonder why, every now and then, a miserable wretch and sinner like myself gets on a soapbox and preaches a mini-sermon, it is because such evangelism is necessary to remind us that good government stands firmly on a strong Judeo-Christian foundation.
Happy Easter!
