"The nation needs to have a conversation about".....and...."We need to re-examine"....these were two statements that just jumped out at me as I was reading about only the latest horror to take place in the news. As the years have rolled on....decades really....and I would read the summary of a local or denominational synod....any gathering of religious leaders really.....it might be a convention or conference....looking back....it seems like I was always somewhat perplexed.....and disappointed.....that they never seemed to tackle issues of real need and urgency....the more weightier issues. The norm was....I would read the summary....and wonder why they even bothered to make such a big deal about meeting together.
Admittedly I'm never a part of these things....and in retrospect I could have been....I could have at least given a lone voice within a denomination that there are much greater issues that....."we need to have a conversation about".....or...."we need to re-examine." I also admit that these often yearly meetings do address issues that do need to be addressed....so it can be a bit of Monday morning armchair quarterbacking.
Well at least I do get involved though these posts....but if I were to attempt to have that voice....I might just recommend that the main topic of the conference or synod would be.....Monday Morning Armchair Quarterbacking! I think the title would be perfect....albeit a little coded....needing explanation. You see....the title here....refers to the problem at hand....Monday Morning.....that obviously following Sunday....the Lord's Day....and 'Quarterbacking'....alluding strongly to the game of football that dominates our Lord's Days....and thus contributes to the decay of not only our nation.....but the church in general.
Not only do I not know the exact answers on how Christians are to live their lives on the Lord's Day....I don't know if the answers can be codified....and I think it probably better that they may not be....but what we are doing now....and have been for probably well over a century....is obviously the wrong way.
I remember a Hollywood film from about 1960. Kirk Douglas was the star. My memory here goes back to when I was just a kid....so it is not perfect....but it made an impact. The Kirk Douglas character was washing his automobile....on his driveway.....in a community not unlike the community that I live in today. The bad guy in the film.....I remember that much....probably watching through his own living room window....criticized the Douglas character for washing his car on a Sunday. I know that everyone watching that movie knew exactly what the script was saying....'oh those ridiculous religious people....hypocrites....making a big deal about washing a car on a Sunday'....and to make it worse it's the bad guy criticizing the good guy! That was the general feeling of the day on Sundays.....circa 1960....and we do not want to go back to that.
On the other hand there is the 1982 Academy Award for Best Picture....Chariots Of Fire....of which Eric Liddell's Scottish Presbyterian stance on not running on the Lord's Day....had a lasting effect on me....and therefore in a way is why this post is available for you to read! An odd anecdote just came to my mind....please bear with me. It was the 1982 Oscar ceremony where Chariots Of Fire was nominated for seven awards....winning four. Famed screenwriter Jerzy (Joseph) Kosinski....was announcing who won for Best Screenplay. He spoke slowly and in a slight accent. I just Googled this on YouTube to refresh my memory! He described the book of Genesis as God's screenplay....and then....he said that if successive generations to Moses had....just stuck to the script....instead of adlibbing....then this would be a better world to live. The audience paused for only a short moment....not knowing exactly how to respond....and then they applauded. Kosinski then went on to open the envelope and name Chariots Of Fire as the Best Screenplay winner.
I could also have titled this post....If We Had Just Stuck To The Script. Either way....on the issue of the Lord's Day in the church today.....denominational or otherwise....we need to have a conversation about it....in our synods....in our conferences....and in our congregations....even among friends....and we need to re-examine how we have handled this controversy....not so much trying to win the scriptural battle....for centuries of this debate have not come up with a clear winner.....but rather looking at America....and all the horrors that have come upon us....and just open it up for conversation....what would America be like....if its faithful pulpits had not given up on this difficult challenge....and instead pointed the congregations to not only God's commandment....and not only the delight in the Lord's Day....but the concept of a....hedge of protection.....a hedge of protection that we once may have had to some imperfect degree....because we were imperfect....but now we are on our own....defenseless....because we never defended God's commandment on the Lord's Day.
