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 On Easter, Clergy Renew Meaning of the MessageBy John J. Shaughnessy john.shaughnessy@indystar.com March 27, 2005 Each Easter, the Rev. Linda McCrae knows the challenge that ministers and priests face in delivering a fresh and meaningful sermon on the most significant day of the Christian faith. For McCrae, the challenge means finding just the right story to connect the core Christian belief of Christ's resurrection to the real lives of the people who will pack churches today. A story like the one she once shared on Easter about a 3-year-old girl who had been diagnosed with leukemia. "The little girl went through chemo and lost her hair," recalled McCrae, the pastor of Central Christian Church, in Downtown Indianapolis. "One day, she and her mom went to breakfast at an upscale restaurant. In the bathroom, a woman noticed the girl and said, 'You have cancer. I have cancer, too. I like your bald head. Would you like to see mine?' " The woman then removed her wig and let the little girl rub her head. The child and the woman also talked about their cancer before returning to their tables, McCrae said. "A few minutes later, the little girl realized the woman was sitting nearby," she continued. "She went over and asked the woman if she could see her wig again. Her mother panicked and told the girl to come back to their table. But the woman took off her wig in the middle of the fancy restaurant and let the girl play with it." McCrae paused before sharing the Easter message that she found in that connection. "For me, the power of that story is the power of giving yourself to another person when you're most vulnerable. That was true, too, for the witnesses at Christ's resurrection. "The women who came to anoint Jesus on Easter morning were vulnerable. They were grieving about his death. But the message they get back is that death isn't the end of the story." As they stand before swelled crowds of faithful followers and once-a-year visitors, ministers and priests also know that Easter can be a great opportunity to make a life-changing connection with people who don't normally attend church. "I don't preach to my congregation at Easter," said the Rev. Teri Thomas, pastor of Northminster Presbyterian Church, in Indianapolis. "They know the story. That's the Sunday I preach to people who aren't active in congregations, who don't have the faith, who see church as boring, doctrinaire and unimaginative. I preach to them so they'll come back when it's not Easter." Like the 16-year-old girl whom Thomas once knew. "I was one of those unchurched people," Thomas recalled. "I never went as a child. My father had a bad experience with church at a young age. He was so anti-church that my way of rebelling against him was going to church. "I met a group of people there who welcomed me, loved me and cared for me. Adolescence isn't an easy time. The church brought me to an understanding of God." Now, she uses her Easter message to convey a sense of caring to people who have never known God or who have been turned off by organized religion. "I get pumped up for it," Thomas said. "One year, I did Easter from the perspective of Mary Magdalene, who was first to the tomb (of Christ). I did it from a first-person standpoint. "It helped me see Easter in a different way -- a personal encounter with a loving God instead of a theological reference of resurrection. Clearly, her experience of Christ changed her life." Changing lives is also the Easter goal of the Rev. Frank Alexander. As senior pastor of Oasis of Hope Baptist Church, Alexander works to have his Indianapolis church live up to its name -- offering hope and a home to a mix of members who include former drug addicts, blue-collar workers, professionals and people with criminal records. "I've seen people come to church mentally, physically and spiritually wasted, and I've seen them become people of purpose whose lives have been transformed," Alexander said. Alexander's approach to his Easter sermon differs from Thomas'. He puts his focus on the members who faithfully attend church. "The main message I'm trying to communicate is that the resurrection of Christ will make a difference because it will give the opportunity to transform your life as well as empower you for daily living," Alexander said. The Rev. David Rodriguez always looks to share the Easter story by using a different angle that he hopes will catch people off-guard. Like the time he viewed Christ's resurrection from the perspective of Thomas, the apostle who has been called "Doubting Thomas." This year, the pastor of Grace Community Church in Noblesville plans to tell the Easter story through the New Testament tale of Lazarus, the man whom Christ raised from the dead, according to Gospel accounts. "When Jesus shows up at his house, Lazarus' sister, Martha, is upset," Rodriguez noted. "She says, 'If you had been here, he would have lived.' Jesus said in response, 'I am the resurrection and the life. Do you believe that?' " That question is the crucial one that all Christians seriously must consider, Rodriguez said. "I want to tell the truth of it; that here was a man who was bodily raised from the dead," he said. "My bottom line is, 'Do you believe that?' If you do, what does that mean for your life?" While pastors have different focuses in their Easter sermons, they also have different approaches for preparing them. Rodriguez started thinking about his Easter sermon five weeks ago and fine-tuned it for about 15 hours during Holy Week. Alexander re-read the Gospel versions of Christ's resurrection on Palm Sunday. He then prayed about them, asking God to speak freshly to him about the story. He did his writing of the sermon late in the week. McCrae often begins writing her sermons in unlikely settings. "Sometimes, it's at a coffeehouse or at an Arby's," she said. "I like to work with a dull roar in the background. I finish my sermons at home on Saturday night." Thomas began looking at the Easter text three months ago as part of her church's worship team, so the musicians could plan their music for Easter. She then spent Monday quietly reflecting upon the Easter readings and jotting down her initial thoughts -- the beginning of a process that ended with a final version by Thursday. "For me, the most powerful experience of preaching is when we see how it is being lived out today," McCrae said. "It pushes me in the direction of speaking to the most universal human conditions. "So, if you don't know a lot about the Bible or Christianity, it doesn't matter. We all share the experience of pain. We all share the experience of hope." Photo: Rob Goebel / The Star Published in the Indianapolis Star Sunday, March 29, 2005 |