Spiritual Hiccups - Gifts of Flowers

I gave my wife flowers this morning for Valentine's Day.  Nothing terribly unique or creative about that.  Lots of other husbands, lovers, and partners did the same.  I enjoy giving my wife flowers.  I mean it as an act of genuine love and affection, but it is not a very difficult act.  It doesn't require much of me.  And truth be told, it is probably not the best measure of love.

I imagine that there are many spouses out there who would happily trade flowers or chocolates for more costly acts of love, things such as helping out more around the house, doing things the other wants to do, spending more time together, or really listening to the other's concerns.  Most all relationships get stuck in patterns that are less than ideal, and it would be an act of love to change those patterns.  But change is difficult for most of us.

For some reason I thought of Valentine's flowers when I read about Palm Sunday in today's passage from Mark.  I suppose it was all the greenery.  The crowd showered Jesus with palms and praise.  It seemed a wonderful moment, and is often called the Triumphal Entry.  But in Mark's gospel, even Jesus' disciples abandon him when he is arrested few days later, when following him becomes too costly.

As a pastor, I often find myself wishing for the days when all a congregation need do was hold a quality worship service with decent sermons, and people would show up.  But the culture doesn't funnel many folks to us any longer, and a lot of congregations are struggling.  But it occurs to me that the cultural Christianity I grew up in didn't really ask much of me.  A couple of hours out of my weekend and a little bit of money.  If I wanted to do more, that was great, but it certainly was not required.  Faith did not ask very much of me other than to believe the "right" things.

Not being propped up by the culture does make my life as a pastor more difficult, but still I think that the seeds of a renewal and revival in the Church are to be found in losing those old, cultural moorings.  For faith to make sense today, it needs to call forth change.  Congregations need to become places where people can see the Spirit at work in member's lives, changing them into disciples who know Jesus and follow him, who live in ways that are sometimes costly.  And here and there, I see signs that this is indeed happening.

On Valentine's Day, my gift of flowers calls me to consider what changes a more profound love would ask of me.  Surely Jesus' journey to the cross and his call to "follow," call me to consider what changes real faith asks of me.

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