Today is Holy Thursday. I was thinking on the way to work about this week, and it's importance to those of us in the Christian faith.
While I have physically left the Catholic Church, it has really never has left me.
My wife and I attend New Song in downtown Valparaiso- a branch of the First United Methodist Church. She is not Roman Catholic, but is a devout Christian.
Were it not for New Song Pastor Kurt Nichols and all of the others who make the Sunday service always meaningful and relevant, I might be swayed to return to the Catholic Church. I often miss it.
Of course the television advertising campaign recently for "Catholics Come Home" was a powerful message to me. However, Pastor Nichols has my devotion, loyalty and appreciation. I know he has my wife Donna's, as well.
So as we prepare to celebrate The Resurrection, and the deep meaning behind what occurred more than 2000 years ago, I am also reminded of our own mortality.
Growing up the fear of dying was terrifying for me. My childhood was far from Ozzie and Harriet -- very far. Now, as I head towards what are surely the last stages of my life, I am no longer afraid. I know I'm in good hands -- God's hands. How much more comforting can it be?
Now there are only two things that scare me -- public speaking, and for some unexplained reason, talking about religion.
I think the latter may stem from an expectation I have on myself to know more about the Christian faith than I actually do, and a fear of being exposed. That does not, however, have any bearing on my deep faith in the Lord.
This Sunday -- Easter -- I am positive it will again be a wonderful experience at New Song. Afterward Donna and I will return home and have our own Easter. We may or may not talk about how we miss family. Again, as we get older our children have their own families and obligations.
I'll quietly remember Easters when my Aunt Jane and Uncle Tom, who raised me for a good part of my life, would cook a leg of lamb. Honestly, I didn't like lamb. But it wasn't about the food. It was about family, and the celebration Easter represents.
I miss that. I suspect Donna will miss her family and experiences as well.
