Do Not Be Afraid... Walmart is Open... Hallelujah!

The Resurrection of Jesus

28 After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. ² And suddenly there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. ³ His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. ⁴ For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men. ⁵ But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. ⁶ He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. ⁷ Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.’ This is my message for you.” ⁸ So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. ⁹ Suddenly Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him. ¹⁰ Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”

Okay, the scary photo above was staged (the one below was not staged), but it serves to illustrate a point.  Let me explain.

Yesterday was Easter Sunday.  My wife and I decided to attend one of the newer churches in the area to celebrate Easter with the congregation and hopefully have an inspiring worship experience.

The congregation spared no expense in creating an attractive, inviting, festive environment for worship.

The service took place in a beautiful outdoor park.  As we entered the park we were welcomed by friendly greeters and given some free stuff before being directed to the breakfast kiosks to have some free breakfast.

We took our seats and were treated to moving music, by live performers.  The sound system was first rate.  The seats were comfortable.  The location was beautiful.  And the sermon was great.

The preacher was prepared, passionate and articulate.  His message was solid, scriptural, on point and to the point.  He had just the right blend of personal story woven into the biblical story.  He understand the local culture and was able to speak the language of the culture without surrendering the values of the kingdom.  The message was accessible to non-believers, new believers and long time believers alike. It was a good message and a good morning!

Yet, in spite of the enormous effort made by the congregation to invite and attract people to their Easter celebration, there were many empty seats.

Easter Morning Chapter Two - The Walmart Experience

I'm not proud to say that I went to Walmart following the worship service.  We had invited friends to Sunday dinner and I was in charge of making the fruit salad.  Unfortunately, I needed a couple of things to finish the fruit salad and the local grocery store was closed, so I headed to Walmart.

The only spaces available in the parking lot were out along the perimeter, so I decided to drive up and down the lanes of the parking lot until a car finally backed out of a space and I was able to park closer to the entrance.  

The traffic jam in the parking lot was nothing compared to the crush of crisscrossing shopping carts encountered inside the store. I only needed a couple of things and decided I could run the gauntlet more quickly without the encumbrance of a shopping cart.

So... with the grace of a Gisele fleeing from a predictor, I slipped through the maze of frantic consumers and clashing shopping carts, grabbed the missing ingredients for the fruit salad and headed for the checkout... the final, and most difficult part of the gauntlet.  The line was long and scary.

Question?

Why is it that people would choose to endure the Walmart gauntlet on a holiday but reject free breakfast and good music on our most holy day?

Photo taken at Walmart

If you know the answer, I'd like to hear it.  Just click the comment box and share your comment.  

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