Yesterday I saw a Facebook post celebrating a pastor of a local church. It was a picture of a cake, with a cross in colored frosting. I couldn't help but remark, I wonder if that is appropriate. I can certainly appreciate the congregation wanting to show their appreciation to their pastor and I'm certain that it was a heart felt gesture on their part. Still it struck me as somehow inappropriate and I'm struggling to say why. That the cross is an icon cannot be denied. I'm thinking perhaps it is that fact that disturbs me. I don't know, having it on a cake, to be cut up and eaten, seems a bit disrespectful. Could be I'm just old and set in my ways. It is a topic I often touch upon, this familiarity, this less than formal attitude we have adopted in the last decade or so. It all seems just a little too chummy to me. I'm talking about the way children address their elders, the way we address our elected leaders, the way we address the clergy. I often speak of " polite company " as a way to describe that relationship.
After posting my remark and receiving some feedback I continued to think about that. I remembered how my church always had a birthday party for Jesus. Yes, it was called that, not a Christmas party. There was a cake, although I don't believe there was anything on it other than Happy Birthday Jesus. As I recall the scene it began with everyone singing Christmas carols. A Christmas tree sat the front of the room with presents piled high around its' base. There were cookies and hot cocoa. At one point you would hear sleigh bells! It was the signal that Santa Claus would be coming through the door. Presents were distributed to all. I believe each present was marked Boy or Girl and was handed out accordingly. Once all the presents had been handed out it was time to sing Happy Birthday to Jesus and the cake was cut. I wonder if the technology had been available to put a picture of Jesus on that cake if it would have been?
Why I felt compelled to question putting the cross on the cake I can't really say. It just struck me differently. I suppose it is just the passage of time and a lack of participation on my part. Everything changes over time, call it evolving or whatever, I don't always agree with the change. I think that is true of us all. It is doubly evident when you have been separated for some time. I admit to not being a regular church goer. I don't have any particular " excuse " for that, I just got out of the habit. On the few occasions that I have attended services I found them a bit uncomfortable. The services just didn't seen quite as reverent as I was expecting. Not that it was wrong in any fashion, just not what I remembered or was expecting. Sorta like going to class reunion. You know everyone but are still a bit nervous.
I think I just miss the formality of life sometimes. Not that I am a particularly formal person, whatever that means. Perhaps it is nothing more than expectations. You could say I have higher expectations in certain situations than the generations following me. When I was young, when I was the younger generation, I didn't have any expectations. That was because I had to be taught those. Call them social norms, rites or rituals, whatever you wish, but I was being taught what to expect. I adopted the majority of them. But, like every generation before my own, and every generation to follow, I rejected some as well. And today, today I'm thinking I'm no longer in the majority as far as that goes. Different expectations. A different acceptance of social norms. It becomes uncomfortable at times. It is only uncomfortable when we refuse to surrender. Surrendering the things we want or expect is a difficult thing to do.
I was taught to remain steadfast. It was a common theme in my church and in my home. Stick to your guns was the axiom used most often. If you feel you are right, don't back down. The challenge we face is determining when to surrender. Thing is, like everything else, the more you do it, the more likely it is to become a habit! It is far easier to surrender than to continue the fight. There is a passage in the Bible that says, " steadfastness comes through pain. " I believe that verse is telling you, it might hurt you to remain steadfast in your belief but it is worth it. " Faith is what someone knows to be true, whether they believe it or not. " ( Flannery O'Connor. ) So you see, I'm not stubborn, I'm faithful.
After posting my remark and receiving some feedback I continued to think about that. I remembered how my church always had a birthday party for Jesus. Yes, it was called that, not a Christmas party. There was a cake, although I don't believe there was anything on it other than Happy Birthday Jesus. As I recall the scene it began with everyone singing Christmas carols. A Christmas tree sat the front of the room with presents piled high around its' base. There were cookies and hot cocoa. At one point you would hear sleigh bells! It was the signal that Santa Claus would be coming through the door. Presents were distributed to all. I believe each present was marked Boy or Girl and was handed out accordingly. Once all the presents had been handed out it was time to sing Happy Birthday to Jesus and the cake was cut. I wonder if the technology had been available to put a picture of Jesus on that cake if it would have been?
Why I felt compelled to question putting the cross on the cake I can't really say. It just struck me differently. I suppose it is just the passage of time and a lack of participation on my part. Everything changes over time, call it evolving or whatever, I don't always agree with the change. I think that is true of us all. It is doubly evident when you have been separated for some time. I admit to not being a regular church goer. I don't have any particular " excuse " for that, I just got out of the habit. On the few occasions that I have attended services I found them a bit uncomfortable. The services just didn't seen quite as reverent as I was expecting. Not that it was wrong in any fashion, just not what I remembered or was expecting. Sorta like going to class reunion. You know everyone but are still a bit nervous.
I think I just miss the formality of life sometimes. Not that I am a particularly formal person, whatever that means. Perhaps it is nothing more than expectations. You could say I have higher expectations in certain situations than the generations following me. When I was young, when I was the younger generation, I didn't have any expectations. That was because I had to be taught those. Call them social norms, rites or rituals, whatever you wish, but I was being taught what to expect. I adopted the majority of them. But, like every generation before my own, and every generation to follow, I rejected some as well. And today, today I'm thinking I'm no longer in the majority as far as that goes. Different expectations. A different acceptance of social norms. It becomes uncomfortable at times. It is only uncomfortable when we refuse to surrender. Surrendering the things we want or expect is a difficult thing to do.
I was taught to remain steadfast. It was a common theme in my church and in my home. Stick to your guns was the axiom used most often. If you feel you are right, don't back down. The challenge we face is determining when to surrender. Thing is, like everything else, the more you do it, the more likely it is to become a habit! It is far easier to surrender than to continue the fight. There is a passage in the Bible that says, " steadfastness comes through pain. " I believe that verse is telling you, it might hurt you to remain steadfast in your belief but it is worth it. " Faith is what someone knows to be true, whether they believe it or not. " ( Flannery O'Connor. ) So you see, I'm not stubborn, I'm faithful.
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