See anything troubling here? Diane and I will go to church this Maundy Thursday, receive the Lord’s Supper and get forgiveness. Tomorrow I’ll probably go to Home Depot, always need to get something. Also tomorrow, Good Friday, go to church and hear that because Jesus died, we have forgiveness. Saturday Diane goes to her favorite place, Kruta’s, to buy bread and pastries. And Sunday in church, hear that Jesus’ resurrection gives us eternal life.
I wrote that paragraph carefully. Two things are troubling. First, I described church as transactional. That is, we can easily think of going to church as a business transaction. I go to Home Depot to get something. Diane goes to Kruta’s to get something. We go to church to get something, like forgiveness or the assurance of eternal life. In Latin, it’s quid pro quo, something for something. Or do ut des, I give so that I can get. Thinking of church transactionally is an insidious influence of our American consumer culture. Church attendance is declining in part because Christian consumers think they’re not getting enough for their hour.
The second spiritual danger: Focus on the works of Jesus more than Jesus Himself. These days we will hear much about His servant suffering and triumphant resurrection. Don’t get me wrong, you and I would not have salvation without all these works of Jesus! My concern is we talk about His works, what He does for me, more than Jesus Himself. Page through hymns for Holy Week, as I did, and you’ll see that most of them are directly addressed to Jesus. In my faith family, we talk about being Christocentric, Christ-centered, but often focus most on what He does for us, again transactional. That easily leads to, “Jesus, I appreciate what You did for me in the past, but what have You done for me lately?”
These coming days have been called the Triduum, the three days. Maundy Thursday to Easter is four days for us, but in Hebrew reckoning the day began at sunset, so the Upper Room, Maundy Thursday, was Friday. Three days or four, I pray for you a pulling back from our insidious, smothering culture to being with Jesus. “Jesus, lover of my soul, Let me to Thy bosom fly” (The Lutheran Hymnal, 345:1).