Here's the new article for this week's Oconee Leader.
If you care about the upcoming referendum that would allow restaurants in Oconee County to serve beer and wine, then you should care deeply about Easter.
This Sunday, millions of Christians around the world will remember and celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Because the followers of Jesus have historically considered Easter to be the most important day of the year – yes, even more important than the beginning of March Madness – Easter and the days around it are filled with activity…dramatic presentations, Easter egg drops, foot washing and communion services. If activity is the measure of meaningfulness, then Easter in Watkinsville is the most meaningful time of the year.
But beyond the bare fact that Christians believe that an actual man named Jesus died only to come back to life more human than before, I think most of us struggle to see Easter as much more than a reason to buy candy and pick up a new outfit for us and the kids. We know that Jesus experienced resurrection, but do we know why that matters?
So that brings us back to the longstanding issue of beer and wine in local restaurants. There are county commissioners and citizens on both sides of the conversation and at times that conversation has become heated and pointed because both sides are convinced that their position on the issue is the best solution for the county. It’s actually a remarkable picture to take in as men and women with different convictions give themselves to the good of other people. And perhaps the tone of our dialogue might change if we could appreciate the desire of others to make life better for everyone, even if we don’t agree with how they propose we get there.
Now here’s where Easter and resurrection come in. It’s not enough for us to declare that Jesus is risen – we have to push deeper into that reality and discover what all the commotion is about. And my humble proposition is that Easter matters because God’s work of re-creation in Jesus on that first Easter is what he intends to do in all of creation. God’s mission in this world is to make everything sad untrue, to repair everything that’s been broken, to return everything that’s been lost – and a risen Jesus is the first note in God’s symphony of redemption and renewal.
This means that our desire for a better Oconee County that leads us to stand on different sides of this particular issue resonates deeply with the plans and purposes of God for his world. Because God cares about every person, every stray dog, every blade of grass in Oconee County, it makes sense that we’d care about the impact this proposal will have in the lives of all who call this place home.
But there’s more to Easter than just painting a picture of how life should be as we work to create an Oconee County where everything works together to create the good life where everything flourishes as every need is met and every good idea gets used and every ounce of talent finds its fullest potential. Only the reality of resurrection on that first Easter and the promise of resurrection for God’s world and God’s people provide the resources to live with the humility and confidence we need to get where God intends for this small part of his world to go.
Several months ago, I wrote that there is nothing in the Scriptures that allows anyone to categorically declare alcohol as evil, yet we would be profoundly foolish to ignore the volatility of alcohol. This means that the way forward calls for a humility that refuses to thump Bibles and resists the urge to only look at the economic bottom line. And lest we confuse humility with being spineless, we also need to say that the reality of resurrection creates an unbelievable confidence that what we’re after really matters in the big scheme of things.
And certainly there are plenty of humble people who don’t follow Jesus and confidence doesn’t only belong to those who walk in the name of Christ, but what we need in the days ahead is the melding together of humility and confidence that only the story of Easter and God’s intent to redeem and renew everything in and through Jesus can create.
Happy Easter – Jesus Christ is alive and well. Grace and peace and hope to all.
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