Fail

Thanks again to Robin and Shane who posted in the comments section last week and shared some personal stories of those who’ve gone before you and how those loved ones shaped their lives. Robin, SOTH continues to pray for you in the loss you’ve gone through in these last several months. Shane, congrats good buddy on the birth of baby Oliver! He’s a lucky little boy, born to a wonderful family.

Without much further ado…on to the Holy Week blog. And, glad to be back on a Wednesday morning by the way…

Well, it’s official…Spring is here.

OK, there have been moments when it’s felt as though summer is actually upon us.

It’s spring break week, and those of us who, by successful matriculation, have earned the privilege of easy weekday transit on our town’s highways and shopping aisles find them clogged with kids who ought to be somewhere learning something.

Everybody’s Bermuda is a deeper shade of green each day. I have discovered a 72nd type of Georgia pollen that will send my histamine production into overdrive. We have these things called leaves again…and man, did I miss them.

A distinct cracking sound can be heard all across the country. Nope, not the sound of baseball bats ripping line drives (though not much could sound better)…it’s the sound of millions of too-old elbows popping as amateur third basemen and left fielders try to throw softballs much further and harder than their anatomy now allows.

And so the seasons, and the cycle of life, move forward together.

Those softball fields (home to the above-referenced cracking sounds) can be a place of deep spiritual reflection, you know. There’s a reason churches tend to play the sport, after all.

Nothing builds character like failure. Occasional humiliation, even.

A ball the size of a really large grapefruit comes floating toward home plate at the speed of 12 mph. As a good friend of mine (and mighty talented ballplayer) once told me, “There’s no reason a grown man should hit less than .900 in slowpitch.”

For those of you unschooled in the ways of batting average, that’s a reference to getting a hit in at least 90% of your at bats.

I couldn’t agree more. But, for me at least, it’s still impossible.

That’s what makes softball such a fun, and deeply aggravating pastime. I don’t play golf, but I’ve heard plenty of guys tell me that they have similar feelings about the little white ball that sits on the ground, motionless, taunting them.

As Springteen's “Glory Days” plays loudly in our heads, we look back through the hazy crystal ball and somehow remember a time when we knew we really could hit a much, much smaller object, thrown by much, much more athletic young men at speeds of over 80 mph. Oh yeah, it could change direction at the last second, too.

Now, we pop this beachball up to the second baseman.

And, if we’re getting anywhere in our journeys at all…life is still good.

Those guys who play at “The Ted,” the ones making 29 bazillion dollars a season…they pop up, too. Hitting .300 (only getting a hit in 30% of your at bats) in the big leagues will make you very, very wealthy.

40% success is the stuff of legend.

Baseball…softball…life…it’s all about perseverance and the overcoming of much failure.

And Jesus, especially this week, has something important to tell us.

This morning on sacredspace, I was reminded that in a very real way, the cross can be a sign of failure. On Good Friday, it must have seemed to every single person who witnessed Jesus death that a wonderful dream had come to a bitter end.

Until Jesus, no one believed that God could “fail.” No one thought that the messiah might die. No one knew that God might love us so much that he would come among us…and allow us to mock him, beat him, reject and kill him.

Think you’re having a bad day? God incarnate…Emmanuel, God With Us…Jesus Christ…has walked that path before you.

The cross redeems our failures.

The cross redeems our shame.

Because the cross is not the end. The story of Jesus is unique and so important for the realities of life that we all face.

Real success, you see, lies at the bottom of the trough of failure. What great good news.

On Friday night, we will remember the crucifixion at SOTH. We will remember the failure, the rejection, the shame. We will begin in light and move toward darkness. We will leave our sanctuary with these words from John…

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.

The darkness of failure will do it’s worst…but it can never win.

Easter Sunday morning, the son rises. “Failure,” is transformed into the very vehicle of eternal victory.

Think of that the next time things don’t roll your way. Real success lies just around the corner.

Grace & Peace,
Adam

LIFE AT SOTH:
Well, not everybody’s in Florida this week (not that I’m bitter or anything…), and for those of you who are in town, we really hope that you’ll come out this Friday night to our “Service of Darkness,” commemorating the crucifixion of Christ. I can promise that the service will be deeply moving, and your experience on Good Friday will deepen the joy of Easter morning. Friday night, sanctuary, 7PM.

Easter Sunday schedule:

7 AM Sunrise Service @ The Pavilion (Dorsett Shoals Road) to be led by our Youth Group, “The Flock.” Everyone is invited to come out and take part in this very meaningful service of resurrection.

9 AM & 11 AM Morning Worship: Two great worship services and we’re expecting full houses for both. A great day of music, scripture, prayer and preaching, plus a special presentation for our youth. Childcare will be available at both services for children 1st grade and younger, with SS available for children through adults at 10:15. Don’t forget to bring fresh-cut flowers for the Easter cross which we’ll post out by Chapel Hill Road.

6 PM Evening worship in the sanctuary --- a wonderful way to end your Easter Sunday. No youth group Easter Sunday night.

Thanks to everyone who participated in the Easter Egg Hunt this past Sunday after worship! Lunch was great, the turnout was huge and it was a blast for everybody. Great Job, Kathryn!!!!