Tradition or Life?
A friend of ours has constructed what she calls an Easter Garden on a terrace at the top of her steep garden. For several years we have gathered there before breakfast on Easter Sunday, for the breaking of bread, to celebrate the Risen Lord Jesus. Last year particularly, was an unforgettable experience. As we prayed and sang, the sun rose above the trees across the valley and the birds sang their hearts out. We planned to do the same this year.
We were mindful that Easter falls very early this year and half the country is in the grips of snow-laden northerlies. Nevertheless we believed it was right to go and trusted it would work out. After all, God can look after a mere detail like the weather? We woke early - and I mean early - to the encouragement of a clear sky and still air. Dressed in layers of thermal clothing and fleeces we set out, but as we drove up the hill the sky suddenly darkened and the rain came down in torrents. It was even worse when we arrived, so reluctantly we had to abandon our plan. Instead, around twenty of us squeezed inside our friend's cottage sitting room.
What followed was precious and intimate. We made our communion which was followed by breakfast together and a time of sharing what God is doing in our lives. We missed the surroundings of the garden of course, but instead we experienced what really matters, abiding in the presence of Jesus. we were blessed in a way that we didn't expect.
This reminds me of the dangers of following tradition. Tradition can be saying, "This is the way we have always done things and always will," even when God has moved on to something new. There is nothing wrong with tradition as such, but if that is all there is, then it is death and not life. Jesus always did what He saw His Father doing and so should we, if we don't want to miss out.
"Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don't wash their hands before they eat!" Matthew 15:2 New International Version
We were mindful that Easter falls very early this year and half the country is in the grips of snow-laden northerlies. Nevertheless we believed it was right to go and trusted it would work out. After all, God can look after a mere detail like the weather? We woke early - and I mean early - to the encouragement of a clear sky and still air. Dressed in layers of thermal clothing and fleeces we set out, but as we drove up the hill the sky suddenly darkened and the rain came down in torrents. It was even worse when we arrived, so reluctantly we had to abandon our plan. Instead, around twenty of us squeezed inside our friend's cottage sitting room.
What followed was precious and intimate. We made our communion which was followed by breakfast together and a time of sharing what God is doing in our lives. We missed the surroundings of the garden of course, but instead we experienced what really matters, abiding in the presence of Jesus. we were blessed in a way that we didn't expect.
This reminds me of the dangers of following tradition. Tradition can be saying, "This is the way we have always done things and always will," even when God has moved on to something new. There is nothing wrong with tradition as such, but if that is all there is, then it is death and not life. Jesus always did what He saw His Father doing and so should we, if we don't want to miss out.
"Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don't wash their hands before they eat!" Matthew 15:2 New International Version
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