Pastor's Blog: The "Real" Spring Break
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I’ve enjoyed hearing the stories of how so many of you spent your Spring Break week, whether you were able to get out of town (or the country!) or whether you hung around Mountain Brook for a leisurely “stay-cation.” The Spring Break holiday always seems to come for many at just the right time, when we need a respite from the demands and expectations of our everyday life.
The only problem is that when Spring Break ends we have to return to reality. The break never seems to be enough, and the demands and expectations always seem to come back to us at an alarmingly fast rate. What we need most is a way to deal with all that drains us even as we confront them in “real time.”
For me, that’s why Holy Week is so special. Holy Week reminds us that our strength lies from without, not within. It calls us to consider the gift of grace that God made possible in Jesus, and how that grace always proves sufficient for our every need. It assures us that God loves us just as we are, and that He is committed to bringing His good purposes to pass in us solely through our faith in Jesus. Holy Week confronts us with the cost of our salvation and then concludes with the Easter promise that regardless of the circumstances in which we find ourselves, God always makes a way that leads to life.
As you know, this year’s Holy Week will feature John Scott, III, who serves with the Center for Executive Leadership, where he facilitates Bible Studies and provides spiritual coaching services to young men in our community. The son of John and Mary Scott, John grew up in Mountain Brook Baptist Church before joining with his family at St. Luke’s Episcopal, where he also serves on staff with family ministries. I’m excited about what John will bring to our Holy Week Emphasis through his deep love and appreciation for our Lord and this Mountain Brook Baptist Church. He will be with us Monday through Wednesday, so I encourage you to be present to support John and to invite others to join you.
In addition to those services, our choir will be joined with members of the Alabama Symphony in a Maundy Thursday presentation of “The Seven Last Words,” which you will not want to miss. We will observe the Lord’s Supper at that service as well. Then, of course, will come Good Friday and two glorious services on Easter Sunday.
I look forward to seeing you at each of these special services, confident that what we experience will offer just the “break” each of us needs – one that lasts for more than the week that it entails but offers the promise of renewal that will never ebb or wane.
“Jesus replied, ‘Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks’” (Jn. 4:23).