The Officer’s Blog
Major Drew McCombe comes on strong for Easter Day.
Major Drew
He says:
Celebrate Good Times…. Come on!
I want to make a plea on this Easter Sunday morning …… the church – Chatham Salvation Army – for too long has held back, been a bit tame …… it’s time for us to burst out of buildings (in the same power that Christ rose from the tomb) and spill into the streets and neighbourhoods and demonstrate and shout ‘Hallelujah’ He is risen! …… anything less and we have missed the point of the story.
The Eastern Orthodox Church celebrates Easter Sunday morning by entering their churches in darkness and at a given point they light every candle in the place, each person has their own candle and light rips through the place until the darkness is totally dispelled. Then they shout ‘He is risen!’
In effect we should give every man, women, child, and even the rats around the place a candle to hold, we should have a bonfire and fireworks , we should wave our flags and bash our tambourines, we should sound a loud trumpet and sing a new song, and if we weren’t Salvationists we should crack open the champagne …celebrate good times – come on! It’s about the real Jesus coming out of a real tomb and getting God’s real new creation underway and every Christian is a part of it, from the shyest person to the most extrovert of us! …there’s no excuse ….we are part of the best thing that has ever happened to this world – death is defeated. Full stop! Where, O grave is your victory… go on tell someone today…. And, by the way, have a drink on me!
‘Hallelujah’ He is risen Indeed!!! When we read Drew’s comments our souls sang with joy! If we can take some quotes from the Founders of our Salvation Army… ‘Go to the people with the message of salvation, instead of expecting them to come to you…’ William Booth, ‘Blood and Fire’ (1999). Catherine Booth said this ~ Message to the last Christian Mission Congress… ‘Go to where the people live their lives …have free course to run out in all conceivable schemes and methods of labour for the souls of men.’ Let’s make our Lord proud of us and go to where He is already waiting for us ~ ‘Nothing is more important than Salvation…’ Chick Yuill, Roots 2007.
Steve & Mel said this on March 25th, 2008 at 8:36 pm