A Minority of One

I am still trying to figure out whether to attend worship this Sunday. It is Memorial Day weekend.  Of course, this is not the only secular holiday the church celebrates.  I am know I am in a very small minority of people who have a problem with the church celebrating secular holidays.  There are a lot of secular holidays on the calendar.  Mother's Day, Father's Day, Memorial Day, Veterans Day, Independence Day, and Labor Day are a few.  My problem in attending church on those holiday weekends goes back to a question I heard years ago.    

When I was pastor at the Vidalia Church, I met weekly with a group of pastors from a diverse denominational background.  The Episcopal priest became a good friend over the ten years I was in Vidalia.  The focus of our weekly gathering was the gospel lectionary passage for the upcoming Sunday.  On those Sundays when a secular holiday showed up on the calendar, I knew my friend was going to ask us, "Are you going to preach the secular holiday, or the gospel this Sunday?"  His question caused everything from disbelief to uncomfortable squirming.  It even caused him to be called unpatriotic a time or two.    

It was not then, nor is it now a question easily dismissed.  Is it the church's place to observe 4th of July Sunday or Memorial Day?   Is such a celebration more the business of the nation, or the community instead of the church?  Should preachers preach the message of the secular holiday, or the message of the gospel?   To ignore the holiday means risking the ire of those who attend with different expectations.  I remember one Sunday when I failed to produce a rousing and inspiring tribute to Mothers on Mother's Day.  An angry woman came out the door, refused my extended hand, and told me that was the worst Mother's Day sermon she had ever heard.  She was likely enough telling the truth.  There is some tension present midst the gathered people on these Sundays.  Some may not notice, but others like myself find themselves squirming and wondering if the church has lost its moorings when the celebration of the secular holidays takes precedence over the celebration of the risen Christ in our midst.