Yesterday I asked my husband, Jeff, to paint a banner that said “Alleluia” for the Children’s Time at church this morning. We have a roll of art paper that is 8 1/2 inches wide and as long as you want it. So I figured the banner would end up being 8 1/2 by 25 inches. The idea was that at Children’s Time we would discuss that we don’t use the word “alleluia” in Lent. Then when we sing our “alleluias” on Easter, they are all the more impressive and create a real celebration. My plan was to discuss the banner and then invite the children to come up with a hiding place for the banner in the sanctuary. Then on Easter, we would get it out and put it up.
When I went to bed last night, the banner had not yet been painted. When I got up this morning, I went into our Florida room and the folding utility table was up in the middle of the room and the alleluia banner was draped over it drying. The banner was about 4 feet wide and maybe 25 feet long. Painted in bright colors and highlighted with gold spray paint, this banner was shouting ALLELUIA. The glory of the banner required a slight emendation of the plan for Children’s Time. For one thing, it took three adults to unfurl the banner. And it was definitely too big to discreetly tuck away in the sanctuary, so it was rolled up and the children took it to church school to find a place to hide the banner in the Fellowship Hall building. In a few weeks, we will ask the kids to decide where the banner should be displayed on Easter Sunday.
The image I like here is how I asked for something relatively small; a symbolic gesture, really. And I got a huge, glorious response. This is how it works with faith sometimes. Our expectations may be low, but then we get a tremendous outcome. Far more that we could ask or imagine.
Maybe you have given up something for Lent, or are pursuing a new spiritual discipline for Lent. Maybe you are reading a gospel over the course of the 40 days. Maybe you are taking time to pray and meditate each day. Maybe you are making it a point to do volunteer work once a week for Lent. Perhaps you don’t expect what you are doing to make much of a difference. But as the banner reminds us, you may be in for a big surprise. There may be a glorious ALLELUIA waiting for you on Easter!
Prayer: May we truly trust our faith to make a difference, not only in us, but in the world. May we expect great things and invest ourselves in love without fear. Amen.
Lakewood United Church of Christ 