He is risen? Who cares!

Interesting
conversation in our Tuesday morning lectionary group.  It began with the
usual quandary about how best to preach to those who come only once or twice a
year. One of our group enthused about how when they hear that Jesus rose from
the dead it will, or at least can, change their lives forever.  He's seen
it happen.

I doubt
it.  Once upon a time, when I was a child in the 1950s, it could be
assumed that most Americans were nominally Christian in the sense that they had
been exposed to the basic words and images associated with Christianity that
were a part of everyday life.  It was also assumed that the large numbers
of Sunday school graduates who failed to show up for church the Sunday after
Confirmation would return again in a few years with their own children. 
That did not happen, at least not in huge numbers.  In any case, the
Easter sermon could assume a shared base of knowledge upon which a greater
understanding could be built. 

I
suppose I could do a little research and tease out the numbers.  I'll
leave that up to you if you're interested.  What you will probably find is
that we have a couple of generations who know little of Christianity, other
than the dribbles they get from the media, because they have never been part of
a church community.  Others may know slightly more but were so put off by
childhood experiences that it all seemed pointless.  Some of them will
come to church on Easter, as they might on Christmas, not to touch something
familiar from their youth, but as a kindness to a well meaning relative
insisting on their presence, or, perhaps, as an interesting adventure not
unlike attending an obscure off Broadway show just for the fun of it.