When the Lilies Are Gone

Excerpt from "When the Lilies Are Gone" :: a sermon given by Mia M. McClain at Fort Washington Collegiate Church, NYC, on April 15, 2018.

It appears that we are all coming down from the Easter high—the exuberance that surrounds celebrating the one on whom many of us center our faith. I know I am. Whew! Holy Week almost took me out. I didn’t recover until last Sunday. LOL

But we’ve come down from the wonderful high of Resurrection Sunday—

· Your seer sucker suits are in the dry cleaners now.

· You've weaned your children off of peeps and jelly beans and chocolate eggs.

· Many your lilies have survived thus far—maybe not (if you're a poor plant owner, like me, your lilies are probably on their way out.)

But what happens when the lilies are gone?

When the beautiful fabric that once draped this sanctuary has been taken down?

When the warmth of Spring is upon us, and our worship takes a backseat to other activities?

What happens when the lilies are gone?

When our siblings who are without homes are no longer taking shelter in the subway station, thus, disappearing from our daily frame of sight and thought?

Who are we when the lilies are gone?

When we realize that, aside from the grandeur of this one Sunday out of the year, we are actually in a long stretch of never ending Saturdays—Saturdays full of:

· gun violence,

· and political abuse,

· and barely making ends meet,

· and the constant attack on certain bodies by police,

· and hunger

· and lack of affordable housing

· and fear of deportation

Who are we when the food pantry dries up

and the benevolence of Advent season seems so far away?

What will our worship look like?

What happens when the lilies are gone?

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