All this weekend headlines screamed “homebuying is now as expensive as it has been in a generation!”
And my first thought was “what isn’t?!?!?!”
But then I realized that I’m old…and I’ve lived through 2-3 generations of this…and that if homes (and everything else) is as expensive as it has been in a generation, then we should also remind everyone that we went through a period where they were as affordable as they were in a generation. We
America, the economy, society, and everything else is cyclical. It all comes around and goes around. Ironically, it was on Easter weekend that I grasped what my father was saying a couple years ago when he calmly reassured us all that, essentially, we’ll be fine. America will find its’ way back and everything will work out.
When he first said it I was skeptical, since my arc in life was growing up in the miserable 70’s, the scary cold-war 80’s, the booming fantastic 90s, the scary aughts, and malaise filled 10’s….but when I stopped to reflect, I realized that’s exactly the pattern we live out over and over again. The 1920’s were literally called the “roaring 20’s,” until the depression of the 30’s hit, the scary 40’s and then came the booming 50’s, before the civil right stricken 60’s and…you get the idea.
If you have any intelligence at all you’re wondering where the irony is.
Easter has little to no meaning to me, despite my deep spiritual background and understanding of almost all religions, most notably Christianity. As a Deist, I am blessed with the ability to know that there is a power greater than us all, but not to be withholden to one in particular, nor, more importantly, a bunch of garbage humans say or makeup regarding my supreme being. Thus, I can, and do, appreciate teachings from many religious corners, and often find a way to apply them to my belief system or, and this may work for you, take religion out of it altogether and find great meaning and inspiration in the message without any need for a God to still appreciate it.
Enter S.M. Lockrdige, Pastor of Calvary Baptist Church, a prominent African-American congregation located in San Diego, California, from 1953 to 1993, who was known worldwide for his passionate sermons including one of my personal favorites, befitting Easter weekend, “It’s Friday, but Sunday’s coming.”
Through a Christian prism, the message is exclusively and entirely about the resurrection of Jesus, but there is a message for all of us of any, every, and no faith as well and it’s simple yet beautiful and comforting. Put simply, it’s Friday in America and everything sucks. Society hates itself and each other, the price of everything is through the roof, there isn’t one single thing that unites us as a people, a pandemic has laid to ruin what we were 3 years ago, which wasn’t much to brag about in the first place, and Betty White is dead. There is little, if any hope for a better tomorrow in America as poll after poll show that parents, for the first time, do not believe their children will live a better life than they have, and only 25% of us believe we’ll be better off financially a year from now than we are today. It’s Friday in America…but Sunday is coming.
If you are staunchly and unequivocally atheist, even you can find meaning in this for you don’t need to equate America’s Sunday to Jesus saving us…that’s not even how I mean it, despite the original message.
It isn’t, in my opinion, a message of hope, for hope leads to despair. It’s a message of faith…as in, have faith. Hope is a fleeting urge for something to happen while faith is an absolute. Those who have true faith are literally incapable of it being shaken for it is as real as oxygen, land and water. Nothing you say nor do can rattle true faith.
Things are pretty rotten in America, relatively speaking to our history and expectations, but the truth is that I have lived through worse, and then saw the best of my 50 years on this planet as I scorched the earth during the 90’s. Thus, I have faith that it’s merely Friday in America…and Sunday is coming.
“It’s Friday – Jesus is praying – Peter’s a sleeping – Judas is betraying – But Sunday’s comin.It’s Friday – Pilate’s struggling – The council is conspiring – The crowd is vilifying – They don’t even know – That Sunday’s comin.
It’s Friday – The disciples are running like sheep without a shepherd – Mary’s crying – Peter is denying – but they don’t know – That Sunday’s a comin.
It’s Friday – The Romans beat my Jesus – They robe Him in scarlet – They crown Him with thorns – But they don’t know – That Sunday’s comin.
It’s Friday – See Jesus walking to Calvary – His blood dripping – His body stumbling – And His spirit’s burdened – But you see, it’s only Friday – Sunday’s comin.
It’s Friday – The world’s winning – People are sinning – And evil’s grinning.
It’s Friday, (they say) The soldiers nail my Savior’s hands to the cross – They nail my Savior’s feet to the cross – And then they raise him up- Next to criminals.
“It’s Friday” – But let me tell you something” The congregation shouts, “Sunday’s comin.”
It’s Friday – The disciples are questioning – What has happened to their King – And the Pharisees are celebrating – That their scheming has been achieved – But they don’t know – It’s only Friday – Sunday’s comin’
It’s Friday – He’s hanging on the cross – Feeling forsaken by His Father – Left alone and dying – Can nobody save Him?
It’s Friday – But Sunday’s comin’
It’s Friday – The earth trembles – The sky grows dark – My King yields His spirit.
It’s Friday – Hope is lost – Death has won – Sin has conquered – and Satan’s just a laughin’
It’s Friday – Jesus is buried – A soldier stands guard – And a rock is rolled into place – But it’s Friday – It is only Friday.”
Sunday is a comin”
