On a ‘Son’ day morning coming down

By CHERYL CRUCE

Maybe it is the innocence of my youth that recants the stoic pastors dressed in dark suits, white shirts, and black ties. I do not remember much about their sermons, but I remember hearing them read from the scripture. Whatever the message of that day, it was enough to bring me to the altar of salvation. (Thank you, Brother Clyatts).
Like the stoic preachers, the men and young boys also wore a suit and tie. The boys would fidget with their neckties during services. The women wore dresses with pleats and matching high-heeled shoes, while the little girls wore dresses with matching lace socks.
“Sunday-Best” was the requirement for the day. It was the 1960s; the businesses were closed, the streets were rolled up, and everyone attended worship.
Sundays were also a day with the most incredible fried chicken ever tasted. Occasionally, Mom would prepare a basket of bologna sandwiches and grape Kool-Aid while Dad gathered the cane poles. Then, we would head out for an afternoon of fishing from the edges of a dirt road. The Sabbath was set aside for church, family, and rest. In some way, fishing in those old creeks back home was the best kind of restfulness.
In the song “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down,” Kris Kristofferson sings, “There’s something in a Sunday that makes a body feel alone.” There may be some truth in his words. I miss the Sundays when the streets were barren; those days, we took the time to breathe, to exhale the work week. I miss the back of Daddy’s pickup truck and Mama’s fried chicken. The fried bologna sandwiches and old cane poles are a nostalgic part of my childhood. They are the bittersweet memories that can make a body feel alone.
However, life events are only temporary. Conversely, the good gifts of life come from a God who is fixed and unchangeable. There is no variation in His purpose of grace (James 1:17). Alone, we are not strong enough to work through the losses, illnesses, and disappointments of this life. Regardless of what we want to believe, we are not that strong. We need a God whose grace is always sufficient. His strength carries us through our weakened moments (2 Corinthians 12:9). Often, we are carried to Him on the prayer of a believer.
Therefore, our faith has a purpose, that is, to love one another as we are loved, to become a part of His family. When Jesus was questioned about His family, He replied, “These who do the will of the Father are my family” (Matthew 12:50). We are not to abandon our gathering together, for in it we find encouragement to remain faithful (Hebrews 10:25). In our gathering we are never alone for we strengthen one another through our presence.
The choice of gathering becomes ours. We can allow excuses and old hurts to continue to pull us from a fellowship of faith, or we can rise above the noise of this world and return to our Father’s house. There is a body of believers that need your faith and your talents. Remember, every good gift is from God above; be that gift today; a body should never feel alone on a “Son” day morning coming down.
So then, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. So we, though many, are one body in Christ and individually members of one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together (Galatians 6:10, Romans 12:5, & 1 Corinthians 12). 

Cheryl Mixon-Cruce is Pastor of Ochlockonee Bay United Methodist Church and Sopchoppy United Methodist Church.