Jack in the Pulpit, Easter Pennsylvania. © Kathy J. Sotak

I don’t ever recall meeting a Jack-In-The-Pulpit until I moved to the East Coast. I love watching this native preacher pop up in our wild backyard every spring. You can easily see how it got its name:  Jack, apparently, standing in his pulpit.

So, what is he preaching, from his pulpit?

During my first 18 years, I spent every Sunday in church. We had one church in our rural town of 40 residents; around 10-20 faithful families would dress up every Sunday to spend time in our Lord’s House. My parents taught me to pay our highest respects for our hour in Jesus’s house. As a farming family, we normally were in our work clothes seven days a week. But on Sunday mornings, my Dad would dress up in one of his best suits and polished boots (he still does, at 85 years young), and my Mom always wore a beautiful dress and signature jewelry. Our farming neighbors would equally transform on Sunday mornings. Ronald, Rodney, Steve, Dean or my Dad took turns on usher, treasurer and janitor duties. My Mom, along with Aunt Rosella, Diane, Sharon, Faye and Kim took care of rotating duties such as organist, banners, flowers, brass polishing, coffee, Sunday school and kitchen management. While the numbers were small, everyone worked hard to keep the church one of the most beautiful houses in the upper Midwest.

So, I’ve had my fair share of Sermons-in-the-Pulpit. I’ve listened to over 18,000 minutes of sermons just in my first 18 years. The carefully carved pulpit was only used during the 20-minute sermon. The pastor had to “step up” to get into the pulpit, as if height would give him greater access to hear God’s message for his people. How’d he get so lucky to have the job of translator? I have to admit, my mind wandered quite a bit during sermon time. Some of my least favorite sermons were of a punishing God, but my favorites were that of Jesus’s love and lessons of healing and caring.

I wonder, what would I preach from my pulpit?

My sermon today would be titled, “Are You a Customer of Fear or Love?”

I would proceed to capture my congregation with poetic prose, such as: We are customers every day, whether we know it or not. Where are you punching your loyalty card? We are repeat customers for where we choose to take our thoughts, which then charge our emotions. It’s far more comfortable to belly up to your favorite bar versus the mental strain of trying a new, unfamiliar place.

If we are a customer of fear, our mind spends time in worry. We fill out our loyalty card by coming back to the refill counter of fear and worst-case scenario. We may fret about our family, finances or politics. We usually make the safest, secure choice vs. the boldest, best move.

If we are a customer of love, our mind spends time in gratitude. We fill out our loyalty card with punch stamps of abundance, giving and gratitude. Our hearts swell at our love of pets, children or a great song. We make choices from joy and generosity, not from scarcity and fear.

Our world is full of duality, isn’t it? “You need to have the darkness to recognize the light,” they say.

Here’s the kicker though. Darkness does not exist. Fear does not exist. Think about it. Darkness just the absence of light. Fill it with light, and the darkness dissipates. Think about an electric switch. There is no “offness” state. The current is either flowing through, or there is the absence of the current. So why not turn on the light switch?

So the next time when facing fear, scarcity, worry or anger – try recognizing it as just a state of offness. We have to flip on the light switch to let love, abundance, generosity and light flow.

Give it a try. As I now step down from my pulpit, I have to take my own advice too.

So, what would you preach from your pulpit? Would love to hear, from my pulpit to yours.