One of the things you get if you run a blog is access to information about how people ended up on your blog by using a search engine. Every day all the things people have typed into their ‘search’ box which led to this blog are listed, and every week or two I take a look at the list, just out of curiosity. I’ve learned two things from this over the last couple of years.
First, I’ve learned that actor Cillian Murphy has some pretty dedicated fans, or one very dedicated fan. Every single day for the last year someone has searched on his name and ended up at the one post on this blog where he was mentioned (this one). After that post, we got searches on several of the other other actors in Murphy’s movie for a month or so, but interest in them eventually waned. Cillian’s fan or fans keep looking. I hope some of them have found something else on this blog worth reading.
Second, I’ve learned that there is a lot of interest in Maundy Thursday. Almost every day some one searches on ‘foot-washing’ or ‘Maundy Thursday’ or ‘evangelicals washing feet’ or some phrase which leads them to Eric Cosentino‘s post on the subject. I first noticed this during Lent last year. It hadn’t been very common before that, but of course it was no surprise that as Maundy Thursday approached there would be interest. What is surprising is how that interest has stayed high ever since.
There could be all sorts of reasons for this, I suppose, but I think the preacher I heard this morning was on to something when he said that there seemed to be a great deal of interest in Lent these days even outside the Christian community—that it was on the verge of becoming one of those folk festivals that now exist independently of their origin, like Christmas or Halloween. He mentioned discussions on Facebook about giving up Facebook for Lent, and the recent reports about drive-by imposition of ashes and so on.
There may be an opportunity for evangelism here. It could be taken up by a local church—any ideas on that? It could even be taken up on this very blog; presumably those people googling ‘Cillian Murphy’ and ‘Maundy Thursday’ will now be referred to this post as well as those older ones, and they may well read your comments. What would you say to them?
February 26, 2012 at 4:37 pm
I agree. There is something about Lent that captures the attention of those who are otherwise indifferent about church. I have noticed that Ash Wednesday, especially, has over the years drawn a noticeably larger number of worshipers than do other special services, like All Saints Day or Ascension Day. Not only do some of the more casual parishioners attend, but there are sometimes a few strangers as well. I think it is connected with the sin-laden phrases of the liturgy, which contrast so starkly with the popular notion that we are all just as we should be, no matter what we have been up to lately. At least some people are thirsting for the opportunity for repentance. I am not quite sure how to harness this for evangelizing, but there must be some possibilities. “Sinners, repent!”