Favourite Hymns - about time??

Not much controversy with the sermon on Sunday – no questions about the content of the worship service at all… but there was one comment about an Announcement.   It was the Announcement that we would be welcoming hymn suggestions from the congregation – let us know your favourites so that they can be included in Worship, I requested. 

   

The comment that I received on the subject was simple and to the point:  About time!!

I think that the comment cuts to the heart of worship and the tension that provides the best worship experience.  Is it really about time that we took requests?

Do we view worship as dinner theater?  Seated by a nicely dressed waiter, we put in our order and then watch the show, with the expectation that we will be fed stuff that we like.  On the way home we assess the service and decide if we will visit again.   Is that the purpose and nature of worship – to be served and get what we ordered in a timely, friendly fashion?

Some would see worship as something that we give to God in response to our experience of God’s love.  We say “Thank You” as we stand up and sing our best songs to God our Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer.  We dress in our “Sunday” best, speak politely and put on a lovely show for God: Much as we used to do when we visited Great Grandma and read our speech from school while wearing itchy long pants.   Is that the purpose and true nature of worship – to be polite, respectful and do a lovely show the old lady?

What if we imagined Worship to be something else… Neither spa nor thank you note… not theater or spectacle…  what if we imagined that Worship was something to equip us to live in the world aware of and sharing God’s love?  What if Sunday was our nurture and training to be the Kingdom of God? Or if the language and metaphor don’t speak to you – what if the purpose of church was to connect us to one another and inspire us to actively love and change the world??

In the first example, a familiar favourite hymn makes sense because we requested it… it helps us to feel at home and provided a sense of succor and comfort.  Exactly what we ordered.

In the second example, a familiar favourite hymn might make sense if it is a good hymn – but only because it is good enough for us to offer it to God in thanksgiving… you don’t give Grandma a T-Shirt from Giant Tiger, when you could afford to give her Chanel  (at least that’s what my Grandma told me…)  You give your best  - the “best” is the criteria for offering a hymn; not favourite or familiar.  Bach nearly always beats Fanny Crosby.

In the third example…  well, a familiar favourite might provide nurture and comfort, which gives us rest and strengthens us to love the world.  But, an unfamiliar hymn challenges us and invites us to look beyond our own comfort zone and realize that Faith, God and the World are not all about us.   A new hymn offers new ideas in ways that are not intellectual, but might stick with us for months as we hear the tune in our heads…  it might be a year before it comes out as a thought or inspires a new action of love… but it does equip us to engage with the world and share the Kingdom of God.

About time?

Maybe… maybe for you because you need some comfort to strengthen you for the world… Maybe for somebody else because the hymn is new and challenging and they were starting to get complacent in their faith…  Maybe for the choir because they sing is so well and the need an affirmation today…  

I, personally, think that it’s a good thing when worship reflects the personality of the community – to that end, a familiar favourite hymn is a great idea (we are offering who we are to God)… but I also believe that worship is meant to lead and inspire- so every now and then, it’s also a good idea to let go of the “favourites” and discover that God also reaches out to us in minor keys; dissonant harmonies and music both excellent and edgy.

But that’s me… what about you?

I posted too soon... more Psalm 23 response.

I got carried away and blogged before this question (or questions) arrived in my email.   I should really work on patience...

 How do I move forward with Psalm 23 in my back pocket?  How do we bring that hour of watching TV with your dad to grown-ups?  How do we move away from the always wanting?  How do we inspire people (maybe kids, but grown-ups too) to BE those helpers you talked about in Boston, not necessarily in crises, but in everyday situations?  How do we start to change the normalcy of fear and encourage people to be open, trusting and charitable?  You mentioned that goodness and mercy were in short supply in Boston this week, but I disagree.  I think in the aftermath of tragedy is where we most easily find goodness and mercy - in the form of those helpers.  People who respond, despite the personal dangers, inconvenience, fear and revulsion.  But I was at the mall the other day and I came out into a horrible rainstorm to see about ten people standing around watching an elderly man in a wheelchair try to push himself slowly toward a Wheeltrans vehicle.  Where were the helpers that day?  It shouldn’t take a bomb to motivate people – but how do we get that message out?  It seems like that was part of your message today – goodness and mercy shall follow me – maybe if we work at it, we can leave a trail of goodness and mercy in our wake.  And you do that.  You are working to get that message out there.  But you get to give a sermon at least once a week.  And I get to teach children everyday, so I have a bit of an audience there too.  But how can we pass that message on to other people and make it grow?  How do we take it to heart ourselves in this media-controlled, narcissistic and materialistic society?  We need to develop language to talk about this stuff in everyday life, not just in church.  We need to develop practical suggestions for “paying it forward” as it were.  And that is a conversation I’d like to be part of.

I wish that I could give a complete and conclusive answer to the questions you raise… I don’t that I can, but I can try and at least play my part in the conversation with you.  

I hear a few questions:

1.       How do we find ways to free ourselves from want…

I referenced my “Batman” moment in my sermon, but it’s not the only moment that I have had.  I think that we need to intentionally value those moments, seek them out and create a context for them to occur.  That, to me, is what Sabbath is really about.  A time to be free of the pushes and pulls of the world and to reflect… It’s not a big lavish meal, it’s a simple cold meal… it’s not out on the town, it’s quietly sitting and talking with loved ones… it’s not answering the phone and doing “work” it’s quietly examining all that you have and appreciating it.  The people who intentionally embrace a time of Sabbath are, in my experience, more relaxed and attuned; less materialistic and often more open.  As if they have discovered that they already have “enough”, they just require the time to embrace it.   Now, I appreciate that work and kids and other responsibilities make a life of “Sabbath” hard to accomplish… but God gave us one day in seven as a Sabbath… so maybe we could try that… or 2 hours every day in reflection, meditation, yoga, etc…  Or an evening a week without TV or computer sitting with a partner having dinner and talking..  I think that we can intentionally build these peaceful moments in our lives and thereby keep the promise and reality of “peace” nearby.  (I say this fully aware that when my schedule gets full the first thing that I sacrifice is my Sabbath time… but I’m getting better)

2.       How do we inspire people to be helpers?  I think that you’re right when you note that a major disaster or tragedy inspires people – I know folks who quit jobs or took a leave of absence to respond to a Tsunami; others how traveled to New York over a decade ago, and Boston just last week… but they might also have failed to notice the man in the wheelchair getting soaked in the rain.  Some people talk about faith setting them free… believe in God and be free.  However, that doesn’t really mean that as a person of faith you are free to do what you want to do… it means that you are free to be “for the other”. Free to care; free to reach out.  No longer afraid of death or ridicule, no longer feeling limited in love – no longer needing to be selfish, because your “self” is cared for by the Divine – you can spend your life on somebody else… and we call that Freedom.    So, maybe part of what we do is establish a sense of security in our children and friends, that they are “free” to be for somebody else. 

I think that we can invite people into small acts of kindness, allow them to be for somebody else while we watch their backs… until they discover that the risk is less than they imagined; and worth it.  Most people who work in Food Banks or Soup Kitchens, were invited there by a friend… and they were unsure and a little bit afraid of who they would meet… we can take away their fear, accompany them; assure them, until they are doing it with less worry and eventually with joy…  I’ve seen it happen.  But I think that we have to meet people where they are – not excpect them to be “Good” as we imagine “Good”.

I think that we respond to a media driven, often shallow and narcissistic society, but gently presenting an alternative and then inviting others to join… not by guilt and not because it will make them “better” people – but because we enjoy it and experience benefits.  I think that a great many people want to be more helpful, but they are afraid and/or just waiting to be invited.

And you’re right about needing a language… a vocabulary that doesn’t carry all the baggage of  “the church”… but there are so many good words and concepts that have been carried and honed by the church over millennia, it would be a shame to just let them go.  It’s hard to find another word for Grace… or Presence… or Faith… but we do need to talk to those outside the church in words that they will understand.  It might be a good idea for us to simply start talking, however…

Also, I think that you are right about the abundant Goodness and Mercy in the moments and days immediately following the bombs going off in Boston.  I was responding to some media who were trying to fill air time and ascribe responsibility before they had anything to actually say… and my own hurt that made me want to curl up, turn off the tv and just let the world go away…  It was in me that Goodness and Mercy were initially lacking… I’ve improved since then. 

April 21 - 23rd Psalm

So, again I have not been particularly controversial this Sunday… I mean, who’s gonna object to the 23^rd Psalm?

The Lord isn't my Shepherd!!  I don’t like Green Pastures and Still Waters!!  I hate being anointed with oil!!

So,  not courting controversy, I've only got on question to be answered:

You said that we should re-interpret the 23^rd Psalm every time we read it… is that true for everything in the Bible?  Shouldn't we just figure out what some things mean and stick to it?

Fair question.   Some look at the Unite Church of Canada and think that because we are often re-interpreting Scripture, we don’t believe in the Bible.  That we just keep changing what we believe to fit what we want…. So, in essence, we don’t really believe in anything, because we keep changing what stuff means.

But for me… I talk to my parents differently now that I’m an adult and I talk to my children differently, too.  When I told my children to be careful in Grade 1, I wanted them to look both ways when the crossed the street and not eat somebody else’s lunch.  Now, when I say be careful, I want them to be sure of the people with whom they are in relationship; I want them to look carefully for a good mortgage broker and have a house inspection before they buy.  Things I never really imagined when they were children.  I want my diabetic son to eat well and be sure to stay on top of his blood sugars; not forget his insulin… things that we knew nothing about when he was a young boy.   When I tell my wife I want to be left alone, it means one thing when the Blue Jays have lost a game and something else when I've received bad news from a friend… with the Jays, I do want to be left alone; with my friend I want my wife to comfort me (dinner would be nice, too…) 

The things that we say to each other in relationships change all the time…  the context changes; the other person grows up; I grow up or see things through a new lens.  When  my mother had her aneurysm many years ago “Yeah, though I walk through the valley of death…” had a different resonance than it did today… it had a different sound and feeling last week before the bombs went off in Boston… with each experience, I change and the meaning of the words changes for me… the importance does, too.   When I was young, I loved the Bible stories that demanded justice!!  As I age, I want to hear stories about mercy.

I believe that the Bible chronicles the struggles and celebrations of communities and individuals living in intentional relationship with God… but I also believe that the Bible is meant to inspire those struggles, celebrations and conversations to continue in 2013.  Even though Jesus and his friends knew nothing about Global Warming or Halidon Collider, there is still great wisdom in the Bible that helps me as I come to an awareness of the potential for both; promises that bring calm to my worry and light to my darkness.  I believe that the Bible inspires a dynamic relationship with God- dynamic because the world is always changing, I am always changing and (although it doesn't make for much of a hymn) God is always changing, too.

I hope that makes sense…  Next week, I’ll strive for some controversy.

Down from the Cross, away from the Tomb, across the beach and into the world. April 14 Sermon

 And so it begins…

Today we heard about John, Peter and a couple other Apostles going back to fishing, when they are called by Jesus from the shore.  Called to follow…  It’s strange because last week it seemed pretty clear that John’s Gospel ended.    Jesus is resurrected, appears to Mary; appears to the Apostles; comes back for a little show and tell with Thomas and then

  “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book.  But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.”

Sounds like an ending to me.   Curtains close, the band plays and the Apostles come out and take a bow.  THE END!

But it seems an epilogue has been added.  A story that takes us back to the original call to the disciples: Follow Me.   It seems to me that John wants us to NOT stay fixated on the cross and resurrection, but to allow them to empower us to go forward and continue to follow: To love the unloveable, reach out to the untouchable, be the Kingdom of God, rather than debate the style and substance of the resurrection of simply bask in God’s victory.   Add about 18 minutes, and you’ve got my sermon.

The first comment that I got was “if you want us to comment on your sermon, you have to say something more controversial; something more debatable…we all agree”.

That’s good to know… and I think that most of us do agree, and yet we often seem to gather to bask in glow of Jesus’ victory; to debate the finer points of our theology… and too often we forget that worship should also inspire and equip us to Follow Jesus!!   I’d much rather debate Substitutionary Atonement  then talk to a convicted sex offender and help him find work.  I get the whole Jesus thing… but I really don’t ever intend to talk to my sister-in-law who was so rude to me.    How’m I doing being a follower of Jesus??  So, I hope that some of us heard the challenge and invitation offered today.

Dear Norm, you made many excellent points today and one which I hadn’t thought about before:  that as Christians we’re focused on Christmas through Easter and not much beyond.  Are there other major/signigicant events in the Christian calendar that further indicate or inform us of the character of Jesus by which we can model ourselves?    (Again, excellent sermon and you’re a wonderful minister)

I thought that I should keep that last line in…  for the integrity of the blog, it’s wrong to edit.   But, to answer… I think that our calendar tends to be Christmas-Easter oriented… Feast of the Presentation, Palms Sunday, etc. all part of the calendar with a particular eye to “event” of Jesus – his birth, death, resurrection and what it means to humanity.  The time after Easter and before Advent when we begin again is called “Ordinary Time” for goodness sake!  As is if matter less than the “Extraordinary Time”.   I think that we would benefit from regular calendar recognition of the Beatitudes (Matthew 5);  Parable of the Good Samaritan; Parable of the Vineyard Workers; the Samaritan Woman… all of these, and others, do a great deal to reveal the “character” of Jesus’ person and mission, offering us an example and inspiration rather than simply a figure to honour and glorify.    But that’s just me… reasonable people may disagree.

The Star said that 700 languages a year are dying.  Is this one of what the Bible said would happen?

I’m not sure how to answer that.  So, I did some quick research and found that there are approximately 6 000 languages spoken worldwide today. However, half of these are likely to disappear within this century. Alongside these languages, entire sections of human culture are threatened with extinction. According to the Sorosoro website (www.sorosoro.org)

During the past three centuries, hundreds of languages have thus disappeared from the surface of the Earth, but it was during the 20th Century that the situation worsened, and it is expected that the 21st century will witness a disaster from which there will be no return.

Today, the situation is truly disastrous, and the following figures give an idea of the urgency:

- 500 languages are spoken by less than 100 people

- 96% of the world’s languages are spoken by only 4% of the world’s population

- 90% of Internet pages are written in only 12 languages

- According to UNESCO experts, on average, a language dies out every other week.

- the scientific community states that over half of existing languages could disappear during the course of this century.

Much of the blame lies with colonization and conquest and the disappearance of languages is seen as the destruction of culture.  The Government of Quebec would seem to agree with their strict French Language Laws…  I wonder if I’m any more Irish when I speak a little Gaelic.  In embracing the culture of my ancestors I was motivated to learn Gaelic, so it would seem that I also agree.  AND yet… is it a bad thing for us to be able to communicate clearly with each other?  I’m not pushing for Esperanto, but it might be nice to go to England and admire somebody’s “pants” without getting strange looks…(because trousers or slacks are pants; pants are underwear).   In the Gospel today we heard about Peter fishing… recognizing that Jesus was on the shore calling, Peter put on clothes because he was naked, jumped into the water and swam to shore.   To us that seems very peculiar.  Who fishes naked?  Who gets dressed to go swimming?   And yet, in the first century you did fish naked: it hot, wet..  you didn’t want to ruin your clothes (and they weren’t using hooks).  How better to carry your clothes to shore than wear them… so, Peter gets dressed to jump in the water and swim to shore.   But when we first hear the story there is a cognitive disconnect; a cultural assumption that makes the story seem odd. 

Translating stories from one language to another does the same thing… idioms are lost and assumptions are made.  When Jesus said that he would be resurrected on the third day, was he predicting our Easter story or using an idiom for “not today, not tomorrow… but later… like on the third day”?   How many of us thought that Naomi was suggesting to Ruth that she give Boaz a food rub in the barn, when she told her to go and “uncover his feet”?  (she was using a euphemism and idiom.. suggesting a more intimate act).

So, if we all spoke the same language would that be so bad?

I don’t know..

I also don’t know if it is Biblical or prophesied.  That we may all be one?  Perhaps.

Dear Norm,

Where did you get the phrase that begins each sermon?

I stole it from my mentor and first partner in ministry, Rev. Dr. Bob Wallace.  He began each sermon with that prayer and I have followed suit for over 20 years. 

Loving God, May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts, be acceptable unto you. And may I never lightly presume to preach Your Word and may we never lightly presume to hear Your Word, for in Your Word is Abundant life, Amen.

The first line comes from the Psalm 19 and connects me to the tradition of preaching and worship.  The second line is a reminder to me not to take this awesome privilege and responsibility lightly… people are listening to me; they have invested in the authority that I have to share my inspirations and insight… and it’s not all about me, I should never presume that it is, it is about each of us hearing what God has to say to us in a given time and place… and what is heard by one may not be the same as is heard by another, or even be what I intended to communicate.   Then there is a reminder that we are in community, and therefore are not bound to a single meditative response: the meditations of ALL our hearts.    Finally, the reminder that God offers us Abundant Life:  A life that is full and free… not filled with stuff or wealth – but abundance.  Hearing and living in concert with the Word of God, makes my life full (no matter how many channels I have on my TV… or how much money I have in the bank.   All life can be abundant)

So, there we are…. Our first Q&A Blog.  What do you think? 

Let’s keep the conversations going… and see how we can continue the conversation begun this morning at Jubilee.

Norm