Keep Psalm and Carry On...

We had a wonderful guest preacher on Sunday, in the person of Maya Brathwaite – so it seems that folks have been reluctant to query a guest.

However, I did get a couple of requests for my interpretation of Psalm 30 and had a brief conversation about why we bother with Psalms in church at all.

Why bother?

For several reasons, I imagine – not the least of which is that it keeps us connected to our tradition.  A tradition nurtured and maintained in our United Church, but reaching back and connecting us to the Methodist Church, the Roman Catholic Church, the Orthodox Church, the first Christian Communities, the Jews and the Hebrew Scriptures – pretty good company and not folks that you want to leave behind.

Another, perhaps more persuasive reason, is that the psalms know us.  Yes, the language is often arcane and the metaphors can be trying…  the sentiments are not always agreeable, as we can  be exhorted to “wreak vengeance on the nations” or “bathe our feet in the blood of the wicked”  (149:7; 58:10)… and it can be downright confusing…

God has taken his place in the divine council;

in the midst of the gods he holds judgment:

 "How long will you judge unjustly

and show partiality to the wicked?

(82:1,2)

Love the call for justice, confused about who might be attending this meeting… are not monotheists?

However, this is only problematical if you imagine reading the Psalms (or any scripture) as if it was meant to be history or instruction.  If you read the Psalms as poetry or expression of humanity, then it is less of a problem.  From time to time, I have wished horrible vengeance on my enemies… and if God is going to know me, God needs to know that I lose my temper, my decorum and my perspective from time to time.  I also create false gods for myself as well as I find myself worshipping status or wealth, sacrificing my family or my openness to God in order to look good, make a buck or protect myself from others.     Every now and again, it helps to imagine God sitting down and talking to my other “gods” and saying to them, “Look, god of money, I know that Norm has been spending time with you lately, but don’t think that that means he’s giving up on caring about others or that he’s going to really judge himself better because he has more money…. And god of celebrity, sit down and don’t forget that what people think is not nearly as important as what I think…   and god of doing whatever I want just because I want to – grow up!”  In that little drama, I am reminded about what’s important to me and how my actions need to follow my values…    but come on, who doesn’t have a few extra gods wandering around, calling meetings?   The Psalms get that.

The Psalms know who I am… winner, loser, victor vanquished… lover, fighter… faithful, struggling… seeing God in everything all around me… wondering why God has turned away…   Singing to God a new song every day, or slowly walking through the valley of the shadow of death. 

I think that we keep the Psalms because they reminds us of who we are and that God understands… as God puts images of justice in our minds and we put words in God’s mouth… the Psalms bring us together.

At least that’s my thinking today…

As for the other request:  Psalm 30, as it is included in the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, and then as I imagine it.

Psalm 30

A Psalm. A Song at the dedication of the temple. Of David.
¹I will extol you, O Lord, for you have drawn me up,
   and did not let my foes rejoice over me.
²O Lord my God, I cried to you for help,
   and you have healed me.
³O Lord, you brought up my soul from Sheol,
   restored me to life from among those gone down to the Pit.^*

⁴Sing praises to the Lord, O you his faithful ones,
   and give thanks to his holy name.
⁵For his anger is but for a moment;
   his favour is for a lifetime.
Weeping may linger for the night,
   but joy comes with the morning.

⁶As for me, I said in my prosperity,
   ‘I shall never be moved.’
⁷By your favour, O Lord,
   you had established me as a strong mountain;
you hid your face;
   I was dismayed.

⁸To you, O Lord, I cried,
   and to the Lord I made supplication:
⁹‘What profit is there in my death,
   if I go down to the Pit?
Will the dust praise you?
   Will it tell of your faithfulness?
¹⁰Hear, O Lord, and be gracious to me!
   O Lord, be my helper!’

¹¹You have turned my mourning into dancing;
   you have taken off my sackcloth
   and clothed me with joy,
¹²so that my soul^* may praise you and not be silent.
   O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you for ever.

Psalm 30… my way.

I’m more than half way through my life, God… (well, unless I live a very, very long time)

I think that I’m finally getting some perspective…  and I laugh at myself.

When I was younger, it was tough… people got in my way, tried to crush my dreams, put me in boxes and categories that didn’t fit… but I often felt that you held them off for me – held them off, so that I could be me.

And I became ME… with capital letters.

I worked tirelessly to achieve… I studied, practiced, innovated…. Had my shoulder to the plow and my eye always on the prize.

While others may have shirked or rested… while they may have been satisfied with a Participants Ribbon, I pushed myself to win… overcome… take the prize.

And I knew that you were always in the stands cheering me on.

When I finally made it… I really made it!!  Top of my class, best house on the street, best neighbourhood… I had reputation, security, satisfaction and everybody loved me… but nobody loved me more than YOU loved me.

I always figured that you loved me more because I tried so much harder…. I was your favourite because I earned it… with dedication, wit and, I don’t know… brilliance??

I rested and congratulated myself on a race well run… I was set for life… a self-made success.

And then it happened…

Cracks began to show

Things began to crumble

The bottom fell out

In short order, it all went sour… and I lost all that I had worked for… all that I had earned and deserved!

I looked around and realized that you were no longer in the stands cheering me on… In FACT, it felt like you were angry with me… maybe, even jealous?

How else could I explain everything falling apart… you were out to get me.

I remember my childhood prayers:  “Now, I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep…”  And I cried… I actually cried… “Please God, keep my soul…. Don’t be angry at me for my arrogance… I get it… don’t damn me… keep me alive and I will preach… I will praise… I will tell everyone of your goodness and mercy… (even in my tears, I still imagined that you needed my praise… and that others might care what I had to say)

And then… in my losing everything, I discovered how much I actually had.
In my vulnerability, I found your love…

As dark as things may have been… I realized that just as dawn follows night, so, too does life follow cycles… and nothing stays the same… not fortune, not misfortune…

And in acceptance of my life as it is… and I have found such joy, peace, wisdom…   Serenity… and You.

Hallelujah!!!

Amen.

O Canada or NO Canada

On Sunday we recognized Canada Day in our worship service with the Bulletin Cover, pictures in the bulletin, a Prayer for Canada Day and two hymns- including “O Canada” as our final hymn.  It was all very well received.    But not all churches would agree with our choices…

Some faith communities feel strongly that National Anthems and Flags have no place in church.  Their inclusion suggests a partisan God – the God of Abraham and Jesus becomes the God who favours Canada over Portugal, and we can easily imply that God has blessed us more than others thus revealing our “favoured status”. 

Others will object because we seem to be praising Our Nation, rather than worshiping God.  Our focus is on the wonders of Our Land and not all of God’s creation.  They would argue that worship is a time for us to humbly submit ourselves to the Divine Love of God and praise the One who’s Spirit moves within and around us.  Not really sure how Hockey and Poutine figure into that dynamic.

Still others will worry about the visitor who is not Canadian – how does that person feel welcomed and included as we talk about Canada, a great nation, built by great people – and you ain’t one of us!!  (I have had the experience of celebrating the 4^th of July in the U.S and feeling very conspicuous in my “non-American-ness”)

So, for many it’s just better to leave it out.  Let Canada Day be celebrated on July 1^st; let it celebrated in the Park or even in the Parking Lot, but not in the sanctuary.   Or, if you do include it, let be part of the Announcements, something separate from the “Worship” part of the service.  Perhaps sing "O Canada" before the “Call to Worship”… and then, having rendered unto Caesar (or Canada) that which is Caesar’s, focus on rendering unto God, that which belongs to God.

I happen to understand and appreciate all the above sentiments. 

But I still included the Prayer, the Pictures and the “National Anthem” as final hymn.

Allow me to tell you why:

First, as I mentioned in church on Sunday, I've never really cared to belong to a “proper” church.  I like that we colour outside the lines from time to time; that we make mistakes… I think that when we try or do something that doesn't work, but identify it as such – we encourage others to risk a little and we provide a context for people to understand, love and forgive.   Now, I don’t suspect that I will be claiming this Sunday Service in such a way  “Ooops, we made a mistake…” but knowing that this is part of our shared culture, I’m not worried about always getting it “right”.

I included Canada Day as part of our worship because it is of concern to our community.  I also included Pride Weekend, prayers for Turkey, and a number of people who are in hospital, because these celebrations and concerns are part of who we are as a community.  In worship we engage God as we are, not as we imagine we should be…. And we do our best to engage God as God is, not as we would like to imagine God to be.  This relationship that we celebrate and nurture in our worship is one of honesty and integrity… we are the people who are celebrating and wondering about our Nation, we are people who are confused and worried about people around the world… we are the people who are worried about friends and relatives in hospital – if we deny such things, than we risk God one day saying to us “we never talk any more… why can’t you ever talk about what you really feel?”  and that’s nearly always the conversation that precedes a break up!

I included Canada Day because I did so in a way that attempted to be sensitive to the issues raised above.  I did it in inclusive celebration (although I recognize that it was through the narrow lens of Norm Seli that much was filtered)… I did it in the same way as I pray for our leaders in church – not because they are the “best leaders” but because they are the leaders that we have elected and who have great impact on our lives and the lives of my immediate neighbours.  Surely, praying for Rob Ford isn't the same as saying that he's the greatest mayor in the world and we are blessed by God in having him as ours?  Maybe he's good, maybe not... but he's ours and so we pray. 

I included Canada Day because its absence would have seemed peculiar to many (or most) of the congregation.   We did not have a flag in the Chancel; we were not worshipping Canada, but we did have a flag picture in the bulletin as a reflection of our identity and our concerns as we engage with God in worship.  Many would have felt left out of worship had we not included and honoured their feelings as Canadians.

I included Canada Day because we are the United Church of CANADA… and it’s kinda hard to ignore that.  (yes, I know that it’s not the same as being the United Church of O Canada)

Finally – the most contentious part of it all – I included our National Anthem as a closing hymn.  We finished the service with a rousing “Hurrah!” for Canada, rather than an Amen.  Had I been in worship in an American church and they concluded with the “Star Spangled Banner” I would have been very critical… however, the text to O Canada is a prayer: Amid the national pride and promise to stand on guard is the simple prayerful request:  God keep our land glorious and free! 

I haven’t changed text or context… I’ve simply included a prayer in worship,  a prayer that also serves as a National Anthem, but a prayer regardless… and who would argue about including prayer in worship??

And I did continue with a Benediction and Amen, as one does after a prayer. 

Incidentally, I am prepared to be wrong and go before the community and say so… so, let me know your thoughts, if you would like to. 

And because people keep asking and sharing, allow me to include my Prayer for Canada Day…

Loving, God,

  Not because Canada is greater than any other country,

  (It be would very unCanadian to say so)

  Not because we are home to Hockey, fantastic Women’s Soccer, a better brand of Football and the best side of Niagara Falls…

Not because we are the land of Butter Tarts, Clamato Juice and Poutine…

Not because we have been serenaded by songs from outerspace by our own Chris Hadfield…

But simply because we are thankful for this life we enjoy… we pray.

We pray in celebration with natives and refugees;

     People born here;

          those who came to visit, and could not bear to leave.

To be Canadian is to celebrate and struggle

  with people of the oceans, the mountains, the prairies,

  the Canadian Shield, the valleys, the red sand and the white snow.

None of us the same

     and yet all of us Canadian.

We give thanks that as Canadians we

  get emotional when we hear about our armed forces:

  we hold our collective breath  when Dieppe, Vimy and Juno Beach; Belgium, Holland, France, Italy, and the North Atlantic are mentioned.

We do not forget Korea, Cyprus, Haiti, Bosnia, Vietnam or Afghanistan… and the men and women who represented us, wore our colours, in those faraway lands.

We give thanks for the men and women

   who served in the last century

  and we pray for those who serve in this one.

We give thanks for the warm feelings that arise when we remember

     Mr. Dressup inviting us to find something in the Tickle Trunk. 

     Chez Helen teaching us French

      and Romper Room seeing us through the Magic Mirror

We fondly recall Don Messer and Tommy Hunter,  Wayne and Schuster, the Beachcombers, Street Legal, Flashpoint… the voices of Loren Green,  Knowlton Nash and Foster Hewitt…   Front Page Challenge, the Pig and Whistle, This Week has Seven Days, and This Hour has 22 minutes.

We dance to Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians, 

Blue Rodeo, The Guess Who, Leahy, Sheepdogs, Arcade Fire, Anne Murray, Celine Dionne, Sarah McLauglin, Drake, Justin Bieber and Great Big Sea.

We’ve heard our stories put to music by Gordon Lightfoot, Stan Rogers, Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen and Neil Young…

We’ve read our lives in the prose and poetry of Lucy Maud Montgomery, Margarets Atwood and Laurence, Farley Mowart, Timothy Findlay and so many more…  We have been connected by Music, Theatre and Dance… Elmer Isler Singers,  Nathaniel Dett Choral,  Mendellsohn Choir, Montreal Jubilation Choir, Men of the Deep…Ballet and Opera Companies that rival the finest in the world scattered about our country like gardens of grace.

We swell with pride when we talk about  Sam Steele, Terry Fox Stephen Lewis, Tommy Douglas, David Suzuki, George Best

We know that Bobby is always followed by ORR… The Giant is always Friendly…  Tom is always Stompin’ and Great One is Gretzky… or Howe..  and the Rocket is always Maurice.

We are proud that we always recognize the opening bars of the Hockey Night in Canada Theme

  Have seen the Northern Lights

  Tasted the Champagne of Ginger Ales

  Heard the call of a Loon,

  Apologized when we didn’t have to.

We have at times, welcomed the world, challenged the world and lead the world…

 

This morning we pray in thanksgiving with all those who revel in being Canadian…

We pray for those who struggle and have not found the support and delight that we have found in this vast diverse country….

We pray for the imagination, strength and courage to hold on to what really matters…

  And to strive for better… for all….

Loving God,  we pray that we may continue to be a welcoming people,  with our hands on  the plow, eyes on the stars, hearts on our sleeves, tongues in our cheeks and feet on solid ground.

In short, 

God:  It is good to be here.  

Thank you.

Amen.