Today, is today
a day for adoration, confession, thanksgiving, or supplication?
Who do I pray
for?
Does it matter
how long I pray?
Prayer.
Actually, in
scripture and in the lives of the faithful, we see that prayer isn’t just one
style.
Prayer of the
heart may use few words or none.
All that is required
needed is an attentive heart.
A heart that is
attentive to the world, yes the world,
around you:locally, globally, nationally,
and/or personally.
Don’t think too
so much and pray.
Where do we
begin? How do I begin?
How about this
piece of advice:
One of my
favorite writers and theologians, Thomas Merton, taught that simply walking
with God is one of the surest ways of developing a life of prayer. Prayer such
as this unveils the presence of God everywhere; God in the everydayness of
life, in the body, in nature, and in the people we encounter.
Pray.
All occasions
are opportunities for prayer:preparing
a meal, working in the garden, reading a book, taking a walk in the woods,
playing with children or with your pets. Prayer is not about words or postures,
though these aspects are important. Prayer is about living with a sense of
God’s presence in all our lives.
Here comes a
bold statement.
The real
purpose of prayer…is the deepening of personal realization
in love, the awareness of God (even if sometimes this awareness may among to a
negative factor, a seeming ‘absence’).
Prayer then not
just a formula of words, or a series of desires springing up in the heart—it is
the orientation of our whole body, mind, and spirit to God in silence,
attention, and adoration.
So pray.
However you
need to or want to. But you need to.
We all do.
Need help?
Think about
this poem by Mary Oliver titled, “Praying.”
Here is a bit
of truth I’m sure you all probably didn’t know about your pastor.
Before I
confide and confess to you this truth about myself, I encourage you to sit
down.
Are you
sitting?
Take a deep
breath.
Ready?
Here is my
confession:
I
Can’t
Sing!
Phew. I feel
better now that I’ve shared this with you.
Despite the
fact that I can’t sing well, I love to sing. It is one of my favorite things to
do when I’m cleaning the house, taking a long drive, or when I’m out on a run.
Singing is important to me. The best way to explain why I love singing so much
is share a quote from poet Maya Angelou who said this about ‘singing’:
“A bird doesn’t
sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song.”
We all have a
song to sing. Just like we all have a story to tell. What matters is not how
well we sing, but that we make the space to sing and allow others to join their
voices with ours.
It is this very
reason why I love church, especially our church. We sing and we sing
beautifully. Now it helps we have a fantastic music director and a pair of
organist who can really tickle those ivories. But what makes worship so
enchanting and reverent is the song
of the congregation.
Do you know why
we sing in church? Song is a response, which engages the whole self in prayer.
Song unites the faithful in common prayer wherever we gather for worship
whether in church, home, or other special place. Throughout scripture we can
find the people of singing as a way to worship and thank God for God’s presence
in their lives.
So we sing.
And we use
music. Music may serve as presentation and interpretation of Scripture, as
response to the gospel, and as prayer, through psalms and canticles, hymns and
anthems, spirituals and spiritual songs.
Essentially, music
imparts spiritual truth to one's mind, heart, and soul. It displays a
dimension of meaning and feeling that mere words cannot. Or as Martin Luther
once said, “Next to the Word of God, the noble art of music is the greatest
treasure in the world.”
With that said,
this week’s mid-week is a top ten:Adam’s Top Ten Hymns!
(In no
particular order….)
1.O
Come, O Come, Emmanuel (#88)—This
is my favorite hymn of all time. If I could, I would sing this song every
Sunday during Advent. “O come, thou Wisdom from on high, who orderest all
things mightily:to us the path of
knowledge show; and teach us in her ways to go.”
2.My
Song is Love Unknown (#209)—“My
song is love unknown, my Savior’s love to me, love to the loveless shown that
they might lovely be. O who am I that for my sake my Lord should take frail
flesh, and die?” This opening line is a path into a vivid and poignant
reflection on Christ’s passion.
3.What
Wondrous Love is This (#215)—The
melody is haunting. While I may not like all
the theology in this hymn, the last line offer great hope and encouragement in
the life of our faith:“And when from
death I’m free, I’ll sing on, I’ll sing on….”
4.Let
us Build a House:All Are Welcome (#301)—At the heart of Christ’s ministry was
his radical hospitality. He welcomed everybody. This is my greatest hope for
the church:that all will know they are
welcome at Christ’s table in our church. “Let us build a house where all are
named, their songs and visions heard and loved and treasured…”
5.We
Shall Overcome (#379)—Though
now associated primarily with the Civil Rights Movement of the mid-20th
century, this spiritual most likely dates from the days of the slave trade. We
need to sing this because it reminds us of what we are to do:march for justice. It is not a marching song.
It is not necessarily defiant. It is a promise: "We shall overcome
someday. Deep in my heart, I do believe."
6.Here
In This Place:Gather Us In (#401)—This song is a great source of comfort.
No matter where we have been, God gathers us in. God gathers us in through the
bread and cup, giving us compassion to drink and Godself to eat.
7.God
Be With you Till We Meet Again (#541/542)—Growing up, this song was the last hymn we sung every
Sunday. To this day whenever I hear it, I’m taken back to the third pew on the right,
sitting next to my brothers at Bethel Presbyterian Church.
8.O
For a Thousand Tongues to Sing (#610)—I
love John and Charles Wesley. Charles wrote it about his conversion and now it
is customarily the first hymn in Methodist hymnals worldwide. “To God all
glory, praise, and love be now and ever given by saints below and saints above,
the church in earth and heaven.” When we gather for worship, we gather with
that great cloud of witnesses, in the company and communion of saints!
9.I
Greet Thee, Who My Sure Redeemer Art (#624)—It is the only hymn attributed to Presbyterian John Calvin.
“Our hope is in no other save in thee; our faith is built upon thy promise free…”
10.Will You Come and Follow Me (#726)—Our faith is a journey. It is a process
that is to be walked with others. Daily God calls us to be the light and love
of Christ. “Will you love the ‘you’ you hid if I but call your name? Will you
quell the fear inside and never be the same? Will you use the faith you’ve
found to reshape the world around, through my sight and touch and sound in you
and you in me?” Christ dwells in us. We must seek the risen Christ in all we
meet!
Close calls:
11.Blessed
Assurance, Jesus is Mine (#839)
12.A
Mighty Fortress is Our God (#275)
13.I
Love to Tell the Story (#462)
There you have
it. My top 10 hymns/songs in our Presbyterian Hymnal:Glory to God!
What would be
your top ten? What have I left off!?
Have a
wonderful week.
And see you at Kickapoo Park on Sunday for Worship in
the Park!
46 They came to Jericho. As he and his disciples and a large
crowd were leaving Jericho, Bartimaeus son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was
sitting by the roadside. 47When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout
out and say, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’ 48Many sternly ordered him
to be quiet, but he cried out even more loudly, ‘Son of David, have mercy on
me!’ 49Jesus stood still and said, ‘Call him here.’ And they called the
blind man, saying to him, ‘Take heart; get up, he is calling you.’ 50So throwing off his
cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus.51Then Jesus said to him, ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ The
blind man said to him, ‘My teacher, let me see again.’ 52Jesus said to him, ‘Go;
your faith has made you well.’ Immediately he regained his sight and followed
him on the way.
What is ‘gospel?’
Perhaps we need
not look any further than this healing story from Jesus.
Take a closer
look at it.
Before Jesus
heals Bartimaeus, he asks him what he wants.
Jesus's love
for people means he listens to them.
Faith can make
us well. This is not magic, or superstition, or some simple fix of course. It
seems clear, to me at least, that when Jesus says, "Your faith has made
you well" he is not saying that these people somehow believed their way
into wellness. Rather he is pronouncing their wellness, declaring it, making it
happen for them. It is Jesus who heals, and faith that receives that healing.
And so it is, or can be, for those who hear this story and this good news.
Faith can make us well. Faith can open our ears, unstop our ears -- even raise
us from death.
As much as we
may want to make this piece of scripture only about faith, there is something
else to explore in regards to being church.
Did you notice
how the blind man responded when he heard who was in his presence?
Better yet, did
you notice how “the many” around him responded when they heard the blind man
cry out, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”?
His cries
stopped Jesus in his tracks. Even against the advice of his top advisors and
friends who knew better, Jesus stops and listens.
“What do you
want me to do for you?” Jesus asks.
“My teacher,
let me see again.”
What if God is
waiting for us as God’s people to begin to ask what we want of God? What if the
way we can bring healing to such a hurting place is by stopping and listening
to the cries around us? What would our ministry look like if we visited
everybody we send checks to?
Gospel is not
only the telling of the good news. But it is also about listening for it. Then,
providing that space where we can celebrate our good news together as a
community.
Daily, as God’s
people, we have choices to make.
We choose to
listen and to see.
Or we choose
not to.
So I can’t help
but wonder, what do you think Jesus would show us if we allowed him to fully
open our eyes to the beauty that surrounds us?
God sees us as
God’s beloved children. It is time we begin to do the same.
8
weeks he came home with me. A little golden ball of fur who whined all night
and awkwardly tumbled upstairs and was so adorable I almost thought about
renting him out to single folks.
He’s
always had a heart of gold. I like to think it’s from his golden coat that goes
with me everywhere.
Whenever
we go out, people are often taken aback by his size. “Does he bite?” they ask.
Always with a grin, I reply, “Nope. He’ll lick ya to death.”
I
guess you could say he is a gentle giant.
People
who don’t have pets don’t quite understand their impact on us humans. Often
when I’ve talked about Silas and Chloe people will ask, “Oh, are they your
children?” and when I politely say no there is often an expression of judgment.
No that is too strong of a word. There is an expression of misunderstanding and
ignorance. Pets are intuitive creatures. Especially dogs. When the time is
right, rarely do they instigate for their own sake of feeling good. Nor do they
ever talk back. And never have I ever come home and was met by Silas and Chloe
with their tails not wagging. Even on their worst days, and on my very awful,
no good, bad days, they offer me love.
All
went well today at our vet appointment. Both dogs are healthy and the lumps
found on Silas’ belly are nothing to worry about. A large sigh of relief was
breathed at the house upon the good news.
They
are with me now at church. Asleep at my feet. Silas is snoring by the door. And
Chloe, well, about every 4 minutes she raises her head as if she has heard
something. Perhaps she hears the church mouse.
Next
week Silas turns 8. The following week Chloe will turn 3. They are dogs, yes.
But they are much more than that. They are companions and teachers. They reveal
insight about joy and simplicity, grace and forgiveness, happiness and love.
Life isn’t perfect. And trust me, my pups aren’t perfect. However, despite the imperfections, they help me see each day as a gift, a
reason to go on an adventure and smell the flowers, to walk a little slower, to saunter more.
Before
you think I’ve gone off the deep end and am a pantheist, let it be known I am a
Christian. In fact, I absolutely love the story of creation and how God created
us in Her image, selflessly and with great love. I find comfort knowing that
before God made a partner for humans, there were animals to keep us company. However,
I do like to read those ancient creation myths that depict God with a dog.
These stories do not explain the existence of the dog; like God, the dog is
assumed to have existed from the beginning. In this assumption, these
primordial people revealed their intense attachment to their animal companions.
I
agree with Milan Kundera who speaks to this attachment when he says:
Dogs
are our link to paradise. They don't know evil or jealousy or discontent. To
sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden,
where doing nothing was not boring--it was peace.
Silas
can be sassy.
Chloe
can be…difficult?
But
they make me smile.
And that is one of the greatest gifts of peace I can
receive.
