Prayer for the Old Year

Almighty God, whose mercy never changes and who is always faithful to lift our spiritual burdens; show your children how to share that love so those who do not know You might see a glimpse of the love, mercy, and rest that is possible to receive when we lay down our old lives and look toward You; through our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom with You, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, be all honor and glory, now and forever. Amen.

When In Our Music

"The best liturgical, musical, and relational moments are those when it all comes together - when we catch a glimpse of both the vastness of God and of our own smallness; when we sense the universality of God's salvation yet treasure our personal inheritance; when we feel more alive than ever before, yet, that it "matters not whether we live or die." Why do we settle for the dull and pedestrian when we are meant for so muc more? Because we must learn that there is so much more - taught by the Holy Spirit, encouraged by our leaders and convinced by our own experience and reflection"

From Preaching to the Choir by Wayne L. Wold

Pray for me as I try to sort out what God intends me to do with what he has given.

anything but typical

When In Our Music God is Glorified by Fred Pratt Green

When in our music God is glorified
And adoration leaves no room for pride
It is as though the whole creation cried
Alleluia!

How often, making music, we have found
A new dimension in the world of sound
As worship moved us to a more profound
Alleluia!

So has the Church in liturgy and song
In faith and love through centuries of wrong
Borne witness to the truth in every tongue
Alleluia!

Let every instrument be tuned for praise!
Let all rejoice who have a voice to raise!
And may God give us faith to sing always:
Alleluia! Amen!

Singing Alleluia at the Grave

OK, so I've thought it's really strange that the Episcopal Church has such a rich reputation and heritage of fine, high-church music, but has so very few resources for congregation. I mean there's no music publishing house except for the hymnals and supplements, no instruction, or training to raise up musicians. But we have the Book of Common Prayer, and that book directs our worship. I only recently realized how much the liturgy of the church has become imprinted on my soul.

An Episcopal funeral is an Easter liturgy. It's a "smells and bells" service - a celebration of the promise of our own resurrection. It can be somber, but as Episcopalians are known for a quirky sense of what is reverent and what is not, they can be, well, interesting. In Lent, all the Alleluias are removed from the liturgy. Lent is a period of waiting and anticipation. Holy Week is filled with remembrances of the impending crucifixion and the three days that God the Son was dead. And with Easter, the return of the Savior is celebrated in grand fashion. We get extra Alleluias to make up for the ones we missed. The cry at the end of the service is "Thanks Be To God. Alleluia!! Alleluia!!"

My Aunt Connie died last month, and her funeral was a nice celebration. It was a good Baptist service with some of her favorite music, and the plan of salvation all laid out for everyone who was there. The occasion was sad, but the service was not. It was a celebration of her life in the service of her family and her church. All the usual word of comfort were there, but for me, something was missing. I needed the liturgy that gives me words when I have no words. I needed the ebb and flow, the give and take, the call and response that is in our liturgy. I needed the alleluias at the grave.

I was thinking these things during the service and listening to the couple who provided the special music singing,"Just A Closer Walk With Thee", and I began to listen around me. I could hear an occasional sniffle, but I heard more than that. I began to hear people humming along softly and singing in snatches very quietly. And I realized that what I had been thinking about for weeks was true.

We all have liturgy. In non-liturgical churches, music and song become liturgy. The hymnal becomes the prayer book. I have often laughed as I sang my way through the 1956 Ed. of the Baptist Hymnal that I was praying my way through the hymnal, but I was being honest. In that simple connection to "Just A Closer Walk", the Baptists and Methodists around me were joined in a simple ritual that reflected the truth of God. It provided words when there were none.

And while it may not have been the words, "All of us go down to the dust;' yet even at the grave we make our song: Alleluia, alleluia, Alleluia." It was liturgy nontheless. And I was comforted.

Thanks be to God. Alleluia. Alleluia.

anything but typical

Just A Closer Walk With Thee - unknown

I am weak, but Thou art strong;
Jesus, keep me from all wrong;
I’ll be satisfied as long
As I walk, let me walk close to Thee.

Refrain

Just a closer walk with Thee,
Grant it, Jesus, is my plea,
Daily walking close to Thee,
Let it be, dear Lord, let it be.

Through this world of toil and snares,
If I falter, Lord, who cares?
Who with me my burden shares?
None but Thee, dear Lord, none but Thee.

Refrain

When my feeble life is o’er,
Time for me will be no more;
Guide me gently, safely o’er
To Thy kingdom shore, to Thy shore.

Refrain

Politics As Usual

I'll admit it. I've already voted, and I'm really tired of the whole thing.

And as tired as I am of the constant election coverage, the promises that will never be kept, the gut-wrenching fear for the country my ancestors came here to build, something else bothers me more than all this.

I think what has caused me the most distress throughout this election is the amount of venom coming from Christians on both sides of the political spectrum. It breaks my heart when I hear people who I respect or love (or both) spewing malicious falsehoods and judging the validity of another person's relationship with God based on their political views. When we do that we're not acting like citizens of God's kingdom. We're down in the muck and certainly not showing the love of God. We're not being his ambassadors in this broken world. We're failing in our job to others the One who is The Way, The Truth, and The Life.

And when it comes down to it. We know that neither candidate can truly fix our broken and hurting world.

Jesus can.

anything but typical



What This World Needs
by Casting Crowns 2008 From The Altar and The Door

What this world needs is not
Another one hit wonder with an axe to grind
Another two bit politician peddling lies
Another three ring circus society

What this world needs in not
Another sign waving super saint that's better than you
Another ear pleasing candy man afraid of the truth
Another prophet in an Armani suit

What this world needs is
A Savior who will rescue
A Spirit who will lead
A Father who will love them in their time of need
A Savior who will rescue
A Spirit who will lead
A Father who will love
That's what this world needs

What this world needs is
For us to care more about the inside than the outside
Have we become so blind that we can't see
God's gotta change her heart before He changes her shirt
What this world needs is
For us to stop hiding behind our relevance
Blending in so well that people can't see the difference
And it's the difference that sets the world free

What this world needs is
A Savior who will rescue
A Spirit who will lead
A Father who will love them in their time of need
A Savior who will rescue
A Spirit who will lead
A Father who will love
That's what this world needs

[spoken]
People aren't confused by the gospel
They're confused by us
Jesus is the only way to God
But we are not the only way to Jesus
This world doesn't need my tie, or my hoodie
My denomination or my translation of the Bible
They just need Jesus
We can be passionate about what we believe
But we can't strap ourselves to the Gospel
Cause we're slowing it down
Jesus is going to save the world
But maybe the best thing we can do
Is just get out of the way

What this world needs is
A Savior who will rescue
A Spirit who will lead
A Father who will love them in their time of need
A Savior who will rescue
A Spirit who will lead
A Father who will love
That's what this world needs

Jesus is our Saviour
That's what this world needs
Father's arms around you
That's what this world needs
That's what this world needs

Ancient Words

I've been thinking about religious tradition and the church. Being raised in a nonliturgical church, I was not raised to reverence what most people recognize as religious traditions. After all, it is not the outward trappings of religion that define my relationship with my Maker, but the state of my heart. I still believe that.

But throwing away all religious tradition is tragic.

I am a firm believer in the power of words to change people and situations. The words we choose and how we use them either build or destroy, strengthen or undermine. I've been thinking about this more for some reason lately in relation to religious history and tradition.

Lynn DeShazo wrote a beautiful hymn several years ago called "Ancient Words" and I guess it's been driving this meditation. It's about the power of faith expressed in words and the words we use to pass faith down.

I began thinking about the Ancient Words of our faith through the ages that express my faith. Some of them are directly biblical, some are extrabiblical, but still important to my faith

Words like:

- In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

- I AM that I AM

- The Lord is My Shepherd, I shall want for nothing.

- You shall have no other gods before Me.

- As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

- Shema Yisrael, Adonai Elohenu, Adonai Echad. (Hear O Israel, The Lord is God, the Lord is One)

- Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord

- We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, of all things seen and unseen...

- Almighty God, to you all hearts are open and all desires are known, and from you no secrets are hid

- I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go, I will return and receive you unto myself that where I am you may be also.

- Neither do I condemn thee, go and sin no more.

- And I bring you good tidings of great joy.

- Our Father who art in heaven.

- Miserere Nobis. Have mercy on us.

- He is not here. He is risen.

- It is right to give Him thanks and praise.

- Alleluia! Go in peace to love and serve the Lord. Thanks be to God. Alleluia!

There are many others.

But how much more important is it that we not only treasure them for ourselves, but that we share the Ancient Words with others. It is not enough that we know them, but that we teach them and share their power.

anything but typical



Ancient Words

Holy words long preserved
For our walk in this world
They resound with God's own heart
O let the ancient words impart

Words of life, words of hope
Give us strength, help us cope
In this world, where'er we roam
Ancient words will guide us home

Chorus:
Ancient words, ever true
Changing me and changing you
We have come with open hearts
O let the ancient words impart

Holy words of our faith
Handed down to this age
Came to us through sacrifice
O heed the faithful words of Christ!

Martyrs' blood stains each page
They have died for this faith
Hear them cry through the years,
"Heed these words and hold them dear!"

Words and music by Lynn DeShazo
© 2001 Integrity's Hosanna! Music

God's instruments

An instrument is useful only if it"s in the right shape. A dull ax or a bent screwdriver needs attention, and so do we. A good blacksmith keeps his tools in shape. So does God. Should God place you on his anvil, be thankful. It means he thinks you"re still worth reshaping.
- Max Lucado, from On the Anvil (1983)

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Prayers of Steel by Carl Sandburg 1918


LAY me on an anvil, O God.
Beat me and hammer me into a crowbar.
Let me pry loose old walls.
Let me lift and loosen old foundations.


Lay me on an anvil, O God.
Beat me and hammer me into a steel spike.
Drive me into the girders that hold a skyscraper together.
Take red-hot rivets and fasten me into the central girders.
Let me be the great nail holding a skyscraper through blue nights into white stars.

Set Apart

In the liturgical churches, we think about the bread and wine that is blessed and sanctified as bringing God's grace into our beings, but in the process of watching the Liturgy of the Table, I see other truths as well.

My daughter, Rachel, loves serving at the altar at church. I watch her as she approaches her service, whether as an acolyte/torchbearer, or as crucifer helping the deacon set the table for communion. She is so attentive to her tasks and duly reverent and respectful. Those items, utensils, and vessels, have been blessed, prayed over, and set aside for a holy task. In church language, they have been sanctified - or set apart for a holy purpose. They may not be perfect, but they are treated with care and respect because they are set aside for use in God's work. We don't think they contain any magical powers, but they are not to be treated lightly. She is so gentle with the items as she sets them into place or presents them to the person using them.

As I was watching her, I thought how we should be treating each other with the even more gentleness and respect than we approach sacred objects.

As God's children, we are also set aside for God's purposes. But how often do we treat each other in ways that are less than respectful? Should I not care as gently for you and treat you as tenderly as the women who tend so carefully to the altar linens and flowers? How much more precious are we to Him than the objects in His House?

Whether or not a person is living into God's purpose for him does not diminish the fact that each of God's children has been appointed for a holy purpose.

Our Baptismal vows include "will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself". That seeking and serving is part of what we do because we recognize that we have been set aside to do the work of the Savior. Too often, we behave as if we are the ones who should be served. It is too easy to become puffed up with our own sanctificaton and forget that we are not set apart for our own sake, but for the purpose of bridging the gap in order to bring Christ's love to our suffering world.

Lord, help me to treat others as holy vessels, and to behave as one with a holy purpose.

anything but typical



Take My Life, and Let It Be
by Frances Havergal 1874

Take my life, and let it be consecrated, Lord, to Thee.
Take my moments and my days; let them flow in ceaseless praise.
Take my hands, and let them move at the impulse of Thy love.
Take my feet, and let them be swift and beautiful for Thee.

Take my voice, and let me sing always, only, for my King.
Take my lips, and let them be filled with messages from Thee.
Take my silver and my gold; not a mite would I withhold.
Take my intellect, and use every power as Thou shalt choose.

Take my will, and make it Thine; it shall be no longer mine.
Take my heart, it is Thine own; it shall be Thy royal throne.
Take my love, my Lord, I pour at Thy feet its treasure store.
Take myself, and I will be ever, only, all for Thee.