Sing A Song to the Lord

Ephesians 5:15-20

“Sing a Song to the Lord”

 

        I am sorry to see this summer come to an end. I have really enjoyed the experiences we’ve had together on Sundays. It was kicked off with the Second Sunday event in May when a bunch us gathered under the pavilion to celebrate young people, eat everything but fried chicken, and tap our feet to the music of Marianne and the Stringbusters. On other Second Sundays we enjoyed a visit from Isaiah, Amos and Ezra. We shared bread and everything else imaginable under the pavilion. Then last week and we experienced a child delighting her father by making a balloon disappear. You had to be there.  But what excited me the most was what happened on Sunday mornings. In June we began our summer ritual of a 10:00 service. In the past, those services have felt a bit awkward, as if we are trying to squeeze two different experiences into one. This summer we kind of said to heck with being conventional and trusted the spirit of God to create some holy moments. Sometimes the service was led by various reincarnations of the Stringbusters. Sometimes we sang favorite hymns played in the traditional way. Sometimes the choir would enhance our worship from the choir loft. Sometimes singers would stumble and bumble in front of the Communion Table. Sometimes we would read a portion of the Brief Statement of Faith and offer prepared prayer in unity. Sometimes we prayed silently, each seeking our own direction. Sometimes the service ended on time, sometimes it did not, but it hardly seemed to matter. Most of you hung around for another thirty minutes regardless.

        Many of you remarked how wonderful it would be to worship together all the time. There are some practical issues that make that unlikely. Our sanctuary is not large enough and no one has any desire to expand our worship space.  Many of you like worshipping at 8:30 while others are ready to return to 11:00. Some like the formality and order of the second service. Others crave the freedom to move away from any kind of ritual. There are all kind of great reasons to go back to two services in September, chief among them being the flexibility two services allows.  But just for a moment, before the leaves begin to turn, let’s celebrate what we accomplished these past months.

        Not a week goes by that I am not contacted via e-mail by church professionals who would like to enhance our worship experience. Some offer sermons I can plagiarize for a small fee. Some offer multimedia extravaganzas that would be flashed up on a giant screen guaranteeing your amazement. I assume the screen would cover the Cross.  Some offer uplifting music, backed by electronic sounds and the “beat, beat, beat, of the tom, tom.” (My apologies to Cole Porter.) There are worship experiences for Millennial’s, Generation Xer’s, Baby Boomers, and even special services for folks our age. They are called funerals.  Evidently, attracting people to worship is big business. Perhaps we should market what has happened this summer. The Problem is it wouldn’t sell. Our formula is as ancient as the writings of the Biblical text. Our worship enters on the songs we sing, the scriptures we read, the trust we have in each other the wisdom we discover in God through Christ Jesus. We understand Paul’s words, “Become wise by singing Psalms and hymns, by making melody to the Lord, by always giving thanks to God for everything in the name of Christ.” 

        The first time I walked in this place I recognized how acoustically superior it is to so many other sanctuaries. If you sit in the second row, right in the middle, and clap your hands, sound comes at you from a thousand directions. Music is enhanced by this holy place in which we worship. But we are made wiser by the songs we sing.

        We all have our favorites. I was especially pleased by the number of folks who asked to have a beloved hymn sung this summer. I think one way or the other we covered all of those requested. Hymns are so marvelous. Utilizing a memorable tune, hymns share with us the story of our faith in a unique way. I love the tunes, but it is the poetry that inspires my soul.   Can you guess the title of these lines?

        When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,

My grace, all-sufficient, shall be thy supply.

 (How Firm a Foundation)

 

Speak to our fearful hearts by conflict rent.

Save us thy people from consuming passion,

Who by our own false hopes and aims are spent.

(Hope of the World)

 

O Lord, with your eyes you have searched me,

And while smiling, have called me by name.

             (You have Come to the Lakeshore)

Sing, pray and swerve, not from God’s way;

But do thy own part faithfully.

Trust the rich promises of grace,

So shall they be fulfilled in thee.

        (If Thou But Trust in God to Guide Thee Lord),

 

It shouldn’t surprise anyone but many of my favorite songs come from the Book of Psalms.

Psalm 139 – Search me O God and know my heart. Test me and know my thoughts.

Psalm 30 – You have turned my mourning into dancing and clothed me with joy.

Psalm 96 – Sing to the Lord a new song, for God has done marvelous things.

Psalm 62- For God alone my soul waits in silence.

And perhaps the mantra that flows through the Psalms: The Lord is gracious; the Lord is merciful; the Lord is slow to anger and the Lord is filled with steadfast love. 

The Word of the Lord, the wisdom of the Lord, fills our hearts and flows from our head to toe. Can anyone tell me which Prophet spoke these words?  

Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever flowing stream.    (Amos)

What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with God?    (Micah)

Comfort Ye, Comfort Ye my people. Let every valley be lifted up and every mountain made low and the righteousness of the Lord revealed.    (Second Isaiah)

And perhaps my favorite, How can I give you up? How can I let you go? I taught you how to walk?     (Hosea)

The words of the prophets shaped what was to come out of the mouth of Jesus. Love the Lord with all your heart, soul, and mind. Love your neighbor as you love yourself.

For God so loved the world, God gave his son.

Forgive seven times? Forgive seventy times seven.

If you love me, feed my sheep.

Go make disciples of everyone and remember, I am with you always.

The Word became Flesh or as Paul like to put it, Jesus, though he was in the form of God, emptied himself, becoming a slave, and obedient, even to the point of death. And then Paul reminded us, Nothing in all creation can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. To this James added, Be doers of the word and not hearers only.

But what good is the wisdom of the Word if it is not apparent in the way we interact with each other? Desmond TuTu claims, My humanity is caught up in yours. We each belong to a greater whole and if we humiliate another person our personhood is diminished.

Where in our cadre of songs, where in the Word do we hear, I am a rock, I am an island? Don’t confuse Paul Simon with the Apostle Paul. We are interdependent. We are in relationship with one another, even when we are at odds with each other. That is when following God gets to be difficult. Where is the wisdom in loving my enemy?

Ever hear someone say, The wisdom of God is beyond my understanding. I completely agree. But that does not mean the wisdom of God is beyond our reach.

God loves us. This is a basic principal of our faith. But it is beyond our understanding unless we reciprocate by loving God and our neighbor.

God empowers us. But what good is our empowerment if we don’t lift someone up along the way?

God suffers for us. Perhaps this is only fully understood when we suffer for and with one another.

God saves us. This is our good news. But it was not meant just for us. How might we share this gift of God?

There is a song I learned a few years ago which I am not sure you know but maybe we can learn it by next summer. I’ll share the words and then Kathleen will sing it.

Give thanks, with a grateful heart,

Give thanks to the Holy One,

Give thanks, because we’re given, Jesus Christ the Son.

And now, let the weak say, “We are strong,”

Let the poor say, “We are rich,”

Because of what the Lord has done for us.

Give thanks.

 

Imagine singing in order to make the weak stronger.

Imagine praying in order to make the poor rich.

Imagine living in order to celebrate what God has done. Imagine giving thanks for the wisdom of our God.

I think that’s what we have tried to do this summer.

                                To God be the glory. Amen.