WATCHWORD:
1 Sing a new song to the Lord! Let the whole earth sing to the Lord! 2 Sing to the Lord; praise his name. Each day proclaim the good news that he saves.
3 Publish his glorious deeds among the nations. Tell everyone about the amazing things he does. 4 Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise! He is to be feared above all gods. 5 The gods of other nations are mere idols, but the Lord made the heavens! 6 Honor and majesty surround him; strength and beauty fill his sanctuary. 7 O nations of the world, recognize the Lord; recognize that the Lord is glorious and strong. 8 Give to the Lord the glory he deserves! Bring your offering and come into his courts. Psalm 96:1-8
Give to the Lord the glory he deserves! Bring your offering and come into his presence.
Worship the Lord in all his holy splendor. 1 Chronicles 16:29
Meditation:
Value in Conflict
There are times in our lives where we are in conflict with another over matters that may be now seem too simplistic or too unimportant, yet at the time it may have fractured a relationship. In retrospect, you may have thought, “what was I thinking?”
Father William of St. Gregory’s Abbey in Three Rivers, Michigan, recalls, with humor, one of the great theological conundrums of his childhood: What was the real, the true tune for “Away in a Manger”? The Father explains that there were two tunes used at the time of his childhood. The simpler one, favored by the boys because it was simple and was the first version most kids learned first, and a fancier version which seemed to be favored by the girls. This argument, which was the real and true tune, was, at the time, divisive, and a source of conflict.
Later, Father William came to the clear realization that they were really just singing the same song to different tunes. That seems like such a simple story, one that we can relate to, but one that illustrates a deeper concern for Christians. I favor a liturgical approach to worship. You, on the other hand, may favor a more relaxed and informal worship service. Sometimes we get so ingrained in what we are used to and find comfortable, that we may have a nagging voice in the back of our mind saying “how can they worship that way?”.
Years ago, while vacationing in the Smokey Mountains, I attended a community church service one Sunday morning. We were roundly welcomed, even applauded, as the service continued (for two+ hours), with frequent interruptions of “Amen” and “Preach it Pastor” and “Praise the Lord”, my poor liturgical brain was overwhelmed. I felt at the time I was being distracted from my worship, but, after-the-fact, I realized that we were really just singing the same song to different tunes and styles.
I believe there are 45,000+ versions of Christianity. Which is the real and true version? You would probably get 45,000 candidates. But in reality, we worship one God, and, guess what, we don’t get extra points for style. We worship God. Same song, different tune.
Father William says: “…not all the theological descriptions of Jesus that Christians have come up with fit the gospel story. Some early teachers really did say Jesus wasn’t truly God, some said he wasn’t truly human. Some said that he didn’t fulfil the Old Testament but exposed it as a fraud, with a phoney pseudo-God. These ways of singing the story of Jesus don’t really fit the words we read in the Bible. They are departures from the basic truths we’ve been given.
Looking for a gift to give the Lord? How about repentance and a determination to do better? Excellent gifts to bring to our Lord at Christmas time. Amen?
Bulletin Board:
Tomorrow is the Second Sunday of Advent and if you are using an Advent wreath (as I am) you light the Second Candle, which represents faith and is called the Bethlehem Candle (representing the journey of Joseph and Mary).
I have had such good responses to the Watchwords over these months. And I wanted to remind you that if you have a friend or loved one who you think would find them valuable, feel free to pass it along. You can invite them to join us here: https://bosworth30.com/watchwords/#signup
Closing Prayer:
[Prayer reminder: Remember those who are struggling with medical treatments, or who cannot sleep peacefully. The medical workers, ambulance drivers, the hospitals filled to capacity, and all those confined in quarantine.]
Father God, every word in scripture points to the gift of hope that we have because of Christ Jesus. The Christmas story wasn’t the beginning of that message of hope because the old testament is full of glimpses of your plan to redeem your people and restore them into a relationship with you, but we are able to truly begin to see and understand just how great your love for us is when we read the story of Jesus’ birth in scripture.
Help us to see that you are with us. Nothing is too difficult, too messy, or too dirty for you. Jesus came to give us the gift of eternal life through the salvation that only you, our Heavenly Father, can give when we believe on your Son, repent of our sins, and confess Jesus as our Lord and Savior.
That first Christmas, you gave us the gift of hope wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger. Thank you, Father, for your immeasurable gift. In Jesus’ precious name, we pray. Amen.
