Surprised By Worship

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.” When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told. - Luke 2:8–20 NIV

Worship is an interesting topic. If you don't think so, consider the fact that the people can get very upset over the subject of worship, people will argue about it, people will divide over it, people can even get mean and nasty about it. I guess it kind of makes sense – to a point -- people will react in all these ways over issues they feel passionate about; worship is something we should feel passionate about.

Worship should also surprise us. If worship is entering into the presence of the eternal and all knowing God, shouldn’t we created and finite beings, be surprised sometimes when we discover ourselves in that pretense?

• Have you ever been surprised by worship?

o Have you experienced a time where worship snuck up on you and you found yourself its midst without intending to be there? (That is perhaps for me its sweetest expression);

o Have you ever sought worship, been in the time and the place where you would expect to enter into it – even had it surrounding you -- and not found it yourself? (I have experienced that too).

The “Christmas shepherds” were definitely surprised when the Angel of the Lord appeared to them in the middle of a dark, dark night to announce good news of great joy – followed by, I imagine, a singing choir of praising angels, more light, maybe some instruments (maybe not) but in any event a massive worship experience. It was as surprising as it was terrifying. It would have been no less surprising, no less terrifying if their was no sound at all, “just” the glory of the Lord. Either way, the surprise of worship would have stayed with them for the remainder of their days.

While I doubt if any of us will experience surprising worship of this magnitude, we still can and should be surprised. And ironically, this surprise is more likely when we expect it, but don’t necessarily try to create it.

• Are you expecting to be surprised by worship? You should be.

God Sighs

O little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie! Above thy deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars go by; Yet in thy dark streets shineth, the everlasting Light; The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight. “Oh Little Town of Bethlehem,” Phillips Brooks (1835–1893)

There some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged him to place his hand on the man. After he took him aside, away from the crowd, Jesus put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then he spit and touched the man’s tongue. He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, “Ephphatha!” (which means, “Be opened!”). At this, the man’s ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly. - Mark 7:32–35

I love those words from “Oh Little Town of Bethlehem,” "the hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight." Indeed, hope was born in that backwoods town that first Christmas morning. Hope is the message of Jesus, hope is the message for the world, hope is the message of Christmas. Our hope is in a God who moved into the neighborhood, who sought us out and whose heart breaks for the ways in which things are not the way they ought to be. In the passage from Mark, above, Jesus looks to heaven and sighed deeply, when confronted with a man who lived a life of disability. Jesus sighed even as He was about to free the man into wholeness -- He sighed at the brokenness of a world where sin and death seem to have the final say.

Author Max Lucado, speaking of Jesus’ sigh suggests that it comes from “a recognition of pain that was never intended, or of hope deferred.” He writes,
“Man was not created to be separated from his creator; hence he sighs, longing for home. The creation was never intended to be inhabited by evil; hence she sighs, yearning for the Garden. And conversations with God were never intended to depend on a translator; hence the Spirit groans on our behalf, looking to a day when humans will see God face to face.”

He continues, “When Jesus looked into the eyes of Satan’s victim, the only appropriate thing to do was sigh. ‘It was never intended to be this way,’ the sigh said. ‘Your ears weren’t made to be deaf, your tongue wasn’t made to stumble.’ The imbalance of it all caused the Master to languish.”

Lucado concludes, “In the agony of Jesus lies our hope. Had he not sighed, had he not felt the burden for what was not intended, we would be in a pitiful condition. Had he simply chalked it all up to the inevitable or washed his hands of the whole stinking mess, what hope would we have? But he didn’t. That holy sigh assures us that God still groans for his people. He groans for the day when all sighs will cease, when what was intended to be will be.”

Our hope comes in the One who sighs in the presence of things that seem hopeless, in the brokenness that surrounds us.

Do you believe God sighs over the pain in the world?
Do you believe God sighs over the pain in your life?
What hurt in the world causes you to sigh?

Peace, hope and love

Doug

Give More . . . relationship

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. - John 1:1–2 NIV

She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins. All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him 'Immanuel'—which means, 'God with us.'” Matthew 1:21-23 NIV

The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood. - John 1:14 MESSAGE

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. - Revelation 21:3 NIV


God/Relationship; Relationship/God.

At the very heart of the nature of God is relationship -- from the eternal relationship of the Trinity through the relational friendship with the people he made, the people he breathed very life into, to choosing a people for himself, the Christmas coming in relational form to redeem us from the results of our decision to break relationship with him and finally in the consummation of all things in relationship with us, dwelling with us, we his people, he our God for eternity in relationship. God is a relational God; Christmas is at it's heart relationship. Think of your best memories of Christmas. Are those memories of things or of people. My guess is that for most of us, the best of our memories are of people.

As we enter into the Christmas story this year through our Advent Conspiracy, one of our challenges is how to reclaim or at least step more fully into the relational aspect of Christmas. How do we give more by thinking through ways to give relationally? What are you doing? What are you planning on doing? Do you have any ideas you want to share? Share them with me, share them with others. Take a look at the Advent Conspiracy Facebook page; join the discussion and get ideas. Below are some ideas I found somewhere -- they are not original to me, but I like them and pass them along.

1. A Letter - Write a letter of thanks or affirmation. Everyone from Great Grandmas to grade schoolers likes to be told how much they’re appreciated. If your letter is for a parent or grandparent name the reasons you are grateful to them and for them. If it’s for a friend or sibling tell them the ways they have helped and supported you and the gifts you see in them. To make your letter longer share a favorite memory or anecdote that illustrates your affirmations but don’t feel like you have to write a novel. Often a single page or even just a few paragraphs can convey all that needs to be said. Write a few drafts till you get down exactly what you want to say. You may want to do your editing on the computer for efficiency and then handwrite your final copy to make it personal. If there’s a key to gift giving, maybe that’s it, something personal. A moment, a feeling, a connection you have with another person, memorialized by an object. And, sometimes the best things in life are free.

2. An Afternoon - Give someone the gift of your time. Take a trip to the park together or invite your special someone on your favorite walk. An afternoon just hanging around – playing cards with your great aunt or taking your little cousin for a drive – can make memories to last a lifetime. Check the forecast and choose a beautiful day. Check your calendar and choose a day without work pressing in on all sides. Talk about your hopes and dreams, ask important questions or reminisce. You can give this gift in the form of a card or coupon. If you’re a “crafty” kind of person, you could even create your own gift card with this “special offer.”

3. A Treasured Possession - My friend Kathy is a cat lover. You could safely call her a Cat Lady. Over the years she had amassed an impressive collection of feline knick-knacks and kitty-cat kitsch. When she decided it was time to lighten the load she bestowed on me a small golden kitty pin with green rhinestone eyes. I felt almost like I was being entrusted with the care of beloved pet. I really liked the pin, but because it had been hers it connected me to her in a way that a new purchase just couldn’t have done. Think of the person you’re giving to. What would he or she appreciate? A favorite book or mug of yours? How about giving your girlfriend that sweater she’s constantly stealing or maybe its time to hand over the penknife your kid brother was always jealous of. Passing on something that’s gently used but greatly loved can be worth a lot more than anything that comes from the store. The key with this one is matching up what someone else would enjoy with something that’s special to you.

4. Photographs & Memories - Make a list of all your shared best times titled “Thanks for the Memories” or “I’ll Never Forget When We…”. Roll it up and give it as a scroll. Go through your photo collection. Gather some pictures through the years or choose one photo of a favorite moment- maybe a shell from a day at the beach and a picture to go with it boxed and wrapped. One friend of mine who loves to take snapshots puts together beautiful photo albums as gifts. Another is the master of mix making and burns cd’s that evoke memories with notations for each song: remember the time… or thanks for being this kind of friend.

5. Teach, Cook, Grow, or Help - How long has your mom been saying she wants to clean out the basement? Does your niece want to learn how to knit? Does your best friend need to paint her kitchen? Could you help your brother plant a garden? Can you change the oil in your Grandpa’s car for him or cook your folks a gourmet meal? Think about what you can do and what someone else might need done. What seems easy to you might seem insurmountable to someone you love and what you can DO might be the best gift of all.

None of these sound right? Here are a few more simple gift ideas…

Collect- quotes, comics, poems that your loved one would appreciate. Give them in a big fancy envelope or as a collage.

Make- candles, bookmarks, photo collages, a tribute website, a video with different family members sharing memories.

Share- a tea lover I know made a little gift mug with a few each of the tea bags in her cupboard tucked into a well loved mug and tied with a ribbon. Put all those shoots from your spider plant or reduce your book, tool, plant, art or sweater collection by sharing it.

Write- a song, poem, prayer, or how about a story for a niece or nephew about your sibling “When your dad was five…” Cast their mom or dad as the hero and watch their little eyes get big!

Merry Christmas

Doug