Hearing the Music

Leaving a Legacy

It is tough to start with "Happy Friday" on a week in which we have lost two dear members of our congregation, two long-time, pillar-of-the-church, members. Both Norm and Ron have been with Christ Church since near its beginning. Both men have served in a variety of ways over the years; both men have left a legacy as a result of their service.

In the spirit of Psalm 90:12 which reminds us to "number our days that we might get a heart of wisdom” let me offer a couple of observations. Earlier I used the word legacy with respect to Ron and Norm. When loved ones pass we remember the impact they made on their surroundings while they were living. We remember the good times we shared, the things they taught us, the ways we were helped or served by them. We remember how they handled the ups and the downs of life. As we remember, we realize that we have been marked by those things, both for good and for ill. This marking, this transmission, is a legacy. The interesting thing about legacy is that we can only build it while we are in the midst of life. We build it during these days that are filled with the ordinary goings on of life in the 21st century and during the not so ordinary events of 2020 in particular. How we live and the choices we make will contribute to the legacy we transmit to those who come after us.

Secondly, I am mindful of every Friday being a "Happy Friday” despite the circumstances that surround it. It was a Friday, after all, on which Jesus went into the grave. It was a Friday when Jesus took the sting of death, rendering it powerless against the believer. It was a Friday when all this talk about legacy moves from something merely of this world, to something in light of eternity. It was a Friday that merged into a Sunday that changed the story for all who are willing to lay down their lives in order to have them taken up by this Risen Lord.

So, where do these two observations converge? All of life is leaving a legacy, but if we want to see our legacy transcend this world we need to live surrendered to the One who has conquered the grave. Both Norm and Ron, their families, and other pillars of Christ Church have done that, and we are the beneficiaries. May God give us all the grace to gain this heart of wisdom.

One of the main ways we pursue this heart of wisdom is through worship. As we come together, open our hearts before the Lord, and open his Word we receive from him the direction that we need. This Sunday we will continue looking at Romans 15, in particular vs. 8-16. This passage provides a culmination for the book of Romans in many respects. I very much look forward to looking at it with you.

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The types of things that help

Oh there’s so much I’d like to have a chat about. Like how ARE you? How goes it with your soul? With your heart? With your spirits? How goes your joy in the Lord? Are you able to remember that you’re a child of the King and part of a kingdom of light, love and truth? I feel I waffle between all-consuming dread and inexpressible joy. I guess that describes life for me pre-COVID also!!

I will mention three offerings that are available to you, my fellow-travelers, as we onward go. They are the types of things that help me fill my mind and heart with that inexpressible joy when the all-consuming dread looms. Perhaps they could be of help to you too?

Wednesday prayer gatherings. Starting July 29, 7-8pm, we will meet weekly to pray together outside. The one unique voice we can offer into the fray of social discord is the voice of prayer. We will praise God, lament to him, and intercede for each other and the world. To aid our focus on lament we will have a painted board set up outside where we can write our lament. We can be unified as we see the hurts, the confusion, even the rage of each other’s hearts in our church family. There isn’t a wrong lament. God already knows what’s going on. But when we lament we take it out of our thoughts into the wounds of Jesus where he can turn it into a hope. If you’d prefer we write your lament down for you please send it in here. It will be written out (anonymously). 

Extended Playlist for Faith, Hope & Love on Spotify. Yes, that’s the second offering I have. Debbie Bukovietski and I are filled to the brim with those three wonderful words through working on materials for Arts & Rec in a box. So we wanted to offer a way for more than just the kids and families to be blessed by those words faith, hope and love. Many musicians have written on these words from I Corinthians 13. Also included in the playlist are songs about our three stories: Jesus and his disciples in the storm, the road to Emmaus and the good Samaritan. As always, lots of musical styles are included from the people of God to the people of God. Rejoice! Be filled! Take 75 minutes to hear truth sung. A lyric sheet is available to help you sing in voice or in spirit.

Singing together. The final thing I’ll mention is an offering from my heart about our singing together. Lately this is when that feeling of all-consuming dread has really reared its head in my heart. I’ll begin, however, by saying that working with my fellow music-makers to produce the recordings — sometimes from afar, sometimes together — has been very, very good: as in soul-lifting, easy, fun, sacred good. Those in quarantine produced such lovely ways for us to lift our voices “together.” My battle cry near the beginning of the lock down was “we’re not being told we can’t worship, we’re just being told we shouldn’t gather; that’s not the same thing.” Now we could probably disagree on that take of things. But it’s been my guiding principle, to help the people of God sing and worship in all ways during these days. And it’s been a joy. Moving into the parking lot was the next step and it’s really also been very, very good: seeing each other, being outside, raising our hallelujahs together to Jesus. But that feeling of dread I mentioned loomed whenever I thought about moving inside our sanctuary, and I had so many questions: “Why can one of the most unifying aspects to our gatherings and life together be a cause of division and fear among us? What about what science is saying? How do we respond to all those scriptures that tell us to sing? Do we not sing? Do we sing and hope for the best?” I just couldn’t see a way through. Those were dark times for me. However, dear Debbie joined me in prayer so many times over this (as did the choir), and she remembered Sasha telling her of a time when he and some Christian friends were not allowed into their normal gathering place on a Sunday. So what they did was move away from that area, to a place by the river, in the dead of winter, and sing their hearts out with so very much joy! “That’s it!” I cried when she told me that story. “That’s what we can do!” So when we move inside for worship we’ll have scripture, prayer, preaching of the word, communion even, in our sanctuary. We’ll have instrumental music—strings, piano, organ, percussion. Then at the end we’ll go outside, encircle the island out there and sing away! We’ll receive the Benediction and be dismissed. I have peace about this. The session has agreed with it and we’ll give it a try when we resume worshiping in the sanctuary on August 2 at 6pm.

We have so much to look forward to this coming Sunday. The entire Gracehill congregation will be joining us in the parking lot! Pastor Daniel Eguiluz will be opening God’s word with us with a passage from Genesis 18:1-16. We’ll send Daniel and Abby out to Peru as well as send Jacob and Erin Thielman out to North Carolina.

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H.A.L.T.

If you are part of the podcast audience you know that we have mentioned issues of depression, grief and anxiety that are connected to the pandemic. In recent days many people have had their struggles with mental health triggered as comfortable routines are disrupted and the unknown is upon us. Others have seen battles with addiction (alcohol, porn, Netflix, eating, etc...) intensify as worry and idle time have come together in an unhealthy combination. Even an increased propensity to emotional responses of anger are being reported in connection with pandemic life

Over the years one of the truths that I have picked up in terms of effectively combatting addiction is that we are helped when we learn to recognize our triggers which alert us to pivot more quickly when we find ourselves in a danger zone. Similarly if you are in a position to care for someone in such a battle, recognizing the triggers they might be battling, can assist you in coming alongside of them. One helpful rubric for recognizing common triggers we deal with is the acronym H.A.L.T. We find ourselves susceptible when we are Hungry, Angry, Lonely, and/or Tired. In these moments we seek immediate comfort, sometimes at the expense of healthy resolution.

I share this with you in light of 1 Kings 19, the passage we will be looking at this Sunday. In this passage we meet Elijah on the run from Jezebel. Instead of returning to Israel after his victory on Mt. Carmel (I Kings 18) and finding a converted nation, he finds that not much has changed, and now Jezebel is seeking his life (19:2). His escape leads him to the desert where he finds himself under a broom tree, convinced that he is the only YHWH fearer left alive, asking the Lord to take his life (19:4). In response YHWH meets him, touches him, feeds him, lets hims sleep, asks him questions to show that he is listening and reconnects him to his purpose in life (19:6-9). In terms of H.A.L.T. we see Elijah angry at the lack of change in the people and feeling alone, while YHWH starts his “treatment” by addressing his hunger and fatigue.

It is really a wonderful chapter on the tenderness of YHWH, a fact that I hope to bring out to you on Sunday. For now, however, with a more limited focus there is something to be gained in recognizing the Lord’s multifaceted response. Rather than lecturing Elijah, he tenderly empathizes with his prophet, reminds him in a powerful way that he is not alone, and sets Elijah back on the path. There is a lesson to be learned here as we struggle not to diminish the importance of seemingly small things like hunger, fatigue or emotions like anger or loneliness. These are like indicators on a car pointing to potentially deeper issues. There is also a lesson here for those of who care, not to rush right to lectures or even to sympathy, but to really work to meet our friends where they are struggling and walk with them to a renewed sense of purpose. (Brene Brown has great piece on Empathy. )

One final word, if you find yourself struggling, please reach out. We are all struggling to some degree and there is no shame in seeking help. We have resources available to help at many levels. But even more than that we would want you to know that you are not alone!

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