A Christmas Carol
I had an epiphany. No, that’s not a surgical procedure inappropriate to be spoken of in front of young children. It’s a sudden, intuitive understanding.
It started with a Christmas carol. And no, this isn’t a story about ghosts and Christmas’s past. It’s about a Christmas song I grew up hearing. It’s not a great song. It’s probably not even a good song. But as it was stuck in my mind, my imagination went to work on it.
The Little Drummer boy had no gift that was fit for a king, but he had a drum, so he played his best for Him. Seemingly an innocent song, it reminds me of crayon “drawings” put lovingly on the refrigerator, obviously treasured, not for the merit of the art, but because it came from a little one that’s held dear. There is a part of our relationship with Father God that is like that. He does indeed treasure us and delights in our love for Him.
My epiphany was seeing that same boy fifty years in the future. In my imagination, he was grizzled and worn. But more importantly, he was frantic and bitter. He was still playing his drum for Jesus and Jesus didn’t care. I intuitively knew the story. Jesus had told him to seek His Kingdom. The boy-man continued to play his drum. Jesus had said to care for sick, give to the poor, and be a servant to all. Jesus had said to die to selfish desires. But the drum beat continued all the stronger, now driven by hurt and anger, still trying to get Jesus’ attention.
You’ve probably jumped ahead. You understand why I intuitively knew the story. I see myself. I am childish, thinking that God will like my gift just because I give it. I haven’t understood that older children need to learn to give what is asked, not what they desire to give. I try to give the same gift better, with more devotion, more self-sacrifice, and then become discouraged when it’s not received well. Daddy doesn’t want my finely crafted picture of a pony when he’s told me to pick up my toys.
When I look around, I see others like me. We do not lack right devotion, we lack right direction. We offer what seems good to us, not what is required. We devise plans to serve God rather than praying and seeking what He really would desire. And then we lie awake at night, wondering where God’s blessing is when we’ve worked so hard for Him.
The Message translation puts it well.
Doing things for God is the opposite of entering into what God does for you. (Gal. 3:11)
When you attempt to live by your own religious plans and projects, you are cut off from Christ, you fall out of grace. (Gal. 5:4)
I’m taking off my toy drum, putting away my crayons, and picking up my toys. Daddy said He was waiting, and as soon as I was done, He wanted to take a walk with me.
Friday, June 11, 2010
Friday, June 4, 2010
The “Right” Way to do Church
Choose the correct answer to the following questions:
The leader of the congregation is called: (A) Reverend (B) Father (C) Pastor (D) The Reverend Doctor (E) Jerk.
The congregation meets: (A) 9:30 for Sunday School; 11:00 for Worship (that’s the way we’ve always done it) (B) 10:30 for worship (to beat all the others to the best eating places) (C) Saturday evening (to leave Sunday free for sleeping in or golf) (D) I don’t remember because I haven’t been there in a while.
Our doctrine is (A) Right (B) Conservative (C) Liberal (D) Evangelical (E) Pre-millennial, post trib (whatever that means) (G) Made up as we go along.
Our leaders always wears (A) a suit and tie (B) a casual shirt and jeans or slacks (C) a robe and/or clerical collar (D) a nicely tailored dress (E) shorts and sandals.
We meet in (A) a beautiful sanctuary (B) a dumpy sanctuary (C) a rented space in the local school or motel (C) a storefront (D) a friend’s family room.
Baptism should be (A) done on infants (B) only done on people who have made a decision for Christ (C) done by sprinkling (D) done by immersion (E) only done outside in a river or lake.
We use a Bible that has “thee’s” and “thou’s” because (A) that’s the way Jesus talked (B) we sound more spiritual (C) that’s the way it’s always been done (E) I have no idea
We don’t use a Bible that has “thee’s” and “thou’s” because (A) that’s the way Jesus really talked (B) sounding less spiritual is more spiritual (C) we’re contemporary (E) I have no idea.
The right songs to sing in worship times are (A) hymns (B) gospel (C) contemporary (D) southern gospel.
Most of the outward forms of our church experience are not Biblical. Not wrong, but based on our traditions rather than the Bible itself. They are cultural ways we’ve found to follow Christ together. You may feel strongly about any of the preceding questions. You are allowed. But it’s only your opinion. None of them are addressed in the Bible with specific instructions. And nowhere does it say to gather in a large room with stained glass, pews, a piano and organ, listen to special music, sing a particular style of music as worship, listen to a speaker for 20 minutes with no interaction, file out and shake his/her hand, tell him/her how meaningful the sermon was, and then rush away to lunch.
Tradition is a gift from God. But it’s only shorthand, a way of packing a lot of meaning into an event. In our everyday lives, we may give a gift for a special occasion, like an anniversary. That’s a way to tell a spouse, “I’d marry you again! I love you so much!” without words. In our corporate lives, it’s a way to experience meaning and to pass it on to another generation, as Jesus did when he broke bread with them at the Last Supper, and told them to do it often in memory of Him. They did and we still do.
The gift of tradition, however, comes with danger. Gifts at Christmas should be a reminder of the Father giving His Son to us. Our tradition of gift giving has replaced the reason for giving presents to one another.
Our manner of gathering together, our tradition, has in large measure replaced the Biblical mandates for our life together as the Body of Christ. We often teach tradition rather than the Bible. We love to read about the early church in the Book of Acts, but I fear we would not like to give our possessions away or spend our evenings in one another’s homes, genuinely worshipping and caring for each other. Having an outward form is so much more easy than the real thing. We like to condemn the Pharisees, but fail to see that we often have the same failings.
Jesus said to the Pharisees (and to us, unfortunately): "Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: " 'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.' You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men." (Mark 7:6-8)
Choose the correct answer to the following questions:
The leader of the congregation is called: (A) Reverend (B) Father (C) Pastor (D) The Reverend Doctor (E) Jerk.
The congregation meets: (A) 9:30 for Sunday School; 11:00 for Worship (that’s the way we’ve always done it) (B) 10:30 for worship (to beat all the others to the best eating places) (C) Saturday evening (to leave Sunday free for sleeping in or golf) (D) I don’t remember because I haven’t been there in a while.
Our doctrine is (A) Right (B) Conservative (C) Liberal (D) Evangelical (E) Pre-millennial, post trib (whatever that means) (G) Made up as we go along.
Our leaders always wears (A) a suit and tie (B) a casual shirt and jeans or slacks (C) a robe and/or clerical collar (D) a nicely tailored dress (E) shorts and sandals.
We meet in (A) a beautiful sanctuary (B) a dumpy sanctuary (C) a rented space in the local school or motel (C) a storefront (D) a friend’s family room.
Baptism should be (A) done on infants (B) only done on people who have made a decision for Christ (C) done by sprinkling (D) done by immersion (E) only done outside in a river or lake.
We use a Bible that has “thee’s” and “thou’s” because (A) that’s the way Jesus talked (B) we sound more spiritual (C) that’s the way it’s always been done (E) I have no idea
We don’t use a Bible that has “thee’s” and “thou’s” because (A) that’s the way Jesus really talked (B) sounding less spiritual is more spiritual (C) we’re contemporary (E) I have no idea.
The right songs to sing in worship times are (A) hymns (B) gospel (C) contemporary (D) southern gospel.
Most of the outward forms of our church experience are not Biblical. Not wrong, but based on our traditions rather than the Bible itself. They are cultural ways we’ve found to follow Christ together. You may feel strongly about any of the preceding questions. You are allowed. But it’s only your opinion. None of them are addressed in the Bible with specific instructions. And nowhere does it say to gather in a large room with stained glass, pews, a piano and organ, listen to special music, sing a particular style of music as worship, listen to a speaker for 20 minutes with no interaction, file out and shake his/her hand, tell him/her how meaningful the sermon was, and then rush away to lunch.
Tradition is a gift from God. But it’s only shorthand, a way of packing a lot of meaning into an event. In our everyday lives, we may give a gift for a special occasion, like an anniversary. That’s a way to tell a spouse, “I’d marry you again! I love you so much!” without words. In our corporate lives, it’s a way to experience meaning and to pass it on to another generation, as Jesus did when he broke bread with them at the Last Supper, and told them to do it often in memory of Him. They did and we still do.
The gift of tradition, however, comes with danger. Gifts at Christmas should be a reminder of the Father giving His Son to us. Our tradition of gift giving has replaced the reason for giving presents to one another.
Our manner of gathering together, our tradition, has in large measure replaced the Biblical mandates for our life together as the Body of Christ. We often teach tradition rather than the Bible. We love to read about the early church in the Book of Acts, but I fear we would not like to give our possessions away or spend our evenings in one another’s homes, genuinely worshipping and caring for each other. Having an outward form is so much more easy than the real thing. We like to condemn the Pharisees, but fail to see that we often have the same failings.
Jesus said to the Pharisees (and to us, unfortunately): "Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: " 'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.' You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men." (Mark 7:6-8)
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