Monthly Archives: August 2013

Chapter-a-Day

“There are No Wrong Notes.”

16 Comments
Jazz musician Miles Davis.
Jazz musician Miles Davis. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Shout to the Lord, all the earth;
    break out in praise and sing for joy!
 Sing your praise to the Lord with the harp,
    with the harp and melodious song,
with trumpets and the sound of the ram’s horn.
    Make a joyful symphony before the Lord, the King!
Psalm 98:4-6 (NLT)

I’ve experienced a lot of different styles of worship throughout my journey. I grew up as kid growing up in a liturgical Methodist church. I dressed up in choir robes and entered the sanctuary in a long processional with the pastor and the adult choir. I sang choral music accompanied by a pipe organ or piano. The evangelical church I went to after that had slick, professional, popular sounding music. My Quaker friends were a quiet group, allowing plenty of silence to “center” ourselves. Whenever I get to attend a Catholic mass I’m totally blown away by the metaphorical depth and meaning of the ritual. The Presbyterians I worshiped with reminded me of my childhood experiences in a good way. I’ve attended worship services with my Pentecostal friends that, in comparison, felt like a three ring circus.

When reading the psalms you can never completely divorce yourself from the fact that this is a volume of lyrics meant for ancient worship. Along the journey I’m constantly running into people caught up in what is “right” or “wrong” about the way this group or that group expresses themselves in worship. Maybe I’m in the minority, but I’m reminded this morning of a quote by the great jazz trumpeter, Miles Davis: “There are no wrong notes.”

My many and varied experiences have taught me that there’s benefit to the smorgasbord of worship styles you’ll encounter across the panacea of churches and groups. You may prefer this or that from the options laid out for you, but taking a bite from something you’ve never had before just might surprise you in a good way.

As I read the above lyric this morning I thought of all of my experiences in churches where “worship” was synonymous with words like: quiet, silent, and respectful. Dude, if you’re following the prescription for worship laid out in Psalm 98 it is NOT going to be quiet and peaceful. Shouting, trumpets and a ram’s horn?

Seriously. It’s gonna get loud. I’m just saying.

Chapter-a-Day

My Liege

7 Comments

kingdom workThe Lord is king!
    Let the earth rejoice!
    Let the farthest coastlands be glad.
Psalm 97:1 (NLT)

Over the past weekend Wendy and I discussed the changes we’ve seen in our federal government. This is not a political blog and I choose not to go on political rants. The core of Wendy’s and my discussion was the selfishness and self-centered attitude of politicians on both sides of the isle. Of politicians anywhere, really. When you have elected representatives whose top priority is to look out for their own personal interests, political power, and re-election then the system ultimately doesn’t work. You can create all sorts of rules of checks and balances, but if those who are supposed to be accountable to those checks and balances have the power to change the rules to further their own ends, then the checks and balances are all smoke and mirrors.

Back in college a friend of mine from Zimbabwe and I engaged in a long discussion about which is the best political system. He was a socialist. I defended our representative republic. After long, spirited conversation that meandered across many shared shifts in the college food service department, we both concluded that no system of government works when you have sinful, selfish, corrupt individuals in positions of political power.  And, since we both were Jesus followers and believed that everyone is ultimately sinful and power corrupts, we concluded that no form of human government is perfect because human beings are not perfect.

I thought of these things when I read the opening lyric to Psalm 97 this morning. The people of Israel tried to create an earthly theocracy. In ancient times they saw God as their king and everyone submitted to God, the Levitical priests, a loose system of judges, and the law of Moses. But, that didn’t work either since there were human priests and judges who were corrupt and the people regularly gave only passing lip service to God. Nevertheless, the idea of God as monarch has continued to be a theme throughout God’s Message. The end vision of Revelation is Jesus on the throne ruling for eternity.

Jesus talked all the time about the Kingdom of God. God’s Message tells those of us who follow Jesus that we are ultimately citizens of that Kingdom. No matter what earthly country we live in and no matter what system of government we abide under, we are eternally subjects of a divine King to whom we answer and are called to be obedient.

Chapter-a-Day

My Zombie Garden

3 Comments

zombie gardenLet the fields and their crops burst out with joy!
    Let the trees of the forest rustle with praise
Psalm 96:12 (NLT)

I’m terrible with growing things. I got two mini-rose bushes this spring. I repotted them, fed them, watered them, and they both died. Over the past two years I’ve added three rose bushes to our poor excuse of a flower garden. Only the rose bush that survived was here before we moved in is still alive. The only thing growing in our flower garden is Hostas (seriously, they are zombies of the plant world – you can’t kill them and they keep multiplying). Despite my faithful weeding and feeding, my yard looks like the aftermath of the four horsemen of the apocalypse. The bed of the undead. Only weeds and zombie Hostas survive. What can I say. I have a brown thumb.

I do, however, live in Iowa. It is among the most fertile soil in the world (which just makes me feel even worse). Each year I watch the crops spring up, grow, produce  good fruit, and be harvested in the fall. It’s a subtle and beautiful thing to watch the gray and brown fields transform into a sea of lush, living green each spring.

Psalm 96 is an “eschatological” song which means the lyrics muse on the end of time: God is on the throne. Nature takes on anthropomorphic (human-like) properties in praising God. The nations gather to pay God tribute. God judges the earth and the nations.

I love the idea of nature praising the Creator. The trees rustle their praise. The seas roar and pound the shore in praise. The fields of Iowa burst forth (along with the weeds and zombie Hostas of Tom’s garden) with joy.

I have to drive to Des Moines today. The fields of corn are bursting forth with their golden tassels which add this amazing transparent layer of gold across the deep green of the fields. I think I’ll take it all in, and add a my own offering of praise to the Creator (along with an apology for my zombie garden).

Wayfarer's Journal

Decompression

Leave a comment

2013 08 03 McQuades Playhouse Collage

Wendy and I enjoyed our weekend at the lake with our friends Kevin and Linda. We enjoyed a very quiet couple of days. It was a godsend for all of us, I believe. Wendy and I were straining a bit under the weight of late. As Kevin messaged me on Facebook yesterday, it was a weekend of “decompression” for all of us. There was a whole lot of nothing going on for a good part of the time, which was absolutely the point. The only excitement of the weekend came on Friday night after a pleasant dinner at Fish & Company. We had to make a fun sprint home in the boat to avoid a rapidly advancing and ominous looking thunderstorm. Glad to say we timed it perfectly. Right as we pulled into the safety of the dock the rain started to pour down.

On Saturday afternoon I was reading and dozing on the couch when I looked out on the dock to see Kevin and Linda sitting on the dock reading and doing crossword puzzles. A few minutes later they were gone and I knew exactly what had happened. They’d experienced the healthy meltdown that happens to everyone at the Playhouse. Sure enough, they’d come in for a nap. I smiled as I shut my eyes and drifted off to the sounds of Pat Hughes giving me the play-by-play of a Cubs’ loss (again).

Our evenings were equally relaxing. Sitting out on the deck under the light of the tiki torches enjoying good food, good drink, good cigars, and great conversation until the wee hours.

It doesn’t get much better than that.

Chapter-a-Day

Maintaining a Healthy Spiritual Heart

3 Comments
English: Arthur Saxon performing a bent press....
 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Lord says, “Don’t harden your hearts as Israel did at Meribah,
    as they did at Massah in the wilderness.
Psalm 95:8 (NLT)

We all know the basics of cardiac health. A healthy heart depends on what you consume and exercise. I have found that the same parallel pertains to the spiritual heart. Our spiritual hearts can get just as easily gummed up with the plaque of anger, hatred, negativity, doubt, fear, or anxiety.

To avoid the hardening of our spiritual arteries, we need to regulate what thoughts, messages, books, stories, posts, images, audio and videos we feed to our heart and brain. We also need to regularly engage our spirits in the conscious exercise of gratitude, generosity, kindness, forgiveness, goodness, and grace. A little strength training of prayer and worship helps, too.

Health is not only about our physical condition, but also about the conditioning of our hearts and minds.

Chapter-a-Day

Of Cheesecake and Chains

5 Comments
Wendy's key lime cheesecake.
Wendy’s key lime cheesecake.

O Lord, the God of vengeance,
    O God of vengeance, let your glorious justice shine forth!
Arise, O judge of the earth.
    Give the proud what they deserve.
Psalm 94:1-2 (NLT)

International Justice Mission (IJM) is one of the groups Wendy and I regularly support financially. In fact, because Wendy has developed a bit of a reputation for her amazing cheesecake, she occasionally gets orders for them. She decided some time ago that we will eat the cost of making any cheesecake ordered and every cent of the money she charges people for her cheesecake goes directly to IJM who works around the globe to rescue victims of slavery, exploitation and other forms of violent oppression.

I couldn’t help but think of the work of IJM as I read Psalm 94 this morning. The psalms are all ancient song lyrics that express a wide breadth of human emotion. The lyrics of this one are a heart-felt calling out for God’s justice in a cruel and unjust world. When I hear about the horrors experienced by those IJM has delivered from bondage, it inspires to sing along with this ancient cry for vengeance and recompense.

At the same time, my thirty years of sojourn through God’s Message have taught me many things. One of the lessons learned is that I cannot forget the fact that as I call on God to rain down justice on evil-doers I am asking for judgment upon myself. Jesus used the metaphor of yeast when talking about wrong-doing. Anyone who’s made bread knows that you put in just a teeny-weeny pinch of yeast and it spreads throughout the dough, causing it to rise. In God’s economy, the person who has a pinch of wrongdoing in their life is as guilty as those who have a pound of it. We are all in bondage to uncontrollable appetites of one form or another.

There is something incongruent in my heart with this. I cry out for God to strike down those I see as evil doers while at the same time I cry out for God to have grace mercy with the evil that I do.  It is a natural human emotion to desire justice for evil. It is an equally human trait to diminish, ignore and excuse the evil in me.

Jesus said to bless our enemies and pray for persecutors. Jesus Himself had nothing but kindness, love and forgiveness for corrupt and unjust tax collectors, the thugs-for-hire who beat Him, and the Roman soldiers who executed Him in horrific fashion. Jesus’ most vehement and judgmental tirades were exclusively aimed at the good, clean-cut, upstanding religious people… like me.

Today I am pondering cheesecake, charity, and chains. Wendy will continue to make cheesecake and we will continue to support IJM and the work of delivering victims of oppression. But, my personal attitude towards those who do such evil is challenged this morning. I believe they deserve justice, but they also need God. They need God as much, if not more than I do. The evil and wrongdoing in me is well concealed and relatively controlled, but it is still there. If I had been born in a different time and place in different circumstances I might just as easily have been the one enslaving others.

Related articles
Tom's Photos

Seeing the Saint on the Forest Edge

Leave a comment
Jean Arp's Saint of the Forest Edge; McNay Art Museum, San Antonio
Jean Arp‘s Saint of the Forest Edge; McNay Art Museum, San Antonio

As I was leaving the McNay Art Museum, I looked back and saw this sculpture by Jean Arp through the full length windows by the entrance. Sometimes art captures me, not because of the piece itself, but because of the artwork in it’s particular space. In this case, I was struck by the small sculpture framed in the giant portrait window with a flood of light that wasn’t directly behind it, but slightly off to one side. The image of the sculpture in its space became an artful vision of a piece of artwork. I shot this photo from outside the museum. If you look at the high res image you can barely see my ghost like reflection taking the picture.

Sometimes, the title of a piece adds to its impact. In this case, “Saint of the Forest Edge” was ironic, since it sits just inside the window looking out over perhaps the most beautiful grounds of an art museum I’ve ever experienced, yet forever trapped inside.

Related articles
Chapter-a-Day

Pondering Today

1 Comment
Snowdon - Watching The Sunrise
(Photo credit: Eifion)

(I wrote this post this past Monday morning, but forgot to hit “publish.” Some mornings I’m less awake than others. You get a two-fer today!)

Teach us to number our days,
    that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
Psalm 90:12 (NIV)

I was a little surprised yesterday afternoon when Wendy mentioned to me the song that she would like played at her funeral. Then, last night at dinner with friends the conversation again turned to death. We talked about aging parents, cremation, cemetery plots, and the tradition of visiting gravesides. It perhaps sounds more morbid than it was. It was fascinating to hear what others thought and felt about the subject.

I wake up this morning to find the song of Moses reminding us to be mindful of our mortality. As I number my days this morning and find myself living out my 17,257th day on this earth I am reminded of:

  • 17,256 previous days. What do I have to show for them? How have I invested myself in them? What mistakes have I made? What corrections have I made? What can I learn from where I’ve been?
  • This one day I have before me and the reality that I have no guarantee of another one. How will I spend it? What will I value? How much Life can I experience within it? How can I not waste it?
  • The physical death which will come for each of us. Am I ready? Will I have walked this journey well?
  • My faith in Jesus and His teaching that whoever believes in Him will not ultimately perish but have eternal life. How should my day today look different in light of this?

So much to ponder so early in the morning. Have a great day!

Chapter-a-Day

Ever Present; Totally Forgotten

4 Comments
The Great Wave off Kanagawa
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Sea storms are up, God,
Sea storms wild and roaring,
Sea storms with thunderous breakers.
Stronger than wild sea storms,
Mightier than sea-storm breakers,
Mighty God rules from High Heaven.
Psalm 93:3-4 (MSG)

Of the 17, 260 days I’ve woken up on this earth the vast majority of them have been in Iowa. Iowa is a beautiful land. I love living here. We have rolling waves of grain (mostly corn), but there is a serious lack of ocean waves. I can speak of wild thunderstorms and tornadoes, but raging sea storms are scarce in a landlocked state without a sea.

When I married Wendy, I quickly discovered that she sleeps with a sound machine. In particular, she sleeps to the sound of ocean waves. And, now, so do I. In fact, I’ve gotten so used to the sound of giants waves breaking onto the shore at night that I have audio tracks of ocean waves on my cell phone, iPad and computer so that when I’m on the road I can sleep to the sound of ocean waves and try to pretend that I’m home.

As I read the lyric of today’s psalm I came across these verses linking the ocean breakers to mighty God, I was instantly reminded of the ocean waves that lull me to sleep each night. What I have appreciated from our sound machine and from my too few experiences at the ocean is the constancy of the ocean waves. So constant, in fact, that you begin to forget that they are there. They become white noise in the background of our minds. Ever present and totally forgotten.

God is like that in my life far too often. Almighty, powerful, and majestic, yet the constancy of His presence becomes white noise which recedes into my subconscious and I fail to recognize and appreciate it.

Related articles