1st Sunday in October (Week 40) (Ecclesiastes 3 and Luke 12:22-34)
It’s usually around this time of year that people fall into fits of nostalgia, melancholy, or anxiety. It may be more depressing in the northern hemisphere, since summer changes to autumn, but even in the southern hemisphere as winter changes to spring the seasonal shift does not go unnoticed. Ottawa CN is about the same latitude north as Christchurch NZ is in the south. I imagine my counterparts preparing to bicycle or hike in the mountains just as people here are preparing to watch the colored foliage and sharpen skates. And one wonders about the passage of time and the purpose of it all …
Team Meditation
There is a purpose hidden in the passage of time. It is mysterious. Even the pure at heart only catch glimpses. And there is a vital connection between what we value in the midst of time, and how we shall be valued at the end of time. What will we “store up” for the future? What will we cherish and protect now, that will reveal our inmost priorities? Will we be cherished and protected in the future? Jesus words have multiple meanings. He means that just as we cherish things in time, so God will cherish us beyond time. He means that what we cherish in time is relevant to how we will be treated beyond time. He means that our character is revealed in our behavior, and it is our character that is more important than your possessions. And he means that just as time marches on, so also God’s purpose cannot be stopped.
Worship Theme
Even now I can recall the campus protests and the anti-war rallies singing the folk song “Turn, Turn, Turn” based on Ecclesiastes. It was a haunting melody. The point of the song was that it was “time for peace”. Unfortunately, that is not the point of the scripture. The scripture suggests that war and peace, bad and good, will all occur and reoccur in life, no matter how much we try to prevent or protect it. This sense of inevitability might seem to be depressing. One wonders if the only and best advice about life is simply to “grin and bear it.” The deeper meaning of Ecclesiastes, however, is not that time passes, but that things always occur at the “right time”. God determines when the time is “right” to sow and harvest, just as God determines when it is time for sorrow or joy. The trouble in life is not that both happen, but that we rarely know why. How God determines when the time is “right” is unclear … but as long as we are confident that God is ultimately seeking our good we can endure. Later the Gospel will declare that at the “right time” God sent his only Son to rescue us, not only from the evils within time, but from the ambiguity of time itself. In Christ, the sun never sets, joy never ends, hope is always realized, and it is always the “right time”.
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2nd Sunday in October (Week 41) (Revelation 21:1 – 22:7 and Luke 17:20-37)
Team Meditation (Luke 17:20-37)
Worship Theme (Revelation 21:1 – 22:7)
Worship Design (Revelation 21:1 – 22:7)
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3rd Sunday in October (Week 42) (Amos 5 and Luke 14:1-14, 25-35)
The most startling reality about the affluent “west” is that people actually believe they deserve what they have. Even “young and coming” postmoderns are convinced that the large homes, high incomes, plasma televisions, state of the art game rooms, expensive vacations, and flashy cars are things they deserve because of their perfect training, charismatic personalities, and hard work. Successful people conveniently forget the political influence, helping hand, and sheer good luck that got them where they are. Grace is a foreign concept. Pride is all in all.
Team Meditation: Luke 14:1-14, 25-35
The world is not designed so that we get what we deserve. This is not an accident. It is God’s intention. Good people experience bad things; bad people experience good things; and there are only two conclusions we can draw. Either the life is a matter of sheer luck, and we should invest in the lottery; or life is a matter of sheer grace, and we should walk in faith. And this is no arbitrary choice on our part. God in person will intervene to enable us to make the right choice. We may resist, but God will pursue us.
Therefore, it isn’t the deserving who come to God’s banquet, but the chosen. They are not chosen because they are deserving, but simply because they are there. We happened to be walking by; we happen to be alive at this time and in this place; we happen to exist; and for that reason alone God sends servants to compel us to come to his banquet. Let no one at the banquet think for a moment that they deserve such grace; nor that it is simply good luck. There is a plan, it is out of our control and beyond our understanding, and everybody (even the people we don’t like) are included.
Worship Theme: Amos 5
Successful people are especially enamored by ritual. It represents a kind of certification of authenticity upon their lifestyles. Ritual is as easily manipulated as their investments. There is nothing like a good car to get you to your vacation destination; nothing like a good ritual to get you to your final resting place. Rituals proclaim to an adoring public that “I’m OK”. Certainly they demand little thought … especially if we are shrewd enough to do rituals in foreign languages, or at least in a style of English nobody understands.
Amos is a thorn in the flesh of all church-goers. What does the Lord really require? Do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God. These are measurable behavior patterns outside of church. They call upon believers to shape their lifestyles around faith, rather than shape their faith around lifestyles. The certificate of authentic living is authentic living itself. And the only adoring public that matters is God and all the angels in heaven.
Worship Design: Amos 5
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4th Sunday in October (Week 43) (Galatians 5:1 – 6:10 and Luke 6:27-49)
Everybody believes in the principle: “Love your neighbor as yourself”. The debate is over how far we should go and how much we should stake in order to do it. In our minds, there are “degrees” of neighborliness, and there are “limits” to what we should have to risk. In the same way, there are “degrees” of guilt and “limits” to responsibility. Christians were (and are?) generally known for pushing the boundaries of compassion. Does your church … and do you personally … “push the boundaries of compassion”?
Team Meditation (Luke 6:27-49)
Jesus’ list of excessive compassion makes us squirm. Turn the check; give more than was asked, and do not expect any return; judge not; don’t even think an evil thought, much less do an bad deed; give even more than “the shirt off your back”. It sounds excessive, but that is exactly what seekers seek, especially when many of them feel beyond the pale of forgiveness and acceptance. The challenge is to model this in worship, church work, and daily living. Preaching and talking about it is not enough. Seekers actually need to see you do it. They need to know it is possible, and that somebody is willing to do it. How often have you pushed the boundaries of compassion in worship this month?
Worship Theme (Galatians 5:13 – 5:23, 6:10)
It often appears that there are only two choices in life: live by the rules, or live without rules. That choice defines the generation gap, but also it defines the gap between the forces of order and the trend to disorder in our world, and the need for control and yearning for freedom in our own minds. Jesus introduces a third alternative. It is called life in the Spirit.
Life in the Spirit is not about rules, but positive habits. These contradict the negative habits that we model by birth or cultural influence. We may have a choice about rules, but we have no choice about habits. We are creatures of habit. Which habits will control us? There is the habit of constant, pervasive selfishness; or there is the habit of constant, pervasive unselfishness. When we experience Christ, the power of God breaks us free from the one habit, and instills another habit. We may not be able to make that transformation happen, but once it has happened we can be empowered by the spirit to maintain the new, positive habits. God’s spirit can help us be loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle, and self-disciplined. Our ability to behave this way is only possible because God’s spirit is working in us. It is life in the Spirit.
Worship Design (Galatians 5:13 – 5:23, 6:10)
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5th Sunday in October (Week 44) (1 Kings 17, 18, 19 and Luke 7:18-35)
Life is background noise to the beating of our own heart. That, at least, is how we often experience it. We are aware of ourselves … perhaps even obsessed with ourselves … and surrounded by a cacophony of competing noises, demands, advertisements, emotions, manipulations, ideas, and crowds. No wonder people yearn to “simplify”. If only someone in authority could state very simply and convincingly: “This is right” and “that is wrong”.
Team Meditation (Luke 7:18-35)
Worship teams need to understand that seekers will never be satisfied. You can play music loud or soft; preach professionally or witness informally; use powerpoint or newsprint; employ long liturgies or spontaneous prayers; and seekers will still be unsatisfied. That’s the way consumers are. No product is perfect for very long. So your goal is not to satisfy people. Your goal is introduce them to Christ, who alone can “satisfy” people. Seekers usually do not really know what they are seeking. They think they are seeking a style, and atmosphere, a friendship circle, or even a pastor. What they are really seeking is Jesus Christ. So don’t get in the way. Do your best and step aside. Let the Spirit satisfy.
Worship Theme (1 Kings 17, 18, 19)
Basically, prophets simplify life. They point to life and confront death; they show you what is right, and warn you what is wrong. Unfortunately, the simplicity they provide may not be the solution we are seeking. Once you eliminate all the noisy background, you may discover that you are out of step with God. Yet there is a marvelous serenity in being aligned with God’s purposes. If only we could hear that “still small voice” all of the time, telling us where to go and what to do!
Ironically, the aim of a prophet is not to do good work, but to mentor a new disciple. This is the ultimate guidance of God in a confusing world. Elijah’s real problem was not that he did not know what to do, but that he felt all alone. God’s reward for his faithfulness was not a strategic plan, but a relationship. Perhaps that is what will simply your life as well.