OT Reflections: The Kenosis of Moses

My wife and I have been on a journey the last several months together as we've taken on a "Bible-in-a-year" challenge.  While we've had to take a break for a day or two here and there, it's been fun and insightful to be on this journey together.

There's a lot to be said for dwelling and praying upon specific passages of prayer, but there's also a lot to be said about reading it quickly as well.  Reading the Word in three to five chapters per night can really give one a sense of the narrative of the Bible.  Sure, there's the occasional monotonous evening (Deuteronomic case laws, anyone?), but on the whole I've found it exciting to read the Word this way.

As we've gone through this, there are certain passages that hit an emotional note with me as we read and struggle through the story of our ancient Israelite brothers and sisters.  But for me, as for many, the story of Moses stands above the rest.  This passage comes from the end of Moses' journey:

Then Moses hiked up from the Moabite plains to Mount Nebo, the peak of the Pisgah slope, which faces Jericho.  The LORD showed him the whole land:  the Gilead region as far as Dan's territory; all the parts belonging to Naphtali along with the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, as well as the entirety of Judah as far as the Mediterranean Sea; also the arid southern plain, and the plain - including the Jericho Valley, Palm City - as far as Zoar.
Then the Lord said to Moses:  "This is the Land that I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob when I promised 'I will give it to your descendants.'  I have shown it to you with your own eyes; however, you will not cross over into it."  Then Moses, the LORD's servant, died - right there in the land of Moab, according to the LORD's command.  The LORD buried him in a valley in Moabite country across from Beth-peor.  Even now, no one knows where Moses' grave is.  Moses was 120 years old when he died.  His eyesight wasn't impaired, and his vigor hadn't diminished a bit.
Back down in the Moabite plains, the Israelites mourned Moses' death for thirty days.  At that point, the time for weeping and for mourning Moses was over.  Joshua, Nun's son, was filled with wisdom because Moses had placed his hands on him.  So the Israelites listened to Joshua, and they did exactly what the LORD commanded Moses.
Deuteronomy 34:1-9 [CEB]

Can you imagine this?  120 years old, and Moses was still going strong, still pouring out his all in the name of the Lord as for his nation of Israel.  For the Lord, he became leader of his people - its priest (along with Aaron, to be sure), its judge, its jury,  its advocate, its general.  He never rested.

The heart-wrenching part, is that through one moment of weakness in drawing forth the water from the stone his way (and not the Lord's), he wasn't to set foot in the Promised Land.  And yet, even though he knew that, he lead his people.

I'll say that again ... He knew he wasn't to set foot in the Promised Land, and still he lead is people to it.

When we speak of the kenosis of Christ, we most often look at this passage from Paul's letter to the Phillipians:

Adopt the attitude that was in Christ Jesus:
Though he was in the form of God, he did not consider being equal with God something to exploit.  But he emptied himself by taking the form of a slave and by becoming like human beings.  When he found himself in the form of a human, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
Philippians 2:5-8 [CEB]

So what is this kenosis?  In our Christian terms, we're speaking of Christ's self-emptying (kenotic) love.  Not only did he come to earth in human form, but on the way out of his earthly existence - at his death - he emptied his Spirit out onto us.

But where as the King of Kings was a young adult when he poured out his love on to all of us for the redemption of the world, Moses was at an age when most people take a seat.  Actually he was more than twice the age of someone who takes early retirement.

Which begs the question, when do we get to stop moving for the Lord?  When do we get to sit down and rest?  When do we get to stop pouring ourselves out for the good of the Kingdom?  When do we get to sit back and back-seat drive for the sake of tradition?

Reading the story of Moses makes me ever thankful for the ones who have gone ahead of me and have pulled me a long with them.  I give thanks to God for the ones full of the Lord's wisdom who lay their hands on me as if I'm Joshua, anointing me to get the people moving onward.  It makes me thankful for my grandparents and parents who've never taken a break from serving the Lord.  I give grateful thanks and praise for those members of my choirs and bands who won't quit after decades of faithful service.  I pray for the many pastors I've had that have blessed me with their mentoring spirits.

Our associate pastor, a grandma (though you'd never know it to look at her), came to lay the Word on us in worship wearing her running suit, proclaiming the Gospel - "I'm not too tired to run for Jesus!"  That's the word I want to pass on to our struggling UMC congregations.  And I want to ask, "Are you struggling because you've forgotten that we're called to pour ourselves out again and again for the Lord?  Have you forgotten that we were given the Spirit of the Lord to pass on, not to keep for ourselves?"

When we empty ourselves out into others for the Glory of the Lord, the Lord will fill us up again.  And again.  And again.

A Liturgy for Peace

On December 8, 2012, our worship ministry presented our annual Christmas Gala.  It was  time to sing big, beautiful choral music, and it was also a time of worship and prayer.  This year the gala, We Pray for Peace, was focused on praying for the peaceful kingdom to finally come into fruition around us - and to ask God what it is we should be doing to help bring that kingdom about.

The 'meat' of the program was Gloria, by Antonio Vivaldi.  One of the more accessible master works in the canon, this neopolitan setting of the Gloria text of the Catholic Mass is just a lot of fun to sing.  Our primary instrumentation for the evening was a string quartet (the Gloria just isn't right without them), as well as piano, organ, and a little acoustic guitar for fun.  As is tradition in our faith family the event is intergenerational with our Chancel and Youth choirs combining voices for the service.  The Chancel Choir carried the brunt of the Gloria, and the Youth Choir offered anthems with a little more 'contemporary' feel.  Our bell choir also participated in a mighty way.

The program is presented in three acts.  The first act, "The Prophets Knew ...",  focuses on that peaceful vision of Isaiah.  The second act, "We Call on the Lord ..." begins with a plea from the psalmist as we pray for a change to come into us and to the world.  Here we pray for the world we live in today.  In the third act, " ... And the Lord is With Us!", we tell the Christmas story.  I've been told that every sermon should end on a hopeful note, so we closed with the Hope of the Nations, born unto us.  In our telling of the Christmas story, we focused on the readings that included the angels.

I'll be including commentary and links to resources throughout the liturgy of the program.  Feel free to use any or all of this program, and may the Peace of Christ be with you as you jump into 2013!

************************************************************

We Pray For Peace

Prelude                                                                

Processional     Wonderful Peace, Gustaf Nordquist

We began the service with both choirs processing to this beautiful, hymn-like anthem while holding candles.

*Greeting                                                                                                                           

Do you hear the angels sing?

They’re singing Glory to God!

But that’s not all!

They’re shouting down that Peace has come!

Listen to the angels sing!

*Carol 238     Angels We Have Heard on High, stanzas 1, 3, 4      GLORIA

Anthem      Da Pacem Domine      Melchior Frank, arr. by John Leavitt

                   Give us peace, O Lord.

                                                                

The Prophets Knew …

Introduction

Our youth pastor shared this short introduction to the journey of the service.  It was not printed in the program.

Long before the holy family, the angels, and the shepherds welcomed Christ into the world, the people were waiting and watching for the appearance of the Messiah.  The prophets preached to the ancient Israelites to be ready, for the light was coming and the peaceful kingdom would come to fruition.  But they often forgot to keep watch, just as we now often forget that the peace of Christ is within us, and that it is our great joy to spread that good news.  Tonight we’ll sing.  Tonight we’ll pray – pray with the Saints who have gone before us for these many centuries.  Tonight we call Christ down, to renew us, to revive us, to show us the meaning of this season again – to give God the glory, for God’s great redeeming love was revealed to us at Christmas.  May we hear the angels singing tonight – “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors.”

Gloria      movements 1 through 7      Antonio Vivaldi

Glory be to God in the highest!  And on earth peace to men of good will.  We praise Thee, we bless Thee, we adore Thee, we glorify Thee.  We give Thee thanks for Thy great glory, O Lord God, heavenly King, God the Father almighty and to our Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son.

                                                               

Old Testament Reading      Isaiah 11:1-9

Anthem      Creation Will Be At Peace      Anna Laura Page

This anthem setting of Isaiah 11:1-9 is stunningly beautiful.  It also comes with a bell choir addition to the accompaniment.

*Carol 211      O Come, O Come Emmanuel, stanzas 1, 2, 6, 7      VENI EMMANUEL

                                                                

We Call on the Lord …

A Lesson from the Psalms      Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19

Carol      Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus      arranged by Travis Cottrell

Our youth choir presented this praise and worship setting of the advent carol by Charles Wesley.

Gloria      movements 8 through 10      Antonio Vivaldi

Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father who taketh away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us.  Who taketh away the sis of the world, receive our prayer.  Who sitteth at the right hand of the father, have mercy upon us!

Hymn      For the Troubles and the Sufferings of theWorld      Rodolfo Neto

This plea comes to us from Brazil and can be found in Global Praise 3.  Our youth choir lifted it up.

Solo     “The Call” from Five Mystical Songs     Ralph Vaughan Williams

This baritone solo is the original setting of UMH 164.  It works very well with organ accompaniment.

Christmas Prayers of Intercession      When the World Was Dark      Iona Community

      Sung Response      Jesus, Remember Me      Taizé Community

We used this intercessory prayer time as an opportunity to bring two monastic communities together, Iona and Taizé.  We took our time here and didn't rush through.

Anthem      We Wait for Thee      Victor C. Johnson

Offertory Prayer 

Offertory      In the Bleak Midwinter     Gustav Holst, arr. by Karen Buckwalter

A touching setting of the hymn for bell choir.  It's not overdone in the least bit.

… And the Lord is With Us!

Gloria      movements 11 and 12      Antonio Vivaldi

For thou alone art holy.  Thou alone art Lord.  Thou alone, O Jesus Christ, art most high!  Together with the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father.  Amen!

Up to this point the Chancel Choir had sung all of the Vivaldi.  We had the Youth Choir join us here.  I couldn't let them out of learning at least a little bit of one of the great choral works ... And they loved it.

From the Gospel of Luke 1:26-33      The Angel Appears to Mary 

Carol 200      Tell Out, My Soul      WOODLANDS

From the Gospel of Matthew 1:19-23      Joseph Dreams of the Angel      

Carol      Sing We Now of Christmas      Arr. Lloyd Larson

For bell choir.

From the Gospel of Luke 2:1-7      Jesus is Born!

*Carol 246      Joy to the World, stanzas 1, 2, 4      ANTIOCH

                                                                

From the Gospel of Luke 2:8-20      And the Angels Said …

Carol      Glory in the Highest      Chris Tomlin

The youth choir offered a version of Chris Tomlin's Christmas hymn with the string quartet.  The arrangement was found at Praisecharts.com

*Carol 240                                           Hark The Herald Angels Sing       MENDELSSOHN

Pastoral Benediction

Choral Benediction      Carol of the Bells      arr. Peter J. Wilhousky

Postlude

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And that's a wrap!  Total time of the program came in at an hour and a half, and we wouldn't have changed a thing.  But is there anything that you would have added in or taken away?

Epiphany

e·piph·a·ny n. pl. e·piph·a·nies

1. A Christian feast celebrating the manifestation of the divine nature of Jesus to the Gentiles as represented by the Magi.

2. A revelatory manifestation of a divine being.

3. a. A sudden manifestation of the essence or meaning of something.

    b. A comprehension or perception of reality by means of a sudden intuitive realization

My faith family has gotten a little off of the beaten path with our Advent/Christmas season in following the sermon series "A Different Kind of Christmas" as laid down by Rev. Mike Slaughter.  In keeping with this study, this Sunday we'll be observing Epiphany, that day when the Magi, those wise men from the east found who they long travelled to see - the Christ Child.

From the East they came, following the star that led them to Bethlehem.  The journey may have taken them years - but still they came, bearing gifts to the King.  The arrival of the Wise Men was another sign that this Messiah was special, a Messiah sent not just to save Israel, but the whole world.

On Christmas Eve, as part of our worship we heard from the adult Christ.  As we read from Matthew 25, we listened to Jesus tell us what was at the top of his "Wish List" - for us to love one another and take care of one another.  Christ wants us to treat others with the respect and love one would offer to King; he wants us treat others as we would treat him.  Of course, there's a certain amount of irony here - by Matthew 26, Jesus has been given up to the high priest and then to Pilate, by Matthew 27 Christ is on the cross.

Where do we begin to meet the command of the Lord, "Just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me."?

It first starts with commitment to Christ, as the Magi traveled from afar to see the Christ Child, many of us come to Christ after a long faith journey.  But when we arrive before Christ, what do we have to offer?  We can't give him gold, frankincense, or myrrh...

At this point, I find inspiration in stanza four of  the hymn In the Bleak Midwinter, by Christina Rossetti:

What can I give him, poor as I am?

If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb;

if I were a Wise Man, I would do my part;

yet what I can I give him: give my heart.

As you get ready for Sunday worship, what  will you bring Christ?

And just how do you think Jesus would drive?

When I see a Jesus Fish on vehicle on the road, I avoid that vehicle at all costs.  On the road, it's not a sign of a believer to me - it's a sign of doom.

It's a sign of driving down multiple lanes.  Sometimes even three lanes simultaneously.  It's a sign of changing lanes without a turn signal, while I occupy the very space being turned into.  It's a sign that I'm going to be tailgated in the fast lane, and also a sign that that I may have to drive 20 mph under the speed limit in the fast lane - and those two things also may occur simultaneously.

In the parking lot, it's a sign that you can take up as many parking spaces as humanly possible.  It also may be a sign that I'll never ever get to park my own car, as that symbol means you'll wait for ever in the parking lot traffic lane for that sweet spot that that family of five is about to vacate.  Here, you may or may not use your turn signal - but probably not until I'm too close to you to get around you.

The Jesus Fish (or Ichthys, if you want to get technical) is an ancient symbol of Christian believers, that also makes a fantastic sticker for the car, where everybody can let everybody else know that they believe in Jesus.  Showing your faith on your vehicle is not the problem here - it's showing your faith and then driving without care for others that is.

Just think about it ... Christ calls us to live like Christ all of the time ... That means maybe not driving like a Jesus Fish bumper sticker gives you a free pass to drive like a (fill in the blank).  So if you have a Christian symbol on your car, maybe you should think about how you drive.

Have you ever thought about how Jesus would drive?  He probably wouldn't drive at all.  He'd probably take the bus.  More people to talk to that way.  And he could avoid the Christians driving like maniacs.

Drive now in peace.

God Weeps

In the wake of the tragedy in Connecticut, this hymn has been speaking to me. 

How does God feel in the aftermath of such tragedies?  If we look at the Gospel, at Christ's ever-repeated directions towards caring for one another - God Weeps, by Shirly Erena Murray may give us a glimpse.  The tune used in The Faith We Sing was composed by Carlton R. Young, HIROSHIMA, was inspired by a visit to the Hiroshima memorial site.

God weeps
                   at love withheld,
                   at strength misused,
                   at children's innocence abused,
and till we change the way we love,
                                                              God weeps.

God bleeds
                   at anger's fist,
                   at trust betrayed,
                   at women battered and afraid,
and till we change the way we win,
                                                              God bleeds.

God cries
                   at hungry mouths,
                   at running sores,
                   at creatures dying without cause,
and till we change the way we care,
                                                              God cries.

God waits   
                   for stones to melt,
                   for peace to seed,
                   for hearts to hold each other's need,
and till we understand the Christ,
                                                              God waits.

Ah, Email ...

Is there anything that can get us in trouble in ministry more than email?

I think half of the conflicts I've been involved in in the last 8 years of professional ministry can be traced back to email.  From typos, to misunderstandings, to copying the wrong person ... Email is just a trip.

Just this morning our youth pastor asked me to send out a quick email to our choirs to plug a youth fundraiser dinner coming up this weekend.  No big deal, right?

I send out the harmless thing, and then I start getting the bounces, from an email address of one choir member who's email I know is incorrect.  I get 15 bounces.  Then I get an email from my assistant:

I don't know if you are aware, but you just sent 14 concurrent emails with the same text.

 

Awesome.  I check my Outlook, and the darn emal is still sending, 30 minutes later.  I scramble and cancel the thing ... Which is no easy task, frequently met with an "I'm busy doing important things" look from my Outlook.  And while that's going, 5 more bounces.  While I've been typing this, there has also been at least 3 more bounces.

Good times, right?  I hastily write an apology email to all concerned and press the send button.

I pray.

It only sends once.  Bounce total: 27 emails sent.

I thankfully get no angy emails in return, but I did recieve this gem of hilarity from a choir member's husband:

Those were great emails.  It took all of them for me to decide what to do.  Then it finally dawned on me that I had purchased the tickets and [my wife] had already made my decision.  So-I deleted all 27 emails.  Ha

No Big Deal!

[husband]

There are good people at this church.

Any email bloopers you would like to share with the world?

Sorrow + Joy

I've heard the Season of Advent frequently described as a time of 'already here, but not quite yet'.  Advent is the great in-between time; the 'already here' being that Christ has indeed already come, but the 'not quite yet' meaning that we're still waiting for him to come again.

Just think a moment on the opening line of our great Methodist Advent hymn Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus:

Come, thou long-expected Jesus, born to set thy people free
From our fears and sins release us, let us find our rest in thee.

The hymn calls on Christ to intercede for us on a couple of different levels - that we'd need Christ to come again into our hearts right now, but also that we're looking towards that second coming of Christ.

Last night, we lost a dear friend of mine (and many, many others), an "Uncle" to my boy, to a heart attack.  It reminds me that even as we walk this earth, we're already in an in-between time before joining the Saints above.  Even as our church family mourns, we're also called to rejoice - a time that mirrors the paradoxical nature of Advent.  I'm sad in my heart, but its because I knew a great man who lived a wonderfully full life of family and ministry that I can rejoice.

I have to remind myself again of the truth - death has lost it's sting through Christ Jesus.

We'll be working out arrangements for his Celebration of Life this week, and I always feel it to be such a privilege to join in the planning.  I'm so thankful for the life my friend.