As I told you last month, my favorite and I believe most Biblical based holiday time for Christians is Thanksgiving. Although the advertising and marketing arm of every retailer has been here well ahead of us, we have finally arrived at the Christmas season. While historically Christmas has, at best, a checkered past I can't ignore the potential for ministry inherent in the Christmas season.
True, there is no command to celebrate the birth of Jesus. There is nothing linking the birth of Christ with the week of the winter solstice. There is no Biblical basis for the trappings of the season. If you want to get down to the truth, there is a very messy and embarrassing history behind everything from caroling to those gingerbread man cookies. There are even a number of famous historic incidents in which the season and antisemitic actions were linked together. It is no wonder that our Puritan forefathers banned the celebration.
We live in a world that has become increasingly ignorant of its own history. The season, though pagan in its origins has, for most of our population, transcended most of its dark roots and is recognized either as a time to celebrate the birth of Christ, or a time to indulge in materialism. Admittedly, for most of us modern Christians, we do a little of both. The season is a time in which the secular world notices the Christian world. We have reached a point now in which I believe we are better served to not only celebrate the season, but to celebrate it in the extreme when possible. Entertainment media, proponents of other recently made up holidays, influences from the Mideast, and others would like to erase Christ from Christmas. Retailers instruct sales staff to wish patrons, "Happy holidays," rather than, "Merry Christmas." One could argue quite easily that the best thing for believers to do is separate ourselves from the pagan celebration completely as the Puritans tried and ban all vestiges of it from our churches and our homes. I believe, however, that more good can come from a pagan celebration that has been "salted" with Christianity.
The words of Christ teach us to be the salt of the world. We know that salt influences flavor, acts as a preservative, and is a purifier. But for salt to work it has to come into contact with what it is affecting. Kept in the shaker, salt has not influence or affect. We too have no effect on the world unless we contact it. Christmas, however tainted it may be, is one of the key contact points we have with the world. If we remove our influence from the holiday, what would be accomplished? I believe the work of the church, and the spread of the gospel is better served by claiming what we can of the holiday and keeping it as ours.
Now, like a long winded preacher (which I am actually guilty of having been), that was all introduction. What I really want to tell you about is how we in the adult choir intend to claim the season through music this year. First, as your choir provides leadership and encouragement to worship in congregational song I hope you will join your voice singing the familiar songs of the season. Second, as we sing the various introits and anthems celebrating the coming of the Savior into our world, I hope you will not view them as elevator music or filler time. These are not performance pieces for your entertainment, but are songs of worship being lifted up to the Lord that you can participate with in your heart. Instead of checking your email on your phone, let the words and the music lift your heart and encourage your spirit and help you tune your mind onto the things of Christ rather than the things of the world.
Our Christmas season begins officially on December 1, the first Sunday in the Advent Season. The choir will share, "Air for Advent". "Air" is a music term that means melody or tune. This particular piece is an arrangement by Tom Fettke that uses the melody from J.S. Bach's (1685-1750) Overture No. 3 in D major,BWV 1068, more commonly known as the "Air on G". Fettke took the various melodies of this instrumental piece and assigned text from the Hymns, "Come Thou Long Expected Jesus" (written by Charles Wesley 1707-1788), and "Come O Come Emmanuel" (an ancient Latin hymn translated b John M. Neale 1818-1866). The result is a beautiful haunting call pleading for the Jewish Messiah to come and make His appearance in the world. What a way to prepare your heart to hear the message that will be delivered following the offering that Sunday!
Next, we will share on December 8, a favorite of the congregation, "In the Bleak Midwinter" by Gustav Holst (1874-1934) with text from a poem by Christina G. Rossetti (1830-1894). While the text of the poem is in error in its attempt to present the nativity in a winter setting, poetically it accurately describes the cold harsh world Christ was born into. It paints a most wonderful and artistic word picture of the humility of Christ's birth, and the wonder that the simple stable held He Whom neither heaven nor earth could possibly contain. I have been told on more than one occasion by individuals in our congregation that Christmas has not come until we sing this song.
The following two Sundays Bach will provide brief chorales for our introits. Our anthem, "A Joyful Noel" utilizing Bach's "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring", and the text of "The First Noel" will be sung on the 15th of December. Finally on December 22 our anthem will be a Lloyd Larson arrangement of "Angels We Have Heard on High". The resounding, "Gloria in excelsis Deo" is of course the famous Latin phrase that means, "Glory to God in the highest!". As an old preacher once told me, "Singing that gets me so excited it makes me want to charge hell with a water pistol!"
What our choral music is all about is worshiping God through song. It is about getting excited about the things of God. It is about lifting your heart high and expressing genuine joy for the Creator of all things who chose to take upon Himself the cruel punishment that was due His creation. He did so by coming into this world through the indignity of human birth. Fittingly, we will end the season with the prayerful anthem by David S. Gaines and Ruth Elaine Schram, "Be Born in Us." Even as Christ changed the world by being born into it, living a perfect life, and dying on the cross, so this song lifts a longing prayer that He would do the same thing in our hearts as individuals.
As the retail world, the secular world, the world that hates us, and the world that tolerates us all vie to keep the season of Christmas in their way, I pray we, like the reinvented Ebeneezer Scrooge will know "how to keep Christmas well" in our lives and our church. In closing I would like to quote from that final planned anthem mentioned above, "Be born in us, O Prince of Peace, let the hope You bring this world be born in me." God bless you as you keep the season. Yes, I think it is a good idea, let's keep the season.
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
Sunday, November 3, 2013
Something to Be Thankful For
When it comes to selecting choral music for worship, I believe it is advantageous to make use of the various holidays that fill our calendar. Granted, most of our holidays are not "Biblical", and the few that arguably ever were have drifted far in their observance from any scriptural anchor they may have once had. The fact is however, our hearts and minds become predisposed to the themes and ideas of those seasons as we are assaulted by the secular music, imagery, lawn decorations, and predawn sales events culturally linked to those holidays giving us the opportunity to address the subjects of those seasons with little or no introduction. Ironically enough, the one holiday for which I personally feel there is more scriptural and theological basis tends to get the least attention. That holiday is Thanksgiving.
Throughout history many cultures have observed periods of thanksgiving at the end of harvest season. Our Judeo-Christian roots are no stranger to this practice. The Old Testament is replete with instructions for the celebration of feasts that God commanded of His people, Israel. Of the seven high feast celebrations, three are specifically set aside as times of thanksgiving among the people. The celebrations of Firstfruits, and Pentecost commemorated the beginning of the time of harvest of barley and wheat respectively. These two events fall on our modern calendar between the months of March and June. The celebration of Tabernacles or Sukkot followed at the end of the harvest time in our September or October. Specific instructions for the types of sacrifices and required procedures for these holidays are given throughout Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.
Admittedly, the New Testament gives us no instruction to celebrate any holidays other than the Christian Sabbath. We have no commands regarding Christian holy days or feasts. Although I adore the Christian themes they inspire, the holidays of Christmas and Easter have a checkered past and are basically the result of attempts at cleaning up pre-existing pagan rites and rituals and incorporating them into the Christian world. Our modern mythologies regarding a red dressed demigod and magical egg bearing rodents have done little to aid in that clean-up. Nevertheless, those holidays get more attention in and out of church than does a celebration intended to simply remind us to be thankful to God.
Since we no longer live in an agrarian society, our culture has become increasingly oblivious to the concept of harvest celebrations. The school calendar which prevails to this day serves as a reminder of how farm life one shaped our culture. As we have moved away from agriculture as a society, and have embraced consumerism, it seems to me that we have become less dependent on God and therefore less thankful to Him for His provision. When we relied upon Him to provide the rain and appropriate weather to make our crops grow we were more aware of his blessings. Now we pray for weather conditions that meet our travel and recreation desires more often than we pray for conditions on our crops.
No, there is no eleventh commandment to celebrate a feast of Thanksgiving in the month of November. But the idea of being thankful to a sovereign God who meets our needs as He sees fit is quite appropriate . Don't be surprised over the next few weeks when you hear music of thanksgiving and appreciation for what God has done in our lives. This month try praying for farmers and for God's blessing upon the harvest. What blesses the harvest does bless us. Be reminded this month that God has been good to us even though we don't deserve His goodness. Gather together to ask the Lord's blessing. Be amazed at the goodness of God.
Throughout history many cultures have observed periods of thanksgiving at the end of harvest season. Our Judeo-Christian roots are no stranger to this practice. The Old Testament is replete with instructions for the celebration of feasts that God commanded of His people, Israel. Of the seven high feast celebrations, three are specifically set aside as times of thanksgiving among the people. The celebrations of Firstfruits, and Pentecost commemorated the beginning of the time of harvest of barley and wheat respectively. These two events fall on our modern calendar between the months of March and June. The celebration of Tabernacles or Sukkot followed at the end of the harvest time in our September or October. Specific instructions for the types of sacrifices and required procedures for these holidays are given throughout Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.
Admittedly, the New Testament gives us no instruction to celebrate any holidays other than the Christian Sabbath. We have no commands regarding Christian holy days or feasts. Although I adore the Christian themes they inspire, the holidays of Christmas and Easter have a checkered past and are basically the result of attempts at cleaning up pre-existing pagan rites and rituals and incorporating them into the Christian world. Our modern mythologies regarding a red dressed demigod and magical egg bearing rodents have done little to aid in that clean-up. Nevertheless, those holidays get more attention in and out of church than does a celebration intended to simply remind us to be thankful to God.
Since we no longer live in an agrarian society, our culture has become increasingly oblivious to the concept of harvest celebrations. The school calendar which prevails to this day serves as a reminder of how farm life one shaped our culture. As we have moved away from agriculture as a society, and have embraced consumerism, it seems to me that we have become less dependent on God and therefore less thankful to Him for His provision. When we relied upon Him to provide the rain and appropriate weather to make our crops grow we were more aware of his blessings. Now we pray for weather conditions that meet our travel and recreation desires more often than we pray for conditions on our crops.
No, there is no eleventh commandment to celebrate a feast of Thanksgiving in the month of November. But the idea of being thankful to a sovereign God who meets our needs as He sees fit is quite appropriate . Don't be surprised over the next few weeks when you hear music of thanksgiving and appreciation for what God has done in our lives. This month try praying for farmers and for God's blessing upon the harvest. What blesses the harvest does bless us. Be reminded this month that God has been good to us even though we don't deserve His goodness. Gather together to ask the Lord's blessing. Be amazed at the goodness of God.
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