A New Song in our Mouths

I don’t know U2 music very well at all.  You ask me a trivia question about an ABBA song, and I’m your gal.  U2 is my brother’s music, something the younger generation listened to.  So, I was floored to learn that U2 took the words of Psalm 40 and put it to music.  Not only that, but they used “40” as their concert grand finale for many years, leaving the stage while the audience sang the chorus of “How Long to Sing this Song” which would go on and on and on.

Almost like the kids songs we used to sing, “This is the Song that Never Ends” or “99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall”.  They can go on for a long time, much to the annoyance of others who listen to them and don’t want to join in the silliness.

There are times we feel like we can’t sing.  Like we are still caught in the horrible pit, out of the miry clay, or in some translations, the miry bog.  Taxes, kids clothes, food, expenses, sickness, family drama, fender benders, and world events, all kinds of things can contribute to that feeling that our lives are out of control and we are in a sticky situation. Sometimes we cry for help and feel like there is no answer to our dilemma, like no one is listening, like we are alone and abandoned.  And sometimes we feel like there is something listening, that encouragement comes when we least expect it, we get a phone call from someone we haven’t heard from in a while, or something comes together and things make sense.

For me, that was music.  When I was struggling with depression as a twenty-something, I stumbled into church one day and the music and hymns were what helped me feel less alone, less hopeless and helpless.  Songs outside the church also supported and encouraged me.  Music like John Denver’s “Sweet Surrender”.  Many folks found country gospel music like “I Saw the Light” or “I Come to the Garden Alone” sustained them in their dark times. Or Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World” or Judy Garland’s “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” or Natasha Beddingfield’s “Unwritten” and the list goes on.  Hymns like “Amazing Grace”, “This Little Light of Mine”, “Be Thou my Vision” can pull us out of our negativity we may be stuck in. It also reminds us that we’re not alone. 

But music is not enough to help us when we are really in challenging times.  Like a bandage and a kiss on a boo boo, this may make us temporarily flushed with positive adrenaline, but sometimes a panacea won’t work.  Sure, there is something magical about sitting on Connor’s Hill on an August night singing along to Ian Tyson’s “Four Strong Winds” with a thousand or more other Albertans that leaves us all with lumps in our throats, but what kind of love will end conflict in Ukraine or starvation in the Sudan or political unrest in Peru?

I’ll never forget leaving the old Rexall hockey arena in Edmonton after a Neil Diamond concert where thousands of people had sung about brotherly love together only to discover that the same people were now arguing loudly and heatedly over taxis.  My faith in humanity was shaken hard that night as we stood there wondering how we would get home.

Songs are not enough if they slip out of our lips without thinking.  And if they are only about our pleasures and our concerns.  The words that slipped out of John’s lips in our gospel reading were pointing to something beyond him.  John wasn’t singing “I will Survive” like Gloria Gaynor, he was singing, “B-b-b-baby, you ain’t seen nothing yet” and pointing to Jesus.  “Go, follow that guy!  Go, watch him pull you out of the horrible pit, the miry bog.  Go and learn a new song to sing that will spill out of your mouths and bless everyone who will hear you, to come and see!”

John’s excitement was contagious.  How can we share our excitement to the people around us that are feeling stuck, hopeless and helpless?  We tend to do exactly the opposite of what the scriptures suggested – at the first sign of opposition, we have concealed the signs of God’s steadfast love, and hidden the truth of the difference our faith has made in our lives.  We’ve experienced too many cases of toxic bullying that was used to bring people to church, too many ugly songs that preached shame, guilt, fear and superiority.  We’ve listened to stories of racism, injustice and intolerance that have been done in the name of winning souls to Christianity.

Enough!  Time to sing the truth, the new song!  One of joy and liberation, of new light in our troubled world, of power with rather than power over.  This week I was talking to a young lady about our church and she got very excited when she saw our big rainbow flag in our basement.  “I left my church because they preached hate”, she told me. “I didn’t know churches like yours even existed.”  She needed to hear that new song we are singing, and there are others, so many others that also need to hear words of hope.  People who need a light in their lives, a lamb of God to pull them out of the clay bogs of their lives. How can we do that?

Remember that all John the Baptiser said was “Wow look at him!” and all Jesus said was “Come and See”.  Very simple.  Very straightforward.  “Wow, this has happened, check it out.  Wow, I feel much more hopeful with my life, come and try it out.” It’s okay to hear no, just keep singing anyway.

And we may find that people, hungry for a new song of hope in their lives, will join us as we say “Wow” together every Sunday.  The light is with us, we are not alone, thanks be to God!

Priorities not politics

Someone very wise once told me that there was nothing we can’t do if we really want it badly enough.  He said that there was always enough time, energy and money for what was truly important.  No matter how tired I was, how broke, or how busy, I could muster my reserves.  I, naturally, was skeptical, but even I had to admit, that if someone came by with two tickets and a backstage pass to meet ABBA live and in person, even if I had just given birth to my first baby, I would probably find the energy to jump on a plane to England to attend their new virtual reality concert next month.  I might not do it for Prince, Michael Jackson, Elvis or even the Beetles, but ABBA?  I have to admit I would dig up all my record albums, jump on a plane and get them to autograph every single one.

ABBA was the music of my teens, and with John Denver, provided many memories of happiness, dancing and joy. Which is what teen age life is supposed to be about.  Finding out what is most important in life is, of course, more than just rock concerts and dancing queens.  But the music we like, the heroes we looked up to in our teenage years, can point to our core values.  

Our scriptures this morning can be seen through the lens of looking at core values.  James and John Zebedee were squabbling for the best seats of power once Jesus dethroned Herod and took his place in the castle and Temple.  They wanted to be the ones whispering into his ear when people came to the foot of the throne and petitioned for Jesus to solve their problems. The two brothers were stuck in a traditional idea of change, that society could only transform through a violent take over, a coup.  They thought about politics first and theology second.

I like the definition of politics I recently stumbled on, “Politics is when people choose their words and actions based on how they want others to react rather than based on what they really think.”  James and John wanted Jesus to treat them as better than the others.  “We want you to grant our request.  See to it!”  Pretty pushy.  We also see politics in 1 Kings reading of the two women arguing over a baby.  One described herself as a loyal citizen, pointing to the other as the evil doer.  Solomon played politics with the women too, manipulating them to reveal which one really cared about the baby.  Note that the passage does not say which woman was the one who cared the most, the one claiming to be the loyal subject or the one first accused.  One subtle nuance to this story is that the women were living in a household without a man as patriarch to arbitrate, and to witness.  Women were not allowed to be witnesses, only men.  So there was no one Solomon could turn to whose testimony would hold up in the court. Solomon had to think outside the box to solve the problem. Solomon tricked them into showing their true intentions, their real values.  One wanted equality and fairness seeing the baby as an object to fight over.  And if both babies were dead, equality would have been re-established. The other simply wanted her baby to live and was willing to sacrifice her right to the baby to guarantee its safety.  When a sword is hovering over something we cherish, our values come to the forefront very quickly.

That’s a good time to look at our values and really examine them, see if they are aligned with the Gospel, or can be tweaked to be lived out in healthier ways. Having a clear focus on why we do what we do is something we need to do intentionally.  So many people talk about the importance of putting first things first, knowing why we do what we do.  Whether it’s Steven Covey’s Seven Habits, Barack Obama’s campaign on hope, Martin Luther King’s dream, Mother Theresa’s ministry, Gandhi’s march for salt, Greta Thunberg sailing to North America, all great people with clear purposes and a focus that they continually remind themselves of.  Movies like “City Slicker” or “Bucket List” or “Last Holiday” tell stories of people who clarify their values when faced with the equivalent of a sword threatening to cut a baby in half.

There are times when our values need to be challenged, re-evaluated, and shaken up.  What we believed in as teen-agers can seem shallow now.  If I had a choice between an Abba Concert and eliminating Global Warming when I was a teen, I would probably have chosen ABBA.  Now, as much as it would be hard, I would let go my craving for hedonism in exchange for saving the whole world.

Jesus clarified the values he expected from his followers.  They were to serve and to avoid politics, not to bully or grab power.  There was to be no competition amongst them, no hierarchy, and definitely no politics.  No arguing over who gets the baby.  Keep the big picture in mind.  

What’s your big picture?  My values that are important to me are being part of a thriving congregation that practices radical hospitality and is a safe, trustworthy space for all who want to learn more about this radical way of thinking.  I also value spirituality, being connected with something bigger than myself, a big dream, a purpose, an intention to be a healing presence in the world.  And I value creativity, whether it’s through drama, scrapbooking, music, dance or art.

Our congregation picked out inspiration, empowerment and engagement, which are amazing words to guide us.  They help remind us that we are to be servants to one another and also the world.  We are to work together to build a better, more loving world.  That is needed today as much as it was 5 years ago, 100 years ago and in the times of Jesus and Solomon.  Thanks be to God for the scriptures that remind us who we are and how we live out God’s purpose in this world.  Amen.

Did you know that you can watch the service live on Facebook, or join us on Zoom?  I send out a weekly e-mail with the prayers, hymns and scriptures.  E-mail me at revatauc@telus.net to get our worship resources.