Grounds for Thanks

It is part of country’s heritage; it is integral to the American way of life. It is often a big part of the life of any American family. Thanksgiving. The food, the festivities, the football games, the family times. All of that is wonderful. All is part of what makes Thanksgiving memorable.

Many Americans understand the roots of the Thanksgiving celebration. Although there are a variety of stories told that form the fabric of the tradition, the heart of the tradition is anchored in the experiences of the earliest settlers who came to America seeking religious freedom. And those Pilgrims, those Puritans, celebrated God’s goodness to them in providing for them in this “new world” by celebrating and giving thanks.

So, the giving of thanks is appropriate. It is right to thank God for all his blessings. But I was thinking about just what blessings I might give him thanks for.

Certainly, it is right to give God thanks for the rich provision needed for daily life. For food and shelter, for clothing and the basics of life. It is right to thank him for family and friends, for rich relationship and good company. Health and happiness, grace and sustaining power also come from him and are grounds for giving thanks. But there is something more that I wouldn’t want to overlook. It is something Paul mentions in one of his letters to the Thessalonians.

We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brethren, as is only fitting, because your faith is greatly enlarged, and the love of each one of you toward one another grows ever greater. (2 Thessalonians 1:3)

In thinking about his friends in Thessalonica, Paul thanks God for them. Specifically, he expresses thanks for two things he sees in them: the faith they have toward God that has increased, and the love that they have for one another that has grown.

That’s intriguing to me. Paul doesn’t thank the Thessalonians for their growth in faith and their deepening love; Paul thanks God. Apparently Paul believes growth in faith toward God and growth in love toward others is not simply the product of human effort. Apparently Paul is convinced that the growth he witnesses in these friends in faith toward God and love toward others is actually the product of divine grace worked into the lives of these friends. So, Paul thanks God.

That drives me to think about what I will thank God for as we sit together this Thanksgiving. Rich faith and deep love are a work of God, a gift that comes through Christ Jesus, an outworking of the Spirit’s presence and power. That  being the case, I will thank him for the faith I see in my friends and family and the love we share each and every day. And that will enrich my thanksgiving!

 

More Impressive Than the World Cup

The World Cup was played the past summer. For many of those living in the United States, this wasn’t that big of a deal; but for most of the world,the World Cup (a world-wide soccer championship tournament) is huge.

For those who haven’t watched much soccer played on a world stage, one of the strange things was the nearly constant ”background noise.” From the moment a nation’s team stepped on to the field of play, fans of that team began to cheer. And the roar was nearly constant, the whole nearly two hours of play, sustained and carried along by chants, and shouts, and the bleating of vuvuzelas.

It was clear that those who were there were not merely spectators, watching the game in a some-what disinterested way. These fans were participating in their celebrating. As long as their team was playing, they were cheering. And that picture got me thinking.

We don’t have many snapshots of what worship is like in heaven, that place where God’s presence is manifest in a more evident way. But what we do have is very telling. John sees some visions of that, and describes what he sees:

And around the throne [of God], there were four living creatures . . . each one of them having six wings . . . and day and night they do not cease to say, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come.” . . . And I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne . . . and the number of them was myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.” And every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying, “To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever.” (From Revelation 4 and 5)

And after these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb . . . and they cry out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” (Revelation 7:9-10)

Now these snapshots are hardly a complete and full exposition of all that worship in the presence of God entails. But they do picture for us some of what it rightly should be. And did you notice? It seems a great deal like the cheering at a World Cup game!

God is, as it were, on the field! And he is carrying out his game plan for the world, for all of creation. And those watching, whether angels or saints, are cheering. And that is their expression of worship.

It is clear that those around the throne are not merely spectators, watching God work out his plan in a some-what disinterested way. These worshippers are participating by their celebrating.

As long as our God is “on the field,” should we not be passionately caught up in the celebrating of what he is accomplishing in our world? Does it not seem reasonable that we should “continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God” (Hebrews 13:15)?

At the Risk of Being Embarrassed . . .

Picture it for a moment; certainly you have seen such a scene.

The young student has been away–perhaps overseas–for a period of time. And she is just now returning, exiting the airplane gate. Or maybe it is a Marine who has been stationed in a far-off and deadly war zone stepping on to the tarmac for a well-deserved leave. Or it could be a father or mother who has been away on an extended business trip and who is just pulling into the driveway.

And for each, there is a group waiting to receive them back. Picture it for a moment. What do you see?

There may be cheering. There could be banners and streamers. There’ll likely be tears and hugs. Small kids might bounce up and down; older kids might run (along with spouses or moms and dads). Voices will be raised, greetings shouted, laughter shared, joys overflowing and evident.

And in those moments, what is usually not thought about is “What will other people think?” That is, being caught up in the joy and delight of being with the one who is loved, those extending love don’t really worry about any one else. They are focused, and enthused, and engaged, and participatory and given to the moment.

Thinking about that, I realized that there are actually more than a few moments like that in the Scriptures. One that comes to mind is found in the book of 2 Samuel. David, the king of Israel, has the privilege of returning the “ark of the covenant” to the tabernacle in Jerusalem. (It had fallen into enemy hands and has now been restored to him and to Israel.) The ark represents God’s presence with Israel and is a reminder of God’s faithfulness in days past and his promise of enduring blessing. And we read about David’s response to this moment in time in 2 Samuel 6.

David went and brought up the ark . . . into the city of David with gladness. . . . And David was dancing before the Lord with all his might, and David was wearing a linen ephod [a simple garment]. So David and all the house of Israel were bringing up the ark of the Lord with shouting and the sound of trumpet. . . . And David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. . . he blessed the people in the name of the Lord of hosts. Further, he distributed to all the people, to all the multitude of Israel, both men and women, a cake of bread and one of dates and one of raisins to each one. (2 Samuel 6:12-19)

That must have been some celebratory parade! And David, the king, was in the lead; dancing and cheering and singing and rejoicing. And many of the people of Israel joined him. But his wife did not . . . she watched.

Michal, the daughter of Saul [and David's wife] looked out of the window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord. . . . when David returned to bless his house, Michal came out to meet David and said, “How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today! He uncovered himself today in the eyes of his servants’ maids as one of the foolish ones shamelessly uncovers himself!” (2 Samuel 6:16, 20)

Michal was appalled at David’s behavior; she thought it entirely unbecoming. She was convinced he had only managed to embarrass himself before all the people of Israel. She was concerned about what others were going to think.

David’s response is telling:

So David said to Michal, “It was before the Lord, who chose me above your father and above all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the Lord, over Israel; therefore I will celebrate before the Lord. I will be more lightly esteemed than this . . . .” (2 Samuel 6:21-22)

David’s reply is simple and straight to the point:

I wasn’t doing this for you. I wasn’t concerned about what other might think. I was celebrating and rejoicing before the Lord. It was about HIM! Seeing as the Lord has been SO GOOD to me, it is a small thing for me to make SO MUCH of him.

At the risk of being embarrassed, David worshipped with all that was within him.

I wonder if we ever could get to that place . . . . or whether I will slip back behind the curtain with Michal.

What Should Stop?

Yes, I am sure that there are times when silence is reverent and “being quiet” in the presence of the living God might just be the right thing. But as I have reflected on the Psalms, I have serious doubts about the way “being quiet” has come to have such a place of priority in the worship of the God.

The psalmist (as noted in an earlier post) was anything but silent. He shouted his praise. He joyously sang. He raised his voice (and his hands!). He gladly celebrated the greatness of the God of Israel.

Even as I have been thinking such things, I end up in conversations with other well-intentioned God-worshippers who plead for times of silence. And, when I press them for where they get the idea that silence is one of the most appropriate expression of a worshipful heart, invariably my attention is called to a few passages from the Old Testament.

For example, after setting the children of Israel free from their slavery in Egypt, the Lord was personally leading them (by a pillar of cloud during the day and a pillar of fire during the night) to the land he had promised to give to Abraham’s descendants. Well, on the way, the run up against a small obstacle . . . the Red Sea. And it is right there we get one of the most-oft quoted calls to “be quiet.”

But Moses said to the people, “Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of the Lord which he will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see them again forever. The Lord will fight for you while you keep  silent.” (Exodus 14:13-14)

There it is! The children of Israel are called to “keep silent” before God.

But we have to ask, “What is it that the Lord really is after? Is he telling them about how they are to worship him? Is he explaining how he wants them to approach him?”

The context helps us. If you read all of Exodus 14 (which would be a really good idea right about now!) you will get a better idea of what is going on. The call to “keep silent” before God is not God’s instruction for how the children of Israel were to worship or what the proper disposition should be for those who come before him. God was telling them to stop complaining! The command for silence was not instruction about worship but correction for complaining.

And before you leave that episode in Exodus, you get another snapshot of worship . . . the kind of worship that God apparently approves of (because he didn’t tell the children of Israel to stop it!). Reading on into chapter 15, after God had fought for them (as he said he would) the children of Israel responded (in the way they should). They sang, the played music, the danced, they celebrated . . . they worshipped their great God.

So, yes, if you are grumbling and complaining about how God is running things, he might call you to be silent. But if you are intent of worshipping him . . . well, join in in song, raise your voice, lift your hands, (maybe even dance a bit!) and celebrate.

Keep Quiet! . . . Not!

I have been reflecting, in my own life, on the Psalms. I’ve been thinking about how the psalmist thinks about God, reflects on God, and responds to God. And one thing that has come home to my heart in a big way is how . . . well, I guess I would say . . . how “rowdy” the psalmist appears to be in the presence of God.

He sings aloud. He shouts for joy. He jubilantly celebrates. He dances and claps his hands. He makes a joyful noise. He is expressively glad in the presence of God. Just start reading through the Psalms and you will soon see what I am talking about. (As long as you don’t begin with a pre-conceived idea of what “worship” is supposed to look like.)

What really catches my attention is how very different this appears to be than what is often understood to be the proper reverential attitude to have before God.

For many, it seems that “Keep quiet!” is (or, at least, was) a primary disposition to have before God. Sure, when the time comes for congregational singing, we are supposed to join in . . . but exuberance is frowned upon, joyful expressions are considered a bit ostentatious, and “reverent silence” is often held up as the proper approach to God.

And, Scripture can even be used to back up this idea. I’ve heard the passage quoted:

“The Lord is in his holy temple. Let all the earth be silent before him.” (Habakkuk 2:20)

The only problem is . . . the context of that passage.

In the second chapter of Habakkuk, God is speaking through the prophet to address those who worship idols and who abuse their neighbors and who do not honor God appropriately. One day, God says, “the earth will be filled the knowledge of the glory of the Lord” (2:14). And, yet, some people still delight themselves in idols of stone and wood and metal. And it is to these idol-worshippers that the word comes to “keep quiet” before the One who alone is God.

These are not friends of God who are commanded to be silent. These are not worshippers of God who are called to be quiet. Those being so addressed are those who are making much of those which are not gods.

Over the next few days, the next few posts, I want to explore a bit further this idea of being quiet before God. But my thoughts begin here.

The command to “Keep quiet!” before God, the One who is in his Holy Temple, is not addressed to worshippers . . .