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Showing posts from 2011

Why Do You Call Him Lord?

This morning I awoke without the usual midweek pressure of needing to get up and get ready for work. Remembering that I had the day off, I was able to relax and sink into my prayers with a more leisurely attitude. I thought, "I should ask the Lord what to do with this rare, unstructured day," or words to that effect.  And so I began, "Lord, how would You have me use this day?" The first word of my prayer echoed in my head. "Lord....lord".  What an odd word.  In this "land of the free and home of the brave" there are no lords.  We are a nation born of rebellion - spawned by the rejection of outside authority.  We, The People, have the authority.  We are created equal, and so doff our hats to no man. Do we even know what we are saying when we address Christ as "Lord"?  What do I mean? This is a challenging thought and one which Christ Himself implores me to consider:  “Why  do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?&

I forgave you a long time ago...

"I forgave you a long time ago..." I pray that I never forget those words as long as I live. They were a gift spoken by a friend I had hurt unintentionally many months before. It had taken me some time to recognize the offense I had caused, some more time to accept that she had a right to feel offended, even though, in my opinion I had done nothing wrong. It took more time still before love won out and I worked up the courage to face her. I dreaded her rejection. I feared this treasured relationship would be lost forever. But instead of the rejection I feared, she gave me this gift. She not only forgave me, she loved me, and continued on as though the whole episode was barely worth mention, nothing but a little bump on the road to the continued sweet fellowship and mutual encouragement we had always shared. There are many things I may before have considered to be marks of true godliness, but I none can hold a candle to this: "I forgave you a long time ago..."

A Song of Thanksgiving

Enter his gates with thanksgiving,    and his courts with praise!    Give thanks to him; bless his name!   For the LORD is good;    his steadfast love endures forever,    and his faithfulness to all generations. Ps. 100:4-5

Melancholy, my friend

I don't think I will or should ever like it, but I'm learning to be thankful for my depressions. It is for me as C.S. Lewis so famously put it in The Problem of Pain ,  "God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world."   When I look back I see many times during my years as a Christian when a deep depression has led to a renewal of faith in my heart. Jesus Christ is the source of whatever peace and joy I am capable of, so when I drift away from Him these begin to slip away, along with my hope for the future.  I slip into despair.  The pain grows louder. Eventually none of my usual distractions can drown it out, and in desperation I remember Christ and cry to Him for rescue. Through my sorrow He gently guides me back to His word and His promises, and through them (along with much prayer) renews my faith and restores my hope in His goodness and my future with Him. I'm so thankful

Translation Tidbits

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This Saturday past I posted a little article about translating hymns, so imagine my surprise at lunchtime today when NPR's Talk of the Nation aired an interview with the author of Is That a Fish in Your Ear? Translation and the Meaning of Everything .  A fascinating discussion! I bet you can guess what just got added to my Christmas wish list.  If you're curious, you can listen to the segment or read a transcript here .  Also related to my last post, a friend of mine informed me in the comments that Bach had composed a cantata of Ein Feste Burg ist unser Gott (A Mighty Fortress is Our God/Our God He Is a Castle Strong).  I went straight to find a recording of it.  I thought this one was very lovely: Finally, I thought you might enjoy hearing Ein Feste Burg sung in German.  I certainly did!

Our God He Is a Castle Strong: on translations of hymns, among other things

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"Our God He Is a Castle Strong" Our God he is a castle strong, A good mail-coat and weapon; He sets us free from ev'ry wrong That wickedness would heap on. The old knavish foe  He means earnest now; force and cunning sly His horrid policy, On earth there's nothing like him.* Perhaps you recognized this first stanza from a very famous hymn.  Or perhaps, like me, you didn't.  I happened upon it one evening as I was searching through our copy of Luther's Works: Liturgy and Hymns checking to see if a certain hymn I like happened to have been written by Martin Luther. It did not, but while I had the book open I noticed that it provided commentary on each of the hymns.  Excited, I decided to look up my Lutheran favorite: A Mighty Fortress is Our God .  It was nowhere to be found.  I knew that was impossible, so I kept looking until the light-bulb came on.... A "mighty fortress".... a "castle strong"... A might

On Singing Hymns

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"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God."  Col. 3:16 "And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart..." Eph. 5:18,19 Have you ever noticed the parallel between these separate passages from two of Paul's letters? Years ago a pastor called it to my attention when I asked what being filled with the Holy Spirit meant, or what it looked or felt like. He showed me the connection between the statements, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly..." and "...be filled with the Spirit..."  Aha! Paul equates being filled with the Spirit with letting "the word of Christ dwell in you richly". This is helpful! More recently my current pastor

On Singing Hymns, among other things

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"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God." Col. 3:16 My recent discussion of the singing of Psalms in church prompted an unexpected and lively internet discussion with some friends from all over the globe as to the distinctions between the three types of singing mentioned in Paul's words to the Colossian and Ephesian churches. The initial concern seemed to be that I was implying that only the Psalms should be sung in churches, a notion which had honestly never occurred to me.  I began this little mini-series with the intention of addressing the categories as I understood them, and as I believe they are most commonly understood. It hadn't really occurred to me that my view of them was so insular.  How typically American of me.  Having been made aware of just how much room there is for misunderstanding, I decided to exa

On Singing Psalms

Did you know the Psalms are actually songs? Of course you did. Anyone who's spent any time at all in Sunday School knows that. But have you ever really stopped to think about what that means?  I've had that piece of information stored in my cranium for decades, but never really gave it much thought. I still tend to think of the Psalms as the poems that I was assigned to memorize when I was a kid, or as the words they taught us to chant in the Lutheran church of my childhood. Though they are lovely, when I read them I almost never think of them as music, and, since I'm not a very musical person, I've honestly never really thought it mattered one way or the other. That changed this past Sunday. Our pastor began his sermon, the latest in a series on the church,  with a discussion of Psalm 118. He explained that it was originally written as a festival song, most likely for the Festival of Booths, and that it was sung responsively. The crowd gathered at the Temple to w

The Idea of You

You, or the Idea of You by Laurie Mathers   Just a minute, I'm reading about You Wait a second, I'm talking about You Hold on, I'm writing about You Be right there, I'm debating about You Maybe tomorrow I'll have time for you You're so important to me. Oh how I love You!

A Confession for Today

A Confession for Today by Laurie Mathers   Today I want to confess I'm terrified, Not of anything specific.  Mainly it's just general, But really it's not so general.  Mainly it's just people. Today I want to confess I'm terrified of people. Not any people in particular.  Just people in general. But really it's not so general.  Mainly it's just me. Today I want to confess I'm terrified of Me. Not for anything specific.  Just me in general. But really it's not so general.  Mainly it's my judgments. Today I want to confess I'm terrified of my judgments. Not any specific judgments.  Just my judgments in general. But really it's not so general.  Mainly it's the judgments I make of others. Today I want to confess I'm terrified of the judgments I've made of others. Not any specific judgments of others. Just my judgments of others in general. But really i

You Want Us to Be Like North Korea?

I enjoy social media. Facebook has helped me connect, re-connect, and stay in touch with people, old friends and new, from all over the world.  It has been a boon for me in many, many ways. Social media also has its downsides. It can be a time and creativity waster. Some say it contributes to the disintegration of "real" relationships: more Facebook equals less "face time". I've seen it work both ways. I've seen it build relationships, and I've seen it tear them apart. But, then, these things have been happening throughout the ages. Facebook is just another medium for human hearts.  Whatever lurks there also lurks in Facebook, for better or for worse. For better, there are friendships - kind, respectful words of support, encouragement, love and hope. For worse, there is election season. Though I am interested in politics, I avoid political discussions, both in person and on social media. I have my reasons, most of them obvious. So now I feel the ne

Drawing Lines

I came home from work the other day to a strange happening. The TV was on. My daughter, home for the summer from her teaching job in the Republic of Georgia, was watching it.  Adding to the strangeness of the TV being on in the middle of the afternoon, was the fact that it was tuned not to PBS, or a movie on DVD, but to a network television program.  It took a minute of me standing dumbly for this to sink in. And then there was this: Tyra Banks who, as I recall, used to be a Victoria's Secret model, now has a talk show - like Oprah, except not.  It has that sort of  "Listen up girlfriend" tone, but without the mellowing that age and experience can bring.  It only took about 20 minutes of second-hand exposure to get the strong impression that original talk show topics have become as rare as original Cosmo and Parents' Magazine topics. Anyway, Tyra looks as  gorgeous as ever and keeps a good chat going. That day's topic was something like: "Extreme Fake-B

Born this Way - a little monster

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Lady Gaga is an extreme talent, a driving personality, a dynamo of culture, and a force of nature.  She is not only a singer but a performance artist, a theatrical diva. Those who dismiss her as a knock-off of Madonna not only over-rate Madonna but miss the point. While Madonna, at Gaga's age, was the "Material Girl", Gaga, at 25 is out to change the world.  Paul and I are both fascinated by her. Photo courtesy Softpedia Her latest hit, Born This Way appears both designed and destined to be an anthem for the disenfranchised, the discarded, the downtrodden of our society.  Beginning with words from a mother to her trepid little girl, it aches with passionate love and compassion.  It fights to strengthen the heart of the child and fill it full with her own hope for her future. Gaga, almost nun-like in her devotion to career and mission, having no marriage, and no children of her own, reaches out with an aching maternal heart to embrace a world of marginalized souls.