This weekend, we welcome a new addition to our pews, which we sit in and stand in front of for a relatively short period in the grand scheme of our day-to-day living. And yet, in that precious glimpse of time, we hope for spiritual nourishment, enough of a hope-jolt to get us through the next set of days, a renewed outlook on ourselves and the world, an opportunity to give thanks and praise to God for whatever blessings come to mind that particular worship instance, and more. One way we Lutherans tend to believe for all of those expectations (and then some) to be fulfilled is through the music, whether an organ, piano, guitar, drum, voices, or whatever else.
Recently, I saw one of the latest advertisements for Hallow, a digital prayer and devotion app available on mobile devices, iPads, and other forms we try to stay connected (perhaps, at times, over-connected) with the world. But what makes this particular technological application stand out more amidst the seemingly countless choices for Bible-reading and worship-streaming and all-around spiritual-assisting, is that it’s also being promoted by relatively well-known actors in Chris Pratt, Mark Wahlberg, Jonathan Roumie, and a social media phenom in Fr. Mike. With that, it is more of a Roman Catholic-based interaction with the option of praying a rosary with the Oscar & Emmy-nominated Wahlberg, for instance, but it has been downloaded by tens of millions around the world.
I usually don’t see it on the calendar ahead of time, as a way to mentally remind myself to look up at the sky later that day. Nevertheless, the full moon never ceases to grab my attention, no matter how many times I’ve seen it before. There’s something peaceful, serene, awe-inspiring about it.
As we’ve begun using a new liturgy from All Creation Sings during our Saturday and Sunday 9am worships, I’m reminded how living children of God are still blessed with gifts and talents to help us gain even deeper awareness and appreciation and fascination over the matters of nature, faith, and God, all of which have been part of living since the beginning. But sometimes we could use a holy refresher of sorts from those in our midst to ensure we never take such eternal-shaping matters for granted (one of the responsibilities of the church as a whole, I suppose).
Tonight, we re-start our Lenten midweek tradition of Holden Evening Prayer at 7pm. Composed just over 40 years ago by Marty Haugen (who has his fair share of musical artistry in our hymnals), at Holden Village in Washington, it has become a cherished collection of vespers (evening sung prayers) for communities of faith around the world, including Divinity. Over the decades, the music has had a way of creating its own soul-soothing environment, of instilling beauty and hope no matter the hardship endured that day or whatever is troubling our hearts and minds.
I wonder if numerous instances in ministry are filled with “yes, but…” including for Ash Wednesday. Yes, today, will have its fair share of mentions of sin: our own individual messing up’s harming others (and God along with it), our own seemingly impossible-to-escape human nature of it, not to mention a worldwide reality of it. Yes, but…the church is also obligated today to ensure that no one gets bogged down with that not-so-Good-News to the point that some might wonder if it’s really worth trying to pull off acts of love and compassion and mercy.
