A little journey through this topsy-turvy journey of joys and sorrows and hopes and dreams with plenty of grace from God along the way.
Usually it’s the tune that sticks with me, whether it be hymns or even those Disney songs that our younger children prefer (for some reason), so much so that it seems as if it cannot escape me for days on end. But every once in a while, the words will lay hold of me just as much as the music. For some reason, it happened recently with “For the Fruit of All Creation” (ELW #679), specifically in the third and final verse:
In case you haven’t realized it yet, Divinity includes a magician in our midst. Maybe it isn’t the prototypical one seen at parties, for those that still include such things, but still one who pulls off what seems impossible to basic logic or standard human capability. Sometimes such mastery can be easily taken for granted if it’s witnessed first-hand enough, especially from a (somewhat) comfort of a pew or from even more comfiness at home through a streaming screen. But this…should not ever be taken for granted.
Growing up, I had these curiosity-interests with American history and music (but not the kind that could be heard on the radio as much at that time), and so the musical 1776 became a cherished favorite of mine for years. The VHS tape became rather worn out as I would often play it through the VCR after getting done with school. Granted, the original Broadway production from 1969, and the eventual film adaptation in 1972, didn’t unleash quite the international craze as Hamilton in recent years, but its bringing to life the personalities of the more famous Adams, Jefferson, Franklin, and Hancock, while also lifting up the lesser-known Dickinson, Rutledge, Hall, and Lee of the Second Continental Congress amidst the birthing of a nation in Philadelphia, reeled me in just enough.
Sometimes the default positions of individual faith communities or even wider forms of entire church bodies are survival, self-preservation, and scrambling (perhaps even frantically) to figure out whatever trick or cultural trend that can be somehow made more churchy to reel people in to our religious club of sorts; so that we can keep this whole, what is meant to be, meaning-filled operation going for generations to come. Sometimes the default focus is about what we don’t have, or what we used to have, as opposed to the God-ness in our midst. Sometimes such a way of going about ministry can only lead to disappointment and what if’s and shoulda’s/woulda’s/coulda’s, combining for debilitating souls and all-around despairing outlooks on the church for the earthly vista that lies ahead. But sometimes the Resurrection is more than just about lifting physical bodies from nothingness.
Last week, the largest Protestant denomination in the United States took further steps to ensure that only men would serve in roles of pastoral leadership. Although the amendment will not take its fullest effect until another vote in June 2027, the recent proceedings are rather sad, disappointing, perhaps even a travesty to women, to younger girls wondering about their place in the world, for all children of God who would benefit from their leadership; even a blow to the Divine, who insists on being at holy work in us all. And yet, amidst an individual and collective call to recognize our humanity that will entail our fair share of differences, including with interpretation of Scripture and convictions on how churches should operate in the world; and a need to be respectful of such differences, not to mention the whole loving your neighbor as yourself and all…but, still…
