Amidst the hustle and bustle a couple weeks ago was the annual Renewal of Vows service for rostered leaders (pastors and deacons) in our Northeastern Ohio Synod. Of course, if you ventured onto social media then, you would have seen our sister synods providing the same time and space for their church leaders: from our neighboring Northwestern Ohio Synod to the Northwest Washington Synod. The idea was for all these ministers to have a bit of…“be still and know [God] is God” amidst the Holy Week hustle and bustle, for starters. The actual renewal of vows was for these relatively new and veteran clergy and all in-between to hear, yet again, the vows they professed at their ordination. It’s a time of re-centering, a time of solidarity, a time of tending to the soil of our heart.
Of course, some of these church leaders are more willing to take on all the changes that may very well emerge with their respective congregations, and over the years, this particular service has altered a bit to hopefully better nourish those sometimes weary leading souls in the pews. Granted, it’s always been the same Gospel text: the one for the Tuesday of Holy Week with John 12:20-36 (the Greeks wanting to see Jesus). Then, there’s always a sermon (usually a pretty decent one, at that). But before all that, there’s usually that standard Gospel Acclamation for Lent, singing “Return to the Lord, your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love.” It’s not my favorite thing we do in worship, singing those words, but that’s for another…wandering. So, I didn’t mind the change-up thrown this year.
As we were about to hear the Gospel, wanting to hear/see Jesus just as much as the Greeks, we, instead, sang this:
Lord, let my heart be good soil,
open to the seed of your word.
Lord, let my heart be good soil,
where love can grow and peace is understood.
When my heart is hard, break the stone away.
When my heart is cold, warm it with the day.
When my heart is lost, lead me on your way.
Lord, let my heart, Lord, let my heart,
Lord, let my heart be good soil.
It’s been sung in other worships before. For some people, it’s been sung many, many times. But for this particular instance, it hit just the right spiritual spot. And I think it opened hearts to hear the same Gospel with more open ears and minds along with it. It cultivated down-in-our-depths soils to hear Jesus speak just as intimately as Jesus would for others later in the week. For some reason, the change-up transformed into a holy home run.
Because, let’s face it, amidst the hustle and bustle not just for church leaders two weeks ago, but for all people who venture into ministry operation of any sort, sometimes the human heart gets hardened, wondering if any difference is being made whatsoever. Sometimes the heart gets cold, wondering if Jesus is being seen at all. Sometimes we feel so incredibly lost amidst all that seems to demand our attention on the church and all other life fronts.
And when that happens, hopefully the church, no matter what changes may occur in the near or far-off distant future, will always find a way to provide the time and space to ensure that love can still grow, and that the peace of Christ can somehow be understood at our even desperate human level. That we will always find a way to warm our hearts with the Gospel of joy. That we will always recognize that Jesus is leading us to a way of grace and mercy and abounding in steadfast love. That we never stop hearing that the stone of sin and death has indeed been shattered from covering up our hope. Yes, Christ is Risen indeed, so that our heart may be good soil, “where love can grow and peace is understood.” Thanks be to God!
In Christ,
Pastor Brad