June 01, 2015
Lost Message
I visited a charismatic congregation
that, because of low attendance, was somewhat lacking in charisma. There were
11 of us present and while there were a few head-nods of agreement during the music and sermon, only one woman occasionally raised her hands in worship. However, throughout
the service this same woman repeatedly said, “Halleluiah. Halleluiah. Halleluiah.
Praise you Jesus. Praise you Lord. Thank you Jesus. Glory to God.” I didn’t
find her interjections intrusive during the sermon, but I did find them distracting
when she continually punctuated the pastor’s public prayer. Jesus taught his
disciples how to pray by using the example of the Lord’s Prayer, so as an experiment
read this model prayer inserting, “Halleluiah, Praise you Jesus, Praise you
Lord, Thank you Jesus, Glory to God.” For me the extemporaneous expressions drown
out the meaning of the prayer.
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1 comment:
Gail;
-----”Make love your aim.” (I Cor 14:1a) Agape is said to be a special love transcending our place, its condition, and our reasons to love. Agape ties seamlessly with Psalms 1:2, “…but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.” Of course, as beings adrift in lawlessness, we think of God’s Law as boundaries and interferences, just as we think of all other laws. I even hear His Law badmouthed in churches, a thing which just ought not be done. For the Law of God is more like the Law of Physics than it is like the law of a government. We see God’s Law as a list of rules. But that’s only the way it translates for an imperfect people missing the benefit of natural boundaries. At its most fundamental sense, God’s Law is the way things work into a perpetually, perfect, and wholly blessed existence ever building towards a highest state of being. Now, that’s quite the opposite of physic’s second law about everything seeking its lowest state.
-----Since God is good His Law is good. Allowing “good” its pure meaning, neither God nor His Law has any aspect of bad. Therefore, His Law serves only good to all. His Law is the manner in which every happening benefits everything it effects, and detriments absolutely nothing. Jesus said love fulfills the Law. So it is then easy to understand agape as the ambition and desire for good to be the effect of everything that happens, everything we do, every moment of every situation, every last effect of every last movement being only good. Love is a philosophy about making decisions correctly.
-----”Let all that you do be done in love.” (I Cor 16:14) But we can not actually do that in this decrepit existence. We do not have enough resolution of either sight nor insight to serve the levels of intimacy necessary to discern our situations completely through unto which actions serve only benefit to everything of the situations. We see dimly. But we are reckoned as being entirely beneficial to everything if we honestly desire to be that in our call on Jesus’ name.
-----If we desire we attempt, else the first of our forgiven traits arises. And we do not attempt completely, “In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.” (Heb 12:4) So, we must be forgiven for stumbling right off the starting block. It is so easy to run from that stumble straight towards meaningful expressions of repentance and forgiveness so we can regain the emotions which not stumbling would have produced. The rules of the race get lost in the irrationality of seeking emotions for making expressions rather than running in the lanes lined out in front of us by His Law. Although God did not draw those lanes more intimately narrow than we can maneuver in honest effort, He did not draw them so sloppily wide that the race becomes a farce.
-----”…but all things should be done decently and in order.” (I Cor 14:40) “Decently” is achievable whereas “perfectly” is only desirable. We can do things in order whereas we can not do things in perfection. This statement bookends the last of Chapter 14 as effectively as “Make love your aim” bookends the first of it. Between these bookends is a small section of God’s library on spreading the benefits of worshipping together. While emotions run all over any surface they’re poured upon, thought runs towards conclusions. Thought maintains the lane by steering emotion’s drive towards a finish line. Though we can not reach intimate perfection in this mess of a life, our desire to do so subjects spirits to better discernment, to order, to decency. Then aimless, emotional expression is shaped into meaningfully expressed message. I Corinthians 14 is a truly beautiful passage.
Love you all,
Steve Corey
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