Weekly Thoughts

This week we didn't have a sermon but instead listened to two pieces of music and contemplated All Saints Day (the day we remember all those Christians who've gone before us), our own mortality (the reality that all of us will one day die), and specifically loved ones that we've lost. The first piece was from the last movement of Mozart's Requiem Mass, the Lux Aeterna and the second piece was a piece called Deo Gratia (Thank God).

I received many comments from people expressing both pleasure and a sense of uncertainty surrounding my choice to replace our traditional message with one coming almost exclusively through song. So I would like to take this opportunity to reflect on less traditional forms/modes of worship and specifically the use of song to convey a message within the context of worship.

Most people take for granted the presence of hymns or other songs within the worship service, but rarely do we give much time to thinking about how those hymns/songs affect us and inform our faith. Likewise we often do not think of songs and hymns as delivering very real messages to those in worship. Unlike traditional sermons which mainly utilize only the spoken word and it's ability (limited as it is) to appeal to a listener's reason, songs are much more likely to include the listener's emotions in the equation. Songs are also much more open to interpretation than a traditional sermon is. These were the key factors in my decision this past Sunday.

All Saints Day is a day when we are dealing with weighty topics. For some of us it represents the profound and wonderful mystery that is the Church/Body of Christ/Kingdom of God that spreads across time and generations uniting all who have gone before with all those who are now living (and also all those who have yet to be born!). For other's All Saints Day is a much more personal day where we are reminded of one or two specific people in our lives who are no longer living. For some All Saints Day is just another Sunday. For other's All Saints Day is too painful to endure, and therefore avoided. The reality is that there is great variety in the feelings and understandings of those in worship on a Sunday like All Saints Day. For that reason I felt the best message would be one where I set the tone (through the songs I selected) but allowed each individual to compose the message.

Let me know what you thought/think about this and other ways to understand worship in less than traditional forms.

Grace & Peace,
Pastor John