THE RHYTHM AND MELODY OF FAITH

August 16, 2015

Pentecost 12

Psalm 111

Ephesians 5:15-20

(prayer)

Back in April - in Cleveland Ohio - at the 2015 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction concert, music fans had the opportunity to see Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr perform together.

//

I am slightly too young to have appreciated the Beatles in real time.  I was just under seven years old when the band formally broke up.

Although, one of my earliest pre-school memories is listening to Oblabi Oblada on a small transistor radio, but that was about it for my real-time Beatles experience.

Then when I was a teenager, I (and some of my close friends) went on a retro-bender and rediscovered the music of the Fab Four.

// 

As many of you know, I enjoy the impact of music in my life.  I may have lost most of my high school French language skills, but the language of music still speaks to me and is a vessel through which I can express myself.

//

Why is music so powerful?

//

Is it the rhythm? Is it grounding beat of Ringo’s drum and Paul’s bass that sets the parameters of the musical experiences?

Is it the melody? Is it the notes sung by Paul or John (and the lead guitar lick of George) that glides above with pleasing tone worthy of humming or singing?

Is it the harmony? Paul and George sharing that mic with ohhs and ahhs and choruses of yeah, yeah, yeah - a combination of sounds that sends more to our ears than the sum of its parts.

//

Faith is like music – there is grounding, there is memorable joy and there is synergy created in our coming together.

Rhythm, Melody and Harmony. 
//

The Rhythm is the background - it is our foundation; it is our heart beat that gives us life.  Even when the melody comes in and is balanced with notes of harmony, the rhythm still sustains us - guiding us - keeping us together.

//

The Rhythm of our faith is all that grounds us:  for me that scripture, traditions, spiritual practices, prayer.  It undergirds all that we are and who we are becoming.

//

What grounds your faith?

//

The melody of our faith is what gives us joy in the moment and that which we bring to mind from our past to give us a fresh expression of faith.
The melody is the vehicle of our inspiration. 
//

What inspires you in your faith?

//

In our readings today, we have bits of both rhythm and melody.

The early Christian letter invites us to look at how we are grounded: “Be careful how you live”.  It is about being mindful of why we are who we are - to seek wisdom for the time we are in.

//

As well, Psalm 111 expresses a grounding in the history of God’s involvement in the lives of the faithful: God is the author of creation (including this world) that provides food; further to that the Psalmist professes that Yahweh’s righteousness endures forever.

Grounding.  Rhythm.

//

The melody of faith is that which catches our attention in the moment.  For me, spiritual melody is found in what inspires us:  those moments when we find ourselves in an emotional thin place - where the sacred seems especially close.

The word "inspiration" literally means to be filled with Spirit: to be in-spirited.

Just as - in music - melody can take a common rhythm and create a fresh and new experience.

For us as people of faith, while we may be grounded in our scriptures and traditions, there is great value in new and exciting spiritual experiences.

Growing, healthy churches today need to 'sing the melody' of the 21st century.  For most modern seekers of faith, we are well served to find the fresh ways to know God.
To see the holy source of the universe as not a deity trapped in the past, but a caring influence in the here and now.

When we limit ourselves to the melody of the past, we risk the danger of a nostalgic faith not a living faith.

For faith to be alive, it needs to take new breaths and enable growth and renewal to happen.

//

//

So, was anyone else a church geek like me this past week and spent time watch the video of the United Church's General Council meeting from Corner Brook, NL?

No one can accuse us of being unwilling to consider new ways of being.

The United Church of Canada formally entered into a 'full communion' relationship with the United Church of Christ: USA.  Over time, this will likely mean that UCC and UCCan members and clergy should be able to move between the two denominations with less red tape.  I may have to start looking for vacancies at UCC churches in NYC.

This was an exciting new part of the UCCan's song.

The main topic of conversation and struggle for the 42nd General Council was to consider a dramatic change in the way the church is structured.

You may know that, currently, we have a four court, councillor structure with local churches, Presbyteries, Conferences and the General Council.  Each level (or court) sends representatives to the level above it.  For example, there were 30 people from Alberta and Northwest Conference who were  commissioners to GC42.  Yellowhead presbytery sent reps this past spring' meeting of ANWC.  There are three of us from St. David's who go to YHP.

Each court has unique responsibilities in the whole life of the denomination.

But a major change was approved at GC42 - a streamlining of that structure to a three level church: communities of faith, regional councils and a denominational council.  This is not simply a combining of Presbytery and Conference - the roles will be streamlined.
Some things will disappear and new ways of being church will emerge. 

These changes will require approval of the congregations and presbyteries before they can take effect.  The hope is to have clarity on this by mid-September 2017.

We can remain grounded and yet be the church in a fresh way.

//

//

Some of you may have seen clips of US President Barack Obama's eulogy for South Carolina state senator the Rev Clementa Pinckney earlier this summer.  The president was widely praised for his inspiring words in the aftermath of the racist shootings in a Charleston church.

The president ending by sing Amazing Grace.

That hymn, written by John Newton in 1773, is still one of the most well known and belove'd sacred songs. There are literally thousands of versions and variations of the hymn. The text of Amazing Grace came from John Newton's personal experience.  He was a prosperous slave trader.  The story goes that in 1748, his ship was caught in a storm off the coast of Ireland, so Newton (who had never been overly religious) prayed out to God for mercy.  It was a thin time and place for him - he underwent a spiritual conversion.  This new melody in the song of his life challenged him to re-evaluate his choices and priorities.  Newton eventual left the slave trade behind.  All the while, he was struck to the core by the compassionate loving nature of God.  Newton felt deeply unworthy of this mercy but was forced to accept that it was God' grace - mercy is not earned but simply given.  Newton realized that even the most wretched life is not beyond the loving grace and that the word to best describe it was "amazing".

Amazing Grace

how sweet the sound

that saved a wretch like me.

I once was lost but now I'm found;

was blind but now I see.

//

The grace and love of God - founded in our scriptures and best traditions - is the steady rhythm that frames the song of our faith.

The fresh experiences of the active spirit in the moments of our lives is the melody.

Melody is what evolves and is recreated for each new day.

//

So let us - figuratively and literally - as the author of Ephesians encourages: be filled with the Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs; making melody to God in our hearts.

For the harmony we create, let us be thankful.

Let us pray:

God of Wisdom, in you we are grounded.  The faithful witness of your people guide us and inspire us.  Help us to add our voices to the Spirit’s symphony.  Amen.

#266VU “Amazing Grace”