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Category Archives: Hymns and Songs

“Psalm 1” by Kim Hill

19 Nov

“Psalm 1” by Kim Hill

Blessed is he who will follow the Lord
He will not stand in the path of the sinner
He will not sit in the seat of the scoffer
For the law of the Lord is his delight

In his law he meditates, day and night
He will be like a tree planted by water
He will yield his fruit in its season, his leaves won’t die
In whatever he does, he will prosper

Blessed is he who will follow the Lord
He will not stand in the path of the sinner
He will not sit in the seat of the scoffer
For the law of the Lord is his delight

For the lost, they are like chaff that the wind drives away
They are not safe at any time their life could perish

Blessed is he who will follow the Lord
He will not stand in the path of the sinner
He will not sit in the seat of the scoffer
For the law of the Lord is his delight

The Lord holds the plans, and the paths of all who follow him
The righteous will stand secure and last forever

Blessed is he who will follow the Lord
He will not stand in the path of the sinner
He will not sit in the seat of the scoffer
For the law of the Lord is his delight

Dear God, this is the second Kim Hill song I’ve thought of over the last couple of days, and there probably aren’t many people who remember her music enough to think of two songs by her in the span of three days. I guess I have a unique knowledge of 90s Christian music.

In this case, the verse of the day from Bible Gateway was Psalm 1:1-2. I pulled up the whole psalm and then this song came to mind since it’s literally called “Psalm 1.” Here is the NLT version of Psalm 1:

1 Oh, the joys of those who do not
    follow the advice of the wicked,
    or stand around with sinners,
    or join in with mockers.
2 But they delight in the law of the Lord,
    meditating on it day and night.
3 They are like trees planted along the riverbank,
    bearing fruit each season.
Their leaves never wither,
    and they prosper in all they do.

4 But not the wicked!
    They are like worthless chaff, scattered by the wind.
5 They will be condemned at the time of judgment.
    Sinners will have no place among the godly.
6 For the Lord watches over the path of the godly,
    but the path of the wicked leads to destruction.

I was talking several days ago as I prepared for my friend’s funeral about psalms of orientation, disorientation, and reorientation. I would put this psalm squarely in the realm of orientation. The world makes sense to the psalmist. Those who follow you are blessed. The wicked condemned. When I am disoriented, it seems like those who follow you are abandoned and the wicked thrive. And then when I am reoriented, I can see beyond the physical world and realize that you hold those who love you, whether we can see it or not.

As I look at the first stanza, the one line that hits me is that I will not “join in with mockers.” Oh, how that is so easy and tempting to do. I want to mock those who disagree with me. I want to roll my eyes at people I see as foolish. The frustrate me, and I want to join in with like-minded people and mock them. I want to scoff. I want to make the insecurities I have in my disagreements with them, and use scoffing and mocking to elevate myself over them. That’s my human, carnal solution to it. What should my solution be? I suppose I should be looking to you, examining my thoughts and my heart for and then laying them before you to see if they are your thoughts and your heart. Then, if there is disagreement between you and me, I need to repent. If there is agreement, I need to simply love those who disagree and perhaps develop enough relationship with them where I can speak into their lives.

Father, help me to live up to all of this. It is so much easier to say/type than it is to live. But I want to worship you. I want to represent you to the world. I want to love you well. You are my God, and I want the roots of my life to be deep into your presence. Help me to be that throughout this day.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 19, 2024 in Hymns and Songs, Psalms

 

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Mark 13:1-2

17 Nov

13 As Jesus was leaving the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!”

2 “Do you see all these great buildings?” replied Jesus. “Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”

Mark 13:1-2

Dear God, is it bad that I just don’t care about end time prophecies? The Gospel reading for the Catholic church this morning is verses from later in Mark 13 when Jesus is describing end times. Is it bad that I’m incurious about them?

I guess it makes me think of the Rich Mullins song “Be With You.”

“Be With You” by Rich Mullins

Everybody each and all
We’re gonna die eventually
It’s no more or less our faults
Than it is our destiny
So now Lord I come to you
Asking only for Your grace
You know what I’ve put myself through
All those empty dreams I chased

And when my body lies in the ruins
Of the lies that nearly ruined me
Will You pick up the pieces
That were pure and true
And breathe Your life into them
And set them free?

And when You start this world over
Again from scratch
Will You make me anew
Out of the stuff that lasts?
Stuff that’s purer than gold is
And clearer than glass could ever be
Can I be with You?
Can I be with You?

And everybody all and each
From the day that we are born
We have to learn to walk beneath
Those mercies by which we’re drawn
And now we wrestle in the dark
With these angels that we can’t see
We will move on although with scars
Oh Lord, move inside of me

And when my body lies in the ruins
Of the lies that nearly runied me
Will You pick up the pieces
That were pure and true
And breathe Your life into them
And set them free?

And when You blast this cosmos
To kingdom come
When those jagged-edged mountains
I love are gone
When the sky is crossed with the tears
Of a thousand falling suns
As they crash into the sea
Can I be with you?
Can I be with you?

I have this down as one of my funeral songs. Whatever happens. However this all works out, I simply just want to be with you. I really don’t want to use any mental energy trying to gain this knowledge because, even if I were the one person who could figure this out (which Jesus says in Mark 13:32), what good would the knowledge gain me? Maybe I could use it to scare people into faith in and worship of you. But that doesn’t seem to be how you motivate people. At least, I don’t think selling people “fire insurance” is a good way to motivate them.

Father, I’ll be fascinated to hear this morning how the priest applies the daily reading (which is actually Mark 13:24-32) here in a little bit. One of the things I’ve decided is a “floor” for my life is that I need to get some good teaching at least once a week. Be with the priest this morning and teach me through him. Teach me through the songs we sing. Teach me through the people I encounter. Teach me through your still small voice as I worship you.

I pray all of this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 17, 2024 in Hymns and Songs, Mark

 

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Judges 14

06 Nov

14 One day when Samson was in Timnah, one of the Philistine women caught his eye. 2 When he returned home, he told his father and mother, “A young Philistine woman in Timnah caught my eye. I want to marry her. Get her for me.”

3 His father and mother objected. “Isn’t there even one woman in our tribe or among all the Israelites you could marry?” they asked. “Why must you go to the pagan Philistines to find a wife?”

But Samson told his father, “Get her for me! She looks good to me.” 4 His father and mother didn’t realize the Lord was at work in this, creating an opportunity to work against the Philistines, who ruled over Israel at that time.

5 As Samson and his parents were going down to Timnah, a young lion suddenly attacked Samson near the vineyards of Timnah. 6 At that moment the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him, and he ripped the lion’s jaws apart with his bare hands. He did it as easily as if it were a young goat. But he didn’t tell his father or mother about it. 7 When Samson arrived in Timnah, he talked with the woman and was very pleased with her.

8 Later, when he returned to Timnah for the wedding, he turned off the path to look at the carcass of the lion. And he found that a swarm of bees had made some honey in the carcass. 9 He scooped some of the honey into his hands and ate it along the way. He also gave some to his father and mother, and they ate it. But he didn’t tell them he had taken the honey from the carcass of the lion.

10 As his father was making final arrangements for the marriage, Samson threw a party at Timnah, as was the custom for elite young men. 11 When the bride’s parents saw him, they selected thirty young men from the town to be his companions.

12 Samson said to them, “Let me tell you a riddle. If you solve my riddle during these seven days of the celebration, I will give you thirty fine linen robes and thirty sets of festive clothing. 13 But if you can’t solve it, then you must give me thirty fine linen robes and thirty sets of festive clothing.”

“All right,” they agreed, “let’s hear your riddle.”

14 So he said:

“Out of the one who eats came something to eat;
    out of the strong came something sweet.”

Three days later they were still trying to figure it out. 15 On the fourth[b] day they said to Samson’s wife, “Entice your husband to explain the riddle for us, or we will burn down your father’s house with you in it. Did you invite us to this party just to make us poor?”

16 So Samson’s wife came to him in tears and said, “You don’t love me; you hate me! You have given my people a riddle, but you haven’t told me the answer.”

“I haven’t even given the answer to my father or mother,” he replied. “Why should I tell you?” 17 So she cried whenever she was with him and kept it up for the rest of the celebration. At last, on the seventh day he told her the answer because she was tormenting him with her nagging. Then she explained the riddle to the young men.

18 So before sunset of the seventh day, the men of the town came to Samson with their answer:

“What is sweeter than honey?
    What is stronger than a lion?”

Samson replied, “If you hadn’t plowed with my heifer, you wouldn’t have solved my riddle!”

19 Then the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him. He went down to the town of Ashkelon, killed thirty men, took their belongings, and gave their clothing to the men who had solved his riddle. But Samson was furious about what had happened, and he went back home to live with his father and mother. 20 So his wife was given in marriage to the man who had been Samson’s best man at the wedding.

Judges 14

Dear God, I find the Samson story interesting because it shows me that you sometimes do things that are completely counterintuitive to me. How could you use this profane, ungodly man? How could you condone so much pure awfulness in a leader? How could you select him? What are you doing? I like this description of his parents in verse 4 because it would have to be said of me a lot of times, including today: 4His father and mother didn’t realize the Lord was at work in this, creating an opportunity to work against the Philistines, who ruled over Israel at that time.

There’s a Rich Mullins song called “Who God is Gonna Use.”

At the beginning of this video, Rich talks about how you used Balaam’s donkey to save him (Numbers 22:21-35), and that story inspired the rest of the song. You use all kinds of people and all kinds of things. And not necessarily the holy ones. And not necessarily to do holy things. You used Pilate and Herod to kill Jesus. But what the disciples couldn’t see at the time is that it was taking one step back to take five steps forward. They killed Stephen, which seemed like a huge setback, but you used it to spread the church throughout the world (Acts 8). Stephen’s death is one of the reasons I am here today.

I have a friend who lost her father last week, and then was in an unfortunate accident yesterday that sent her to the ER. She loves you. She worships you. It seems like awful timing. Why would this happen? Why would you let this happen? Well, maybe there are just things I cannot see. Please be with her and her mother today as she recovers and they mourn the loss of a great, godly man.

As I type this email this morning, we now know who won the election yesterday for POTUS. There are some Christians who are delighted. Some are devastated. If the winner had been different, the roles would have been reversed. I talked with both sides over the last few weeks, and I told them, “Whoever wins, I will not let it be my idol. I am not putting my faith in either candidate. I am putting my faith in God and the things he is doing that I cannot see. So the day after the election, regardless of who wins, I will wake up, worship God, pray, and then go about loving everyone I can that day.”

Father, use President-elect Trump to do your will in this world whether he even knows your doing it or not, and regardless of what your will is for our country or this world. And my prayer would be the same if Kamala Harris won. I don’t know what you have for our country. I don’t know what you have for the people within it and around the world. I don’t know what you have for me. I know that I have no demands on you. I know that I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task you’ve given me–the task of testifying to the gospel of your grace through Jesus. So help me to live into that today. For those who will be impacted materially by policies of a new administration, both foreign and domestic, I pray. Find your remnant and strongly support them. Use everything going on this world to draw us closer to you. I pray that the American church my find true faith in you and turn loose of the idols we look to for our certainty. I pray that I will do the same. I am here to offer you my worship, my life, and my service. Use me as you will.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 6, 2024 in Hymns and Songs, Judges

 

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“One Tin Soldier” by The Original Caste

04 Nov

“One Tin Solider” by The Original Caste

Listen, children, to a story
That was written long ago
‘Bout a kingdom on a mountain
And the valley-folk below

On the mountain was a treasure
Buried deep beneath the stone
And the valley-people swore
They’d have it for their very own

Go ahead and hate your neighbor
Go ahead and cheat a friend
Do it in the name of heaven
You can justify it in the end
There won’t be any trumpets blowing
Come the judgment day
On the bloody morning after
One tin soldier rides away

So the people of the valley
Sent a message up the hill
Asking for the buried treasure
Tons of gold for which they’d kill

Came an answer from the mountain
With our brothers we will share
All the secrets of our mountain
All the riches buried there

Now the valley cried with anger
“Mount your horses! Draw your sword!”
And they killed the mountain-people
So they won their just reward

Now they stood beside the treasure
On the mountain, dark and red
Turned the stone and looked beneath it
“Peace on Earth” was all it said

Go ahead and hate your neighbor
Go ahead and cheat a friend
Do it in the name of heaven
You can justify it in the end
There won’t be any trumpets blowing
Come the judgment day
On the bloody morning after
One tin soldier rides away

Go ahead and hate your neighbor
Go ahead and cheat a friend
Do it in the name of heaven
You can justify it in the end
There won’t be any trumpets blowing
Come the judgment day
On the bloody morning after
One tin soldier rides away

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: Brian Potter / Dennis Earle Lambert

Dear God, when I hit “shuffle” on my “Oldies” playlist this morning, this song was the first one that played. Somehow, it seemed fitting for the election tomorrow. I’ve seen a few of my Christian friends sacrifice a lot of their beliefs and make an idol out of who they want to win and lose tomorrow. I’ve seen some of my liberal friends make an idol out of who wins and who loses tomorrow. I guess the thing that has troubled me most are the Christians. The compromises made for power and influence astound me. And I’m not talking about my friends who legitimately want one person’s policy over the others. I get that. I get why anyone would vote for any of the candidates, whether the candidate is at the top of the ticket or at the bottom. But it’s the people who are preoccupied with power and influence that sadden me. The ones who want to vanquish the other side. Who demonize the other side. Everything they are doing is so incongruous with anything Jesus taught us while on earth. Absolutely incongruous.

I loved this song as a child. I even sang it in a talent show. I think it was third grade, but I’m not sure. Of course, this was 1978, so it was before you could easily buy instrumental versions of songs. I took my 45 rpm record to school and sand along with the original singers. I think a lot of the students thought I was lip-syncing because I don’t think I had a microphone. Regardless, it was one of my favorites.

Years later, we used to sing this song with the kids when I was a camp counselor. They loved it too. But I wonder how much the message is lost on us. It’s a little like watching the “be curious, not judgmental” scene in Ted Lasso, and then judging Rupert in that very same scene. We can all be very obtuse.

Which leads me to the natural place where you want me to be. How am I guilty of being what this song condemns? How do I reach for power in futility? Do I try to try to use my power over my relationships, or do I strive for your power with others? Do I lead with love? You said blessed are the peacemakers. Am I a peacemaker?

Father, let these lyrics ring in my ears today as I go through my day. Love through me. Love through the work I do. Use my life, especially the failed parts of my life, as a way to glorify yourself in the eyes of the world. Let me decrease as you increase. And forgive me for the times I have been unmerciful, unloving, unpeaceful, and unjust.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 4, 2024 in Hymns and Songs

 

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“What a Wonderful World” by Louis Armstrong

28 Oct

Dear God, it was hard to find the lyrics to post for this song this morning, so I’ll just have to mention what touched me about it this morning. What touched me is that it was released for the first time in 1967. We complain right now about how chaotic our current times feel, but it feels small compared with 1967. I think our current times only feel chaotic because the politicians create a chaotic atmosphere and narrative so we will vote for them. But in 1967 we had riots in the streets, we were coming off the assassination of Kennedy and we were coming up on the assassinations of King and Kennedy’s brother. There was the Vietnam War that was brutal for everyone. And yet, somehow in the midst of this, Bob Thiele and George David Weiss were able to come up with a song that saw the beauty in the things around them. The sky. The flowers. The love between people.

So what do I see that reminds me this is a wonderful world? I see people reach out to help each other when they are struggling. I see the rich donate their resources and volunteer. I see the poor sacrifice to help their friends. I see cashiers smile at people who are downtrodden as they check out at the store. I see husbands love their wives and wives love their husbands. On nights like the one coming up at Morgan’s Wonderland in San Antonio this Halloween when Rotarians will hand out candy to children and their families, I see parents loving their children, including their children with special needs. Watching the love those parents have for their children is a definite reminder that it is not only a wonderful world, but also that you love us so much more than even that. I see pastors preach your Word and introduce people to you. I see lay people go into prisons to let those who are broken and damaged that you are what they are looking for.

Father, what you created is good. Genesis 1 says as much. Your world is good. We are good. We just let this selfishness creep in that disguises itself as nobility. But it’s selfishness. I have it. People around me have it. Help me to be part of your wonderful world by considering my life worth nothing to me. Help me to bring you into the world by finishing the race and completing the task you called me to. The task of testifying to your grace.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on October 28, 2024 in Hymns and Songs

 

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“The Now and the Not Yet” by Amy Grant

27 Oct

“The Now and the Not Yet” by Amy Grant

No longer what we were before,
But not all that we will be.
Tomorrow, when we lock the door,
On all our compromising,
When He appears,
He’ll draw us near,
And we’ll be changed by His glory,
Wrapped up in His glory….

We will be like Him,
For we shall see Him,
As He is.

No longer what we saw before,
But not all that we will see.
Tomorrow, when we lock the door,
On all our disbelieving,
When He appears (holy, holy),
Our view will clear,
And we’ll be changed by His glory,
Wrapped up in His glory….

But I’m caught in between
The now and the not yet;
Sometimes it seems like
Forever and ever,
That I’ve been reaching to be
All that I am,
But I’m only a few steps nearer,
Yet I’m nearer….

No longer what we were before,
But not all that we will be.
Tomorrow, when we lock the door,
On all our disbelieving,
And He appears (holy, holy),
He’ll draw us near,
And we’ll be changed by His glory,
Wrapped up in His glory….

When He appears (holy, holy),
He’ll draw us near,
And we’ll be changed by His glory,
Wrapped up in His glory….

Written by Pam Mark Hall

Dear God, so I woke up with another song going in my head this morning. I suppose I’m grateful these are sweet Christian songs that are coming to mind. It’s nice to know that’s where my head is when I wake up. An interesting coincidence between this song and the song I prayed about yesterday, “Finally” by Gary Chapman. Amy Grant is Gary’s ex-wife. So there’s a connection there.

I suspect (I don’t know because I don’t think I will know for sure until I am on the other side of death), that I was taught some errant things about heaven back in the 80s when I first heard this song. I don’t believe some of the rapture/tribulation theology I believed back then. So when I sat down to hear this song this morning in full, I wondered if I would be disappointed in what it said. I was relieved to know it fits into more my current thoughts on New Earth and “the not yet.”

So back to the song that apparently Pam Mark Hall wrote. With songs like this, I like to think about the writer sitting somewhere and expressing these feelings. In this case, feeling the growth of her spiritual life and development in the fruits of the Spirit, but also feeling the distance that still exists between her and the woman she wishes she could be under you. I’ve felt that a lot. I know I’m not the man I was 30, 15, 5, or even one year ago. I am slowly being formed. But if there is a spectrum of 1 to 100 on human holiness, with Jesus being 100, I have maybe moved from an 8 to a 15 (even that feels too generous). There is a long way to go between me and the “not yet.” I think the bridge to the song is my favorite part:

But I’m caught in between
The now and the not yet;
Sometimes it seems like
Forever and ever,
That I’ve been reaching to be
All that I am,
But I’m only a few steps nearer,
Yet I’m nearer….

Father, today is another day. And if I am at a 15, I have choices. I could go back to 8, or I could try to reach for 15.000001. I might only get a step nearer, yet I would be nearer. So love through me. Live through me. Speak through me. I give you glory for everything, oh, my God. Thank you for guiding me in this life. I celebrate this journey with you.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on October 27, 2024 in Hymns and Songs

 

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“Finally” by Gary Chapman

26 Oct

“Finally” by Gary Chapman

I wish my mind wouldn’t argue with my heart
It splits the day apart
Into time well spent and time just thrown away
I wish my heart would please make up my mind
I’m wasting so much time
Gotta catch a glimpse of how it’s gonna be

When finally I look inside Your eyes and see
Reflections of Yourself in me
The way You always said it would be
When finally, I’m loving You like You love me
It happened oh, so easily
I looked at You and it came to me finally

The day to day just keeps on spinning round
But this one thing I have found
I can close my eyes and be there in Your arms
You take me to a place that’s safe and warm
You’re my harbor in the storm
Wanna lose myself in being there with You

When finally I look inside Your eyes and see
Reflections of Yourself in me
The way You always said it would be
When finally, I’m loving You like You love me
It happened oh, so easily
I looked at You and it came to me finally

Oh, when finally I look inside Your eyes and see
Reflections of Yourself in me
The way You always said it would be
When finally, I’m loving You like You love me
It happened oh, so easily
I looked at You and the love in Your heart cut right through to me
And my eyes can see finally

Source: LyricFind

Dear God, sometimes I wake up with a song in my head and I have no idea where it came from. This one from this morning, “Finally” by Gary Chapman, is a deep cut. Of course, I heard it when I was a kid sung by T.G. Sheppard. Years later, however, I worked for a Christian music publisher called Word that distributed the song’s writer, Gary Chapman, and found this song on his first album, Everyday Man. It was then I realized it was one of those could be a song about love/could be a song about God songs that were pretty prevalent in Christian music in the 80s and 90s. So I heard it in a different way.

With that said, since I woke up with it in my head this morning, and even though I am sure I’ve probably prayed through this song before, I thought I would spend some time with again this morning.

I wish my mind wouldn’t argue with my heart
It splits the day apart
Into time well spent and time just thrown away
I wish my heart would please make up my mind
I’m wasting so much time
Gotta catch a glimpse of how it’s gonna be

Wasting time. Oh, how much time do I waste a day? Each day? Every day?!? It’s a lot. It can be so much easier to settle into watching something on a screen that it is to do something constructive that requires brain power, physical power, and conscious effort. It’s easier to just “veg.” I listened to the Russell Moore Podcast this week. It was an interview with Carlos Whittaker about his technology detoxing experience. He said his phone told him he was spending 7 hours per day on the phone. 49 hours per week. 2,500 hours per year. A full-time 40-hour per week job is 2,080 hours, so it was a lot. Therefore, he decided to try something different. He went to a monastery and spent either 21 or 23 hours per day in silence for 9 weeks. Then he went and hung out with the Amish. To some extent he rediscovered himself. Going back to the 1950s, I would say the introduction of screens into our lives has definitely shaped who we are as humans. I spent so much time watching TV as a kid. And while I don’t watch my actual living room television much anymore except for live sports, the little screen that fits in my hand has successfully replaced it effectively.

I say all of that because, even though Chapman wrote this in 1982 (I think I heard him say that in an interview), before there were cell phones and even very many personal computers, he was still finding plenty of things that would take him away from you. People always have throughout the centuries. We don’t need cell phones and the Internet to lure us away. As the hymnist wrote in “Come Thou Fount,” “Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love.” It’s who we are.

Back at Lent I purposed in my heart that I was going to make this time praying to you a priority in my life. I would spend some time every day journaling my a prayer to you. Now, I’ve decided it is part of what I must do to function. I need you. Because when I show up here I am able to see you and a reflection of you in me. I hear from your Holy Spirit. I am convicted of sin. I am inspired and instructed by the Holy Scripture you left for me to use to help me find you. And the reason I know you are a loving God is because the closer I get to you the more loving I become. The reason I know you are forgiving is because the closer I get to you the more forgiving I become.

Father, well, I’m not even sure how to pray about this. According to Whittaker, even the Amish are seeing technology like computer and flip phones enter their world because they have to use them to conduct business with the outside world. And if I think about getting a flip phone I start to wonder about texting and the apps I use to even conduct business during the day. So help me find my way in all of this. Help me glorify you in my life. Help me to not miss the opportunities you have for me to love and serve you and love and serve others.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on October 26, 2024 in Hymns and Songs

 

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“The Sound of Silence” by Disturbed

07 Oct

“The Sound of Silence” by Disturbed

Hello darkness, my old friend
I’ve come to talk with you again
Because a vision softly creeping
Left its seeds while I was sleeping
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sound of silence

In restless dreams, I walked alone
Narrow streets of cobblestone
‘Neath the halo of a street lamp
I turned my collar to the cold and damp
When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light
That split the night
And touched the sound of silence

And in the naked light, I saw
Ten thousand people, maybe more
People talking without speaking
People hearing without listening
People writing songs that voices never shared
And no one dared
Disturb the sound of silence

“Fools” said I, “You do not know
Silence like a cancer grows
Hear my words that I might teach you
Take my arms that I might reach you”
But my words, like silent raindrops fell
And echoed in the wells of silence

And the people bowed and prayed
To the neon god they made
And the sign flashed out its warning
In the words that it was forming
Then the sign said, “The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls
In tenement halls”
And whispered in the sound of silence

Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: Paul Simon

Dear God, this is a song my family had on an 8-track tape when I was a kid. I don’t know how many times I heard it, but never heard it. Hearing without listening? Paul Simon wrote it, but frankly, his and Art Garfunkel‘s delivery didn’t do it justice compared to what Disturbed did with it here. The Simon and Garfunkel version was almost too lovely. And maybe there is some poetry in the loveliness portraying such emptiness, but I am not that perceptive. I need something to bang me over the head for me to ay attention. Disturbed did that here.

And I am sure I am missing some interpretation of this song. I just read through the lyrics slowly, and I had some thoughts on what it could mean or what Simon might have been referring to. For me it’s about loneliness. There is a lot of loneliness in this song. The winger is lonely. the people are lonely. And this was written over 50 years ago. I think research shows that, as a society, we have only gotten lonelier and more isolated. The singer was right in the second to last stanza: “Fool, you do not know. Silence like a cancer grows.”

Community is so important. I was with a man Saturday who was talking about his wife’s enjoyment of the graveyard shift at work because she is an introvert. He is a retired pastor, and she probably developed a great need for personal space after having felt like living in a fishbowl for so many years. But I wonder over the last 15-20 years if the percentage of people who self-identify as an extrovert has dropped as we sink further and further into our silos.

So, what am I doing to make sure I am in community? Am I isolated? Am I known? Do I know others, for their sake and for mine? It’s important. We need each other. Even the Bible recognizes this as it tells the story in Genesis 2:18 that you decided it wasn’t good that Adam was alone. And animals weren’t enough. He needed another person. As a mate, he needed a complementary person who would fill the gaps in him. But he ultimately needed others as well. He needed to be a dad. I’m sure he eventually had friends. And it was probably friends that helped him and Even through the tragedy with Cain and Abel. I’m going down a rabbit hole here, but you get my point. You know we need each other, but I think our insecurity and tendency to worship ourselves and make our need for certainty our idol tends to drive us away from others who will rub up against us, wear off our rough edges, and help us to live out the two great commandments that are for our benefit: to love you and love others.

Father, I am not only in community for myself. I’m in community for the others in that community as well. Make me a good member of that community. Help me to be vulnerable. Help me to speak when I talk. Help me to listen when I hear. Use those around me to form me, and use me in the lives of others as you see fit. That includes my wife, my children, my family, and others around me. Don’t let anything be wasted, Holy Spirit. Give me ears to hear and listen. Give me eyes to see and perceive. Give me a voice that is considered and directed by you.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on October 7, 2024 in Hymns and Songs

 

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“Come to the Table” by Michael Card

17 Sep

Come to the table and savor the sight
The wine and the bread that was broken
And all have been welcomed to come if they might
Accept as their own these two tokens

The bread is His body, the wine is the blood
And the one who provides them is true
He freely offers, we freely receive
To accept and believe Him is all we must do

Come to the table and taste of the glory
And savor the sorrow, He’s dying tomorrow
The hand that is breaking the bread
Soon will be broken

And here at the table, sit those who have loved You
One is a traitor and one will deny
But He’s lived His life for them all
And for all be crucified

Come to the table He’s prepared for you
The bread of forgiveness, the wine of release
Come to the table and sit down beside Him
The Savior wants you to join in the feast

Come to the table and see in His eyes
The love that the Father has spoken
And know you are welcome, whatever your crime
Though every commandment you’ve broken

For He’s come to love you and not to condemn
And He offers a pardon of peace
If you’ll come to the table, you’ll feel in your heart
The greatest forgiveness, the greatest release

Come to the table and taste of the glory
And savor the sorrow, He’s dying tomorrow
The hand that is breaking the bread
Soon will be broken

And here at the table, sit those who have loved You
One is a traitor and one will deny
But He’s lived his life for them all
And for all be crucified

Come to the table He’s prepared for you
The bread of forgiveness, the wine of release
Come to the table and sit down beside Him
The Savior wants you to join in the feast

Come to the table He’s prepared for you
The bread of forgiveness, the wine of release
Come to the table and sit down beside Him
The Savior wants you to join in the feast

Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: Michael Card / Niles A. Borop III

Dear God, I’ve kind of had the “glums” over the last day or so, and I don’t have a great reason for it outside of my normal sorrows. So, as I sat down this morning I wondered what I needed to do in this time with you to really tap into you. The answer that came back to me was “worship.” I need a song that I would love to have running around my head all day. One that will draw me to you. One that will remind me of your love and forgiveness. One that I can carry to others.

I then took my phone and started to roll through the songs on my Christian play list, and while there were a lot that would fit the bill, I came across this one from Michael Card. It’s catchy from a tune standpoint. It’s upbeat. And it speaks truth. It reminds me of Jesus’s love, teaching, sacrifice, and power.

As I sit here and think about the Last Supper, I cannot help but think again about the controversial Olympic sketch during the opening ceremony that appeared to mock this precious event. And when I think of this, I think of my disappointment in the church’s response to this event. And maybe I’m wrong, but why oh why didn’t the church come out and love the people who did that? Just like me, those people need your love. They need to be reminded that this event was as much out of your love for them as it was for me. Even if they were mocking, it was a reminder of the power of that moment–your last meal with your disciples before you gave everything for all of us. It was a moment that was on the precipice of history’s pivotal moment. “Savor the sorrow. He’s dying tomorrow.”

Father, thank you for loving me. Thank you for this sacrifice. Please help me to be sensitive to every person I meet today. I’ll come across staff, volunteers, patients, people from outside agencies, and friends. Not to mention my wife. Help me to carry you with me and to them today. Give me the words to speak in every situation that will minister to them. For your glory, Lord. My utmost for your highest.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on September 17, 2024 in Hymns and Songs

 

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Toxic or Not? Forrest and Jenny from Forrest Gump

12 Sep

Dear God, I finished watching this video as I got ready for work this morning, and it kind of fit in with the theme of the week for me: How do we understand we are loved regardless of what we bring to the table?

Of course, I talked already this week about Fr. Mike Schmitz’s homily on “Nothing to Offer” and how we make a mistake when we avoid you when we have nothing to offer and when we come to you trying to justify our presence before you by all of the good things we’ve tried to do. No, the way to come before you is just by humbly accepting your grace.

This made me think of Jenny and Forrest as they discussed them in the Cinema Therapy video above because it really didn’t matter what Jenny brought to Forrest. She could bring her best. She could bring her worst. She could bring her physically abusive boyfriend. She could reject him. She could abandon him or ignore him. She could try to seduce him in her college dorm room. It didn’t matter. The good. The bad. He just loved her with a very simple love. He wanted to be there to protect her as much as she would let him protect her. He wanted to provide for her as much as she would let him provide for her.

I can’t help but wonder, as I sit here this morning, if this isn’t at least a glimpse of you with us. We keep orbiting you in an oblong path. Sometimes we get a little closer and enter into your gravitational pull. Sometimes we move away from you and spin out on our own. Kind of like Jenny did with Forrest. But there is a need in us that, once we’ve been introduced to you, draws us back to you time and again. And so, like Jenny, we try to bring you things. Maybe a nice pair of Nikes (in Jenny’s case). Maybe giving money to a nonprofit (in my case). And you are pleased with that like Forrest was pleased with the Nikes, but it’s not why you’re there. It’s not why you love us. You just love us because we are here.

I had a difficult, scary man in my office this week who has been arrested many, many times. He has really been on my heart this week. How do I introduce him to your love for him in a way that keeps my coworkers safe? Show me what to do in that relationship.

Last night, coworker sent me a Casting Crowns song that goes with all of this. It’s called “All Because of Mercy.”

I’ll close by praying some of the lyrics of this song: 

I could stand here and try to tell you
I found my way here on my own
Brought to life this heart of stone
Made up my own mind to change my own life
Workin' my own way to good, 
As if anybody could

But the truth is, I've been broken
Since my very first breath
And the truth is, I've been wanderin' 
Since my very first step

I know the only reason 
I can stand here unashamed
It's not because I'm worthy
It's all because of mercy
There's no way I could earn it
Praise God, my dept is paid

It's not because I'm worthy
It's all because of mercy
I still remember the day He found me
Six feet under all my cshame
I heard Him call me out by name
Hallelujah, the cross has spoken
Jesus, my Savior, bled and died
To bring this dead man back to life

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on September 12, 2024 in Hymns and Songs, Miscellaneous, Musings and Stories

 

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