1. My post on "Relevant" worship elicited more responses than most of my blog ramblings (some of the response came to my private email). I should probably clarify a couple of things.
- Christian worship needs to be marked by joy. Ultimately, we serve the God who has secured the victory of good over evil. That victory, though, is not fully claimed. The seminary language is that the kingdom of God is both "now and not yet." The reason the issue is complicated is because we believe that the resurrection of Jesus was the final defeat of evil, and yet (2000 years later), evil and suffering are still with us. There's no use in pretending otherwise.
- In worship we celebrate the victory of God even while remembering what Jesus said about those who mourn. We celebrate while remembering that if we give up our agendas for the sake of God we will receive great blessings--with persecution. If we ignore these things in worship then we wind up whistling past the graveyard.
- To create grieving/mourning space in worship we need some silence (I try to use the prayer time for that). The Lord's Supper is another helpful practice. While this is a time of thanksgiving and joy, the foot path to God's joy snakes through Jerusalem, up the hill of the Skull, to the cross, to the tomb, and then to resurrection. When we celebrate the Lord's Supper we proclaim Jesus' death and resurrection. The fullness of this proclamation of the gospel is a reason communion has been an enduring practice in the worshipping church ever since Jesus said, "Do this...". Ultimately, though, if our grieving doesn't lead to joy then we've failed to worship as God has called us to worship.
- Yesterday's post was triggered by the horrifying events in Iraq and by watching a TLC special on feral children. Feral children are kids who have been forced to exist without the aid and love of other humans. One girl in Russia, whose parents were alcoholics, left her outside as a small child. Their dogs took pity on her, kept her warm, and fed her. Now she barks, walks, and pants like a dog. I am struck by the unspeakable evil that continues to exist. Sometimes I feel like Ivan Karamazov in The Brothers Karamazov who says to his brother (don't quote me here, I'm working from memory), "I accept God, it's his world I refuse to accept." Ivan goes on to recount awful tales of childhood suffering. I believe that God grieves over such things. I believe the church should grieve, too. Of course, simply wringing our hands in good liberal fashion isn't helpful either. Worship that stops at hand wringing is just as incomplete as happy, slappy worship.
2. In my Sweet Sixteen post I listed CJ Watson as the Tennessee player who can hit three-pointers from anywhere. Sorry about that, a temporary relapse to last season! This year's sharpshooter at Tennessee is Lofton, who nearly knocked The Ohio State University from the tournament yesterday.
3. Tubby Smith's resignation as Kentucky's basketball coach didn't surprise me much. Living in Lexington you can feel the futility of his sticking this out. The UK fans are simmering in a big vat of angst. Word around here is that the fans want Florida coach Billy Donovan to give up the Gators and take charge of the Cats. I suppose anything could happen, especially since we Gator fans don't support basketball like we should (I would if I had time and money!). But I don't see Billy leaving. Donovan has all of the institutional and financial backing he needs for basketball at Florida--without the unrealistic fan pressure of a Kentucky program. Florida reserves unrealistic fan pressure for football.
