Ministry

Beryl's Blog: Changing With The Times

Having just set our clocks back one hour last weekend, it seems everything changes, especially in November, and Remembrance Day seems to bring about nostalgia, as it should.

Taking part in the service in Verdun last Sunday, I got to thinking about traditional music and marching bands and one particular tune, though no longer played, echoed in my head.

I come from a military family; Uncles, Aunts, and Grandparents were highly involved in all aspects of military life – both social and professional.

As kids, we were dragged (sometimes kicking and screaming) to armory functions such as kid’s parties, dances, adult bingos but, especially to parades.  My dad did not attend worship of any kind, but he knew, by heart, Onward Christian Soldiers!  He had a great singing voice and that hymn frequently came up in his repertoire of 30’s and 40’s “oldies”. As kids, we knew it by heart before we even started Sunday School.

The well-known hymn was written by S. Baring-Gould (1834-1924) and has been an anthem sung by generations of Christians. And Carl Price offered a little insight about the origin of this hymn in One Hundred and One Hymn Stories:

In Yorkshire, England, where Doctor Baring-Gould was stationed as curate of Horbury, it is the custom to observe Whitmonday as a day of festival for the school children. In 1865 his school was invited to march to a neighboring village, there to join the children of another school in the festival exercises.

As he could not find a suitable hymn for the children to sing while marching from one village to another, he sat up late into the night to compose a hymn; and out of those midnight hours came the lines, “Onward, Christian soldiers,” to which the children marched toward their festival and to which hundreds of thousands of Christians have marched in the decades since it was written.

“With the cross of Jesus going on before” refers to the cross, borne at the head of the procession; while the many banners, following it, are pictured in the line, “See His banners go!” It was published in the Church Times in 1865.

The hymn with its stirring tune, written later by Sir Arthur Sullivan, makes an ideal processional and has been widely used, not only in places of worship, but also upon a great variety of other occasions. Allan Sutherland, in Famous Hymns of the World, describes the wild rejoicing in Philadelphia on election night, 1905, when to signalize the victory of the Reform Movement thousands paraded the streets, singing this hymn; also its use in cheering Christian Japanese soldiers, starting for the war of 1904.

It was the battle song of Roosevelt’s Progressive campaign in 1912. In the World War it was a prime favorite, and was sung by General Feng Yu-Hsiang’s Eleventh Division of Chinese Christian soldiers as they advanced to battle before Peking in May, 1922.”

While so many of us  are uncomfortable with the militaristic themes and the historical use of this hymn, it is important to note that Scripture itself contains a great deal of warfare imagery (such as the Armor of God). While combining the purposes and goals of the state with those of the church–especially in regards to war–is problematic, the hymn itself is a helpful encouragement to believers as we “fight the good fight of faith” (1 Timothy 6:12).  I am often hesitant to reflect on lectionary readings containing themes of violence.  If I can, I prefer to change or omit them entirely.

Most of you know that The United Church of Canada omitted Onward Christian Soldiers in the 1996 publication of Voices United. If we want to be "theologically correct", then there are a whole lot of hymns that we grew up with that should be omitted.

For me personally, November nostalgia is a real thing.  It is a time of remembering and I think, for the most part, some us find Onward Christian Soldiers to be familiar and even comforting – we remember our fathers, uncles, aunts and grandfathers.  It brings to mind nostalgic memories of childhood; a time before Facebook and iPhone when families actually got together for Sunday dinner, for anniversaries and birthdays, Christmas and Easter.  Or, perhaps we just like the tune but we do not subscribe to or agree with the words.

Whatever your views are, time moves onward and things change.  Seasons follow seasons as life’s realities unfold. But cherished childhood memories remain frozen in time.  As we approach the third and fourth quarters of our own 100 years, it is still nice to remember “the good old days”, or what we have left of them.

In peace

Pastor Beryl, DLM

Beryl's Blog: Taste and See

A Reflection on Psalm 34

This past Sunday I read the 23rd Psalm at a celebration of life.  Words of comfort and hope.

It got me to thinking about the Psalms; we read them every Sunday as part or the lectionary cycle of readings.  But, for so many of us, the words are extremely old and written in times and places which are very different from our own.  And, let’s be honest – some passages contain words of violence that are difficult to hear and hard to understand.

This Sunday, the lectionary suggests Psalm 34.  This Psalm was written by King David but do we know the reasoning or the history behind its writing?

David wrote this psalm after a battle with Abimelech. Now, David knew his fair share of pain and suffering. Some of it was unjustly done to him, some was the result of his own foolish choices. Either way, suffering is no fun.

There is something interesting that stands out in this Psalm; “Taste and see that the Lord is Good”.  David is inviting the reader to taste the Lord. That is a very graphic image because it goes so much deeper than simply understanding with the mind, but it is ingesting with all the senses.  It brings to mind the celebration of Communion and the words “eat his flesh and drink his blood”. When we celebrate Holy Communion, we are invited to make God a part of our inner being, to be fused with our DNA…and it is good.

I like the words “the Lord is good” for good does not mean easy.  As we all can attest, life is not easy.  But, for people of faith, sometimes the goodness of the Lord is sweetest when storms of life are most bitter. 

For those who are unable to join worship on Sunday, I quote here under the words of Psalm 34, verses 1-8, which will be read responsively from More Voices:

I will bless God at all times,
God’s praise will continually be in my mouth.
My soul will glory in God, the humble will hear and be glad.
O, magnify God with me,
Let us exalt God’s name together.
I sought God, who answered me, and freed me from all my fears.
Look to the Most High, and let your light shine,
 and your faces will not be shamed.
This poor soul cried out and God heard,
and saved me from all my troubles.

Your angel, O God, keeps guard over those who fear you and delivers them.
Taste and see that our God is good.
Happy are those who take refuge in God.
Fear God, you are the saints,
for those who fear God lack nothing.

 One more point of interest in this Psalm.  David notes that the angel of the Lord is present with those who fear God, and God delivers them. This use of the word "fear" translated implies deep respect and reverence, not terror. This statement is David's personal testimony.

At SouthWest United, we are not unfamiliar with thoughts of God’s goodness.  Worship has often opened with the words “God is good, all the time, and all the time, God is good”.

Let’s celebrate that goodness in prayer:

Lord, we do indeed praise you for all your goodness and blessings and for all that you do for us each and every day. Help us to be truly thankful and to bear witness to these blessings in our lives and in the words of the Psalms.  Amen

Pastor Beryl, DLM

Beryl's Blog: It's Time to Give Thanks!

Thanksgiving is more than a day. It’s a lifestyle. So, in honor of this week of turning our attention toward gratitude (and in hopes of it lasting much longer than a week) I researched the internet and found some encouraging, inspiring and interesting thoughts.

• It’s often said that whatever you focus on grows larger. That’s true for fears, hopes, dreams, offenses—and blessings. Gratitude focuses so closely on the good that the bad can become almost unnoticeable.

• Gratitude shifts your perspective. It makes you realize the glass isn’t half-empty. In most cases, it’s actually more than 90 percent full. If you don't think it is, you might need to focus more on what you're thankful for.

• Thankfulness is healthy. People who are continually grateful are generally in better health than those who aren’t. Conversely, complaining (the opposite of thankfulness) is at least as unhealthy as having a poor diet. The difference in physical symptoms between thankful people and bitter people is startling.

• Thankfulness is a strong anti-depressant. Sometimes simply stating your gratitude out loud—even just two or things you’re grateful for, no matter how small—can change your mood for the rest of the day.

• Gratitude is a powerful prayer. You get more from thanking God than begging God. And thanking God in advance for something promised but not yet given is a profound statement of faith.

• Thankfulness is an act of humility. You’re acknowledging that you’re dependent, not self-sufficient. And God is drawn to humble hearts.

Source(se) various websites and authors, some unknown

Hereunder is a prayer of Thanksgiving from our own United Church of Canada, as found in Celebrate God's Presence: A Book of Services for The United Church of Canada (UCPH, 2000)

God, giver of all good,
you continually pour your benefits upon us.
Age after age the living wait upon you and find
that your faithfulness has no end,
that your care is unfailing.
We praise you that the mystery of life
is a mystery of infinite goodness.
We praise you
for the order and constancy of nature;
for the beauty and bounty of the earth;
for day and night, summer and winter,
seedtime and harvest;
for the varied gifts of loveliness which every season brings.
We give you thanks
for all the comfort and joy of life,
for our homes, for our friends,
and for all the love, sympathy, and goodwill of all people.
Amen.

 

Happy Thanksgiving to all

Pastor Beryl, DLM

Pastor Beryl's Blog: Mountain Sunday

The Season of Creation comes to a close this week with a vision of God’s holy mountain; a vision that offers us a path of hope for the future and calls us to live justly and in partnership with God

It is seldom possible to look toward the mountains on a clear day anywhere and not be awestruck by beauty and strength and grandeur.

Mountains, in scripture, are where humans draw nearer to the divine.

The bible records many mountaintop moments:  Moses received the ten commandments on the top of a mountain.  In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus gave the people some of the greatest wisdom in the Sermon on the Mount. Later, Jesus’ face shone like the sun on the top of a mountain as his awestruck disciples watched him converse with Moses and Elijah.

Mountains are set apart.  They are sacred; in the book of Isaiah, they offer us an image of the true expansiveness of God’s vision for our world.

As the Season of Creation comes to a close with a vision of God’s holy mountain, we are reminded that, living in the midst of climate crisis and COVID-19, we have an even greater desire to find hope for the future.

Isaiah’s words offer us a blueprint for what is possible; the ways we are called to be part of God’s story, creating hope, renewal and rebirth. Most people have experienced the grandeur, mystery, challenge, invitation, awe of mountains. Even for those who have experienced painful or difficult things on mountains – or who find mountains oppressive – still the sense of them can be powerful.

Isaiah 65:17-25 - The Message

“Pay close attention now: I’m creating new heavens and a new earth.
All the earlier troubles, chaos, and pain are things of the past, to be forgotten.
Look ahead with joy. Anticipate what I’m creating:
I’ll create Jerusalem as sheer joy, create my people as pure delight.
I’ll take joy in Jerusalem, take delight in my people:
No more sounds of weeping in the city, no cries of anguish;

No more babies dying in the cradle, or old people who don’t enjoy a full lifetime;
One-hundredth birthdays will be considered normal - anything less will seem like a cheat.
They’ll build houses and move in. They’ll plant fields and eat what they grow.

No more building a house that some outsider takes over, no more planting fields
that some enemy confiscates,
For my people will be as long-lived as trees, my chosen ones will have satisfaction in their work.
They won’t work and have nothing come of it, they won’t have children snatched out from under them.
For they themselves are plantings blessed by God, with their children and grandchildren likewise God-blessed.
Before they call out, I’ll answer.

Before they’ve finished speaking, I’ll have heard.
Wolf and lamb will graze the same meadow, lion and ox eat straw from the same trough, but snakes—they’ll get a diet of dirt!
Neither animal nor human will hurt or kill anywhere on my Holy Mountain,” says God.

 

As you face the next mountain in your life, I would invite you to pause, turn around and look backwards to all the mountains you have already conquered and remember that we are not alone.

Shalom

Pastor Beryl

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