[the mystery of the cross] part 6: ways to worship

the cross in early church life

As we have been exploring Judith Couchman’s The Mystery of the Cross over the last few weeks, I have been transformed by images of the cross. I have to say that I was not prepared for the way this section would change my perspective on acts of worship. As I read, I was in awe at how God used the words on the pages to help me better understand and appreciate my own Lutheran tradition. It was by no accident that I was given this section to reflect on!

Before Christianity was an accepted religion, places of worship were simple – and many times hidden. As Christianity became more and more accepted, places of worship became more open – and more extravagant. This section talks a lot about the extravagant ways in which early Christians portrayed the cross in their worship spaces. That got me thinking – so many of our churches have gone extravagant. The buildings, the programs, the music, the technology, the worship services. We have spent much time and money focusing on how we make our places of worship “worthy” to be called “God’s house.” This translates to our own selves as well – we think we have to bring our best selves to God so that we feel worthy to stand in God’s presence. I can remember times in my own life where I felt unworthy of God’s love. Times when I stayed far away from church because I felt like I wasn’t good enough to be there. Like my faith wasn’t strong enough or I was too much of a mess to go to the holy place. Or maybe I was afraid that my mess would show up and everyone around me would know that I wasn’t worthy. And then, there was that time when I was on vacation without any “church clothes” so I didn’t go to church that Sunday even though I really wanted to.

And yet the message of the cross is anything but ornate. The cross was simple – there was nothing extravagant about it (except of course, God’s love portrayed on it.) In fact, when you think about it, the way that extravagant love was portrayed was anything but beautiful. Jesus was literally torn apart at the cross – it was a place filled with dust, skin, blood, and who knows what other kinds of bodily fluids. The cross was the last place anyone wanted to be. Sure, it’s the resurrection from the cross that makes us realize how powerful and incredible God is. God is awesome and God does deserve our best – but the whole message of the cross is that God takes us just as we are. God loves our messy selves just as much as God loves our best selves. The cross looks the same.

That same cross is all over our worship spaces – in the layouts, in the processionals & recessionals, in the bread & the wine of communion, in the pictures around the walls. No matter how ornate we make it, the message of the cross will always be a simple one – God’s extravagant love poured out for us in all of our messiness.

I leave you with this one question: How can we, like the earliest Christians, remember the significance and simplicity of the cross while at the same time worship the awesomeness that is God?

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[the mystery of the cross] part one: ancient echoes of Christ

the cross in pre-Christian times
[three poems inspired by part 1 of the mystery of the cross]

stones of callanish

within grey mist
beneath moss and bog
stones were kept
for time plus time
no questions asked
unearthed for fire
decay for fuel
mystery was lit
it burns still dark
no answers met

egyptian signs of life

light the inner chamber priest
break the sanctum’s seal
announce to the sculptured god
that it is not real
burn the fragrant incense
the god will not awake
anoint it with ten different oils
we know this god is fake
close the door and seal it priest
now you can depart
extinguishing the flame
that leaves you in the dark

the healing cross

look upon
the one
with
understanding
your sin
put to death
to bring life
everlasting

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perfect love, imperfect fear

Remember that time when you were a kid? You know… that time that you and some other kids (friends, siblings, whatever…) were horsing around and something broke. It wasn’t even your fault, but when dad came to see what happened you just knew that you were in trouble.

Oh boy, was your dad mad!

His nose flared and the veins popped out in his forehead. Instantly everyone was afraid of the wrath that was to come.

You, and everyone else just froze.

Since nobody wanted to own up to the horseplay that resulted in the [whatever it was] that got broken, everyone was going to be punished. Nobody wanted to take the punishment so each one of you pointed your finger at somebody else. Maybe it was you that ‘fell’ into it, but it was your brother that pushed you. Everyone had an excuse as to why it wasn’t them that should get punished.

So everyone was sent to their room to wait for the final judgement. Remember that feeling?

Sitting there alone.

Shivering.

Waiting.

Every second feels like an hour. Things start running through your head, and the fear overtakes you. The waiting is somehow worse than whatever the punishment could end up being.

Then dad steps into the room where you’re waiting. He says things like, “this hurts me more than it hurts you.”

What?

You think, “How can it possibly hurt him more than it hurts me?”

You forget that the thing that broke was a priceless [to him] heirloom that has been passed down in his family for generations. It was something that connected him to the very essence of who he is. And now you must pay for the damage that has been done.

At that moment it’s hard for you to understand what your dad is feeling. You are devastated because of what you are about to loose, but he has to deal with something that he just lost AND having to punish you for loosing it. Still it is hard for you to look past what’s about to happen to you, especially considering that you don’t think that you were to blame.

Then it happened…

Just before you are about to receive your punishment, your brother walks into the room. He’s crying. He tells your dad that you didn’t do anything wrong. He takes responsibility for the whole thing. He steps in and takes your punishment.

Remember how you felt?

The fear was gone.

Instantly.

The Apostle John talks about this same feeling when he speaks about the Lord:

There is no fear in love [dread does not exist], but full-grown (complete, perfect) love turns fear out of doors and expels every trace of terror! For fear brings with it the thought of punishment, and [so] he who is afraid has not reached the full maturity of love [is not yet grown into love's complete perfection].

                                                                                                                     – 1 John 4:18 (Amplified)

I’ve always looked at this verse without fully understanding how to apply this idea that “love casts out all fear”. I guess that I always tried to figure out how I should love others, but still struggled to make the connection with how exactly it was supposed to cast out fear. But John wasn’t talking about us.

He was talking about Jesus.

Remember that sin that you have in your life? Jesus stepped in and took our punishment. He didn’t want us to have to pay for it. He stepped in because of His [perfect] love for us.

When Jesus showed His love for us by stepping in like He did, we no longer have a reason to be afraid of the judgement to come.

Perfect love shreds our imperfect [and immature] fear.

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Note: The idea for this post came out of one was developed in an exercise in the Spring 2010 Homiletics class I’m teaching at Sarasota Bible College. The idea was a group effort, so I cannot take full credit for developing it. Special thanks to Anita Gerbig and Todd and Jeri Schliecher for brainstorming this with me!

how to [generate] creativity

Take one part courage, one part passion, and one part crazy. Mix all of that together with a few talented people who are willing to sacrifice of themselves in order to accomplish a dream, and then top it all off with some dedicated Christ-followers with a story to tell.

The end result = a piece of art that will [hopefully] be remembered for a long time!

When I first heard about the start-up magazine called GENERATE, I was excited just to find an opportunity to contribute some of my work and experiences. But eventually what I found was that I got to be a part [even if it is a small part] of something special.

And now that I’m holding my copy of the inaugural issue in my hands, I am even more honored to have had the opportunity to contribute to something so awesome.

The first issue of GENERATE just hit mailboxes within the last week, and I can’t already can’t wait until the next issue comes out! And this isn’t a magazine that is going to get relegated to magazine rack duty. Oh no… This is one that rivals the coffee table books that I am often proud to display for all to see!

The stories are raw and real.

The poetry is beautiful and borders on worship.

The interviews are thought-provoking.

The photography and artwork reflect God in an awe inspiring way.

And the overall design is just…   cool.

The end result is a magazine that will make you think and feel, laugh and cry, rejoice and get mad. This magazine is a great collection that reflects the Spirit of Christianity in our day. I think that Makeesha Fisher [executive editor and one of the founders] says it best when she states…

…what I value so much is the collective voice that is coming through. A voice that is honest and conflicted but filled with a generous hope that is so compelling to me. I’d like to focus on the value of story and the inspiration and hope-giving power of telling and hearing our stories. The collective narrative holds no value without the telling and the hearing — which also means that we cannot chronicle and pass along our story as Christians without one another.

Well done GENERATE team! And if you haven’t seen GENERATE yet, then I strongly recommend that you subscribe now.

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