One Bread, One Body Ephesians 4:1-16
August 2, 2009
Metairie , LA.
I cannot claim, as does Paul in this letter to the Ephesians, I cannot claim that I have been imprisoned for my faith proclamation, not yet at least. However, I have been verbally whipped and hog-tied at the occasion of recommending a new hymnal that imposed a new set of words and required the congregation to move lips and tongues and throats to a few changed verses or maybe only a phrase or word.
Oh, the clatter of objections! Oh, the angry petitions! Oh, the pious arguments and various threats! Oh, the anxiety of the music director and the pastor, who intrepidly slip a few new songs into the liturgy , then duck behind pulpit or band equipment, lest heavy books be thrown.
The "worship wars" as they are known in the trade, the worship wars are fearful to behold- splits, debates, sides taken, traditionalists tromping off with dismay and contemporary music lovers stunned at the uproar.
We do not know what controversy occasioned these paragraphs of the Epistle to the Ephesians, but we know it was something widespread and potentially dangerous to the collectivity of the church. How do we know? The letter pulls out three successive knock-out punches. 1. Paul reminds the Ephesians of his authority. Remember, Paul has gone to jail for the faith. He's got the marks to show his beatings on their behalf. 2. Remember, he says, the church community is like a body- when one part fails, the whole suffers- so watch your dear selves. 3. Remember, Paul says, this body, the church, is the holy body of Christ broken for you. This body, the body that we are, Good Shepherd, this body is Christ's body in the world. Right here, right now on West Esplanade Blvd and also wherever we go when we depart this building. We, individually and collectively, are the ones who bear the truth in love that Paul promotes.
Sometimes we forget that others suffer for the faith to which we attest when we say the Affirmation of Faith. Sometimes we forget that we are parts of the body and we forget that each one is called and equipped to bring a special talent or vocation for the workings of the whole, which suffers if any one part is neglected. Sometimes we forget that when one member is injured, the whole body is dis-abled and the body of Christ is distressed.
As I said, I have never seen nastier in-fighting than when a new hymnal is introduced. I have had the privilege of serving as a chaplain at an Episcopal School when the Episcopalians introduced their new hymnal; I was Minister of Spiritual Growth and Evangelism when the Methodists introduced their new hymnal; I was solo pastor at a UCC in Boulder Colorado shortly after the introduction of the New Century Hymnal.
Each new hymnal had common threads. 1. A wider selection, historically and geographically. For instance, the New Century Hymnal includes some ancient music attributed to St. Patrick, many more gospel tunes (from both black and white traditions), and more contemporary offerings, like "In the Bulb There is a Flower", which quickly have become favorites. We now include "Jesus Loves Me" in eleven languages, including Spanish, German, Samoan, and English. When the Rocky Mountain Conference gathers, our Samoan churches are delighted to teach us:
Oh low a lo-fa
Oh low a lo-fa
Oh low a lo-fa
E-sili lava lea. (The Bible tells me so)
In Iowa , before I even arrived as pastor, I was warned of rancorous disagreements over "Silent Night". Would we sing it as in the New Century Hymnal or "the old way"? "The Old Way ?", I asked. "You mean "Stille Nacht", created in an Alpine Village when the organ broke down and so an organist composed music for guitar for Christmas Eve? You want guitar on Christmas Eve and you want to sing the words in German?" I asked in disbelief. No, not exactly.
They wanted their organ on Christmas Eve, no guitar for them. And they expected to sing in English, no Stille Nacht for them. BUT! We will be furious if verse 3 is used, where "son of God" has been changed to "child of God"...(and may I say please, for very admirable theological reasons.) There's plenty of Christian mature ethical deliberation behind that one change. Someday I may preach on inclusive language, but not today. But what an uproar over one tiny, 5 letter, one syllable word. To sing "child" instead of "son". In verse 1 the baby is identified as "infant"- so what's the harm in continuing the gender unspecific word "child" in the last verse?
The harm, I deciphered, was a spiritual loss. At Christmas time, at especially deep felt events like a funeral or a communion, we summon up members of the church of our childhood, often unconsciously, some of whom are now gone. On Christmas Eves past, we sang alongside a Maw maw or a beloved 7 year old best friend, transfixed by darkness pierced with candlelight and we know the words by heart. And the comes the bomb! Child?! No, not "child", dagnabbit! It's "son". I have loved this song for decades. Why would some blankety blank whippersnapper go and change it?
Well there are reasons, some obvious, some obscure, why there are new words, new melodies, new rhythms...and that's a discussion for another sermon, not today.
Today on communion Sunday, I would like to congratulate you, Good Shepherd, for your display of mutual tolerance as is recommended in Ephesians today. In regards to the New Century Hymnal and the introduction of our Praise Band and our quite novel and unique bell choir, you have given evidence that you intend to permit the body of Christ to expand to include more than you knew when you were 7 with your Maw maw. You are sufficiently seeped in the message- one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God...unity but not a requirement of uniformity, thanks be to the grace of God.
In two weeks, Jordy will lead us in a hymn sing and I expect there will be requests for old favorites from the Red Hymnal and new favorites from the Black Hymnal. And we will have a grand time together, rejoicing in the power of the spirit- many gifts, one spirit, many expressions, one body. We are the church of Christ across the globe and across the centuries. We sing "Jesus Loves Me" in many languages and we feast on one bread, one body. Thanks be to God.
And let the people say, "Amen."
