Happy Resurrection Sunday!
Today produced another wonderful service in my congregation. The sun occassionally peeked from behind the water hovering in the sky and all the birds were singing pretty lively and loudly. After rising and arriving at the church, I led my praise team to join in the noise. We struck an immaculate tone in keeping with the theme of celebrations for today, singing two numbers rather than the usual five or six, to begin a service slightly different than usual.
You see, the Pastor, along with his son and daughter, my brother Daniel and two other members of the congregation are in Macedonia at this time until the 1st of April carrying out a mission to bring understanding of doctrine to the rather new Pastors and the Christian church there. The Orthodox Catholic Church has dominated that country for hundreds of years and their thinking is constricted by such things as praying to the Saints and using rituals to secure blessing and put off curses. The Pastor we have been working with over the past year is very much against these religious practices, is sound and humble. My mother and I met him on the first trip to Macedonia when we scouted the grounds in preparation for the establishment of an on going ministry there. Now we support several pastors and some Bible School students.
Being Pastor George is out of the country continuing this outreach, his wife, Pastor Jill, officiated thismorning, and a special singer, Todd Uptdahl, performed a bit of an Easter concert with intemittent pieces of a message connecting the songs. The sermon came from his own recent experience of forgiving himself and led to a poignant climax restating and reawakening the knowledge of why we celebrate this wonderous day. Today brought about the first service in a while in which I was able to sit and enjoy anothers' musical performance rather than being the main performer, which I do really enjoy. But a break from weekly routine is nice as well. :)
As I sat on the front pew listening to the words, I found that they all had such palatable meaning, though I may have heard the song a hundred times before. Songs of forgivness, hope and optimism. Songs of melancholy and upbeat lyrical tunes celebrating the better parts of living this life. The western-toned melodies played clearly through the air and the bass-driven choruses rumbled through the creaky wood seating, physically giving you the impression of riding over a smooth, country, dirt road. Immutable joy.
During our sound check before service, Todd asked me to sing the ending song, How Great is Our God, with him. I'd never attempted that number before, but concluded that the tune was familiar enough in my own head and the words would be on a stand in the center of the stage, prompting me to agree and sing. The contrast of our voices paralleled in the sound system was surprising and, though we sung no harmonies to the melody, rendered a diverse tone reflective of harmonic riffs and low notes in concomitance. Anyway, it sounded good. Really good.
A wonderful celebration. Now I'm just veggin' out. I'll see ya around!
Andrew R. M. Hanson
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Friday, March 21, 2008
Racing to the Darkness
Hi there friends!
I've not posted anything for quite a while now. That doesn't mean I've not been learning anything. Just means I have a-very-much-lot going on right now. (smile)
Sometimes I don't have anything to write and I get a little frustrated. Like right now. I know that there's allot to write about. I just can't seem to drag it from the confines where it rests preparing to become awake and vibrant, full of motion; an exposition. I'd had several subjects present themselves which interested me and deserved to be developed, but time did not submit itself to me. Never does. Clocks seem to continue running, no matter how many I destroy.
I've found recently that I'm not a good race runner. I wonder if it's because I think time is supposed to submit to me...
Over the last few months I've come to a new understanding of the world around me. I've peeked beyond my own fears and lit a match in a scopic, vacant room that I don't think I knew I was in. Or one that I had simply imagined completely different from what the pale light before me now tells. There's allot of darkness in this world. And if you try to get involved in bringing light to the darkest of places, have no doubt that you will see darkness. Everyone has intentions of acting in greatness and displaying good for the betterment of sagging circumstances. But these are the ones fooled by their own self-importance. Not that there is a conscious attempt on their part to promote self-centered relevance, but we humans tend to consider ourselves from the perspective of self-affirmation and can be overtaken by thoughts of what good has been done through our hands. So, what happened to the initiative behind the steady run? Vision is blurred by cheers, and shaky legs are steadied by humility.
Imagine you're holding a letter in your hand. K? Now, imagine the importance of this letter and the even greater importance of its' arrival unto the destination within an allotted amount of time. You are equipped to take this letter and deliver it as it should be delivered. All know that you are the capable and appointed one. It is easy for you to receive admonition and bask in their words of admiration, then stumble through the first few steps of the trek causing you the loss of footing that was needed to secure timely completion of your task.
Pride comes before getting cooked alive in a microwave oven after all. When we believe that we will go into darkness completely unaffected, it's no wonder so many people are unwilling to stick it out and stay the position they're equipped for. We love the praise given and excitement we get from starting down the track. But of course we won't be untouched. If you look at darkness, you see darkness. That's a fact. To bring order to dis-functional darkness we should focus on and study the order and completeness of light. But to know that darkness is there, it must be witnessed and acknowledged, confirming its' prevalence and need for righting. And as we walk into the thick of things, we'd best be ready to acknowledge our dependence on someone greater than ourselves.
So, sometimes I can't quite find the words. And sometimes I get a little frustrated that I can't formulate any subject matter. And sometimes that's just what I need. A mouth less noisy is one less heard, and words less spoken are of great value. There is a place to release those sounds. Oh, help me find that place, Lord.
Andrew R. M. Hanson
I've not posted anything for quite a while now. That doesn't mean I've not been learning anything. Just means I have a-very-much-lot going on right now. (smile)
Sometimes I don't have anything to write and I get a little frustrated. Like right now. I know that there's allot to write about. I just can't seem to drag it from the confines where it rests preparing to become awake and vibrant, full of motion; an exposition. I'd had several subjects present themselves which interested me and deserved to be developed, but time did not submit itself to me. Never does. Clocks seem to continue running, no matter how many I destroy.
I've found recently that I'm not a good race runner. I wonder if it's because I think time is supposed to submit to me...
Over the last few months I've come to a new understanding of the world around me. I've peeked beyond my own fears and lit a match in a scopic, vacant room that I don't think I knew I was in. Or one that I had simply imagined completely different from what the pale light before me now tells. There's allot of darkness in this world. And if you try to get involved in bringing light to the darkest of places, have no doubt that you will see darkness. Everyone has intentions of acting in greatness and displaying good for the betterment of sagging circumstances. But these are the ones fooled by their own self-importance. Not that there is a conscious attempt on their part to promote self-centered relevance, but we humans tend to consider ourselves from the perspective of self-affirmation and can be overtaken by thoughts of what good has been done through our hands. So, what happened to the initiative behind the steady run? Vision is blurred by cheers, and shaky legs are steadied by humility.
Imagine you're holding a letter in your hand. K? Now, imagine the importance of this letter and the even greater importance of its' arrival unto the destination within an allotted amount of time. You are equipped to take this letter and deliver it as it should be delivered. All know that you are the capable and appointed one. It is easy for you to receive admonition and bask in their words of admiration, then stumble through the first few steps of the trek causing you the loss of footing that was needed to secure timely completion of your task.
Pride comes before getting cooked alive in a microwave oven after all. When we believe that we will go into darkness completely unaffected, it's no wonder so many people are unwilling to stick it out and stay the position they're equipped for. We love the praise given and excitement we get from starting down the track. But of course we won't be untouched. If you look at darkness, you see darkness. That's a fact. To bring order to dis-functional darkness we should focus on and study the order and completeness of light. But to know that darkness is there, it must be witnessed and acknowledged, confirming its' prevalence and need for righting. And as we walk into the thick of things, we'd best be ready to acknowledge our dependence on someone greater than ourselves.
So, sometimes I can't quite find the words. And sometimes I get a little frustrated that I can't formulate any subject matter. And sometimes that's just what I need. A mouth less noisy is one less heard, and words less spoken are of great value. There is a place to release those sounds. Oh, help me find that place, Lord.
Andrew R. M. Hanson
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)