Hosanna

Hosanna.

If someone asked you what that word means, what would you say?  I would answer that it is a word of praise - a word of adoration.

When I googled it, the definition was "an expression of adoration, praise, or joy."  

But as I was reading my devotional today from Harnish's study (Easter Earthquake), I read, "That Hebrew word means 'help' or 'save.'" That was confirmed when I googled it again, and found that it literally means "I beg you to save!" 

Isn't it an ah-ha moment that the word of adoration is more than that - that it is a cry for help? So, when we praise God with the word Hosanna, we are also asking for salvation. Perfect word.

Prayer of Praise

Oh, God, our God,

In our hearts, 

In our minds,

In our very souls

is a never imagined gratitude

for all that you are in our lives

And in the lives of those around us.

We offer our praise.

We know that the praise we offer

will be a pale return 

for what you have given to us.

For the grace you shower on us.

For the forgiveness that change our lives.

For the love that shows us who you are.

All that we have that matters is from you.

We have nothing to offer except our pale praise.

Inhabit our praise 

so that it is worthy.

Sing with us so that our song

is pleasing to you.

Help us to pray,

so that our prayers are lifted to your ears.

Inhabit our worship.

Oh, God, our God,

You love us in ways we cannot imagine

Or understand

Or grasp.

Help us to love you

Help us to love others

in ways that reflect

our grateful we are to you.

Amen.

Joy in the Other

V. Bruce Rigdon wrote, in Disciples 2015, "Love thrives and grows by finding joy in the other and expressing it in praise and thanks."

That's certainly an excellent reason for praising God, if we needed another one.  Our continuing praise of God strengthens our relationship with God.  It's not because God needs us to list out the ways God is to be praised, but because we do.  We need it.  When we increase our awareness of reasons why we love God, we are changed.  Our relationship to God is changed.  We are then able to love others.

So, how else can we apply that theory?  Where in your life could you strengthen your relationship with someone else by finding joy in the other person?  What ways can you find to express it?  Who needs a words of encouragement?  Can you find - in your perception of that person - something to praise?  Can you find joy in the other person and share it with them?  And can you do it in a way that is authentic?

If you can't, perhaps God can help you (and me) to do it.  Maybe that's part of loving our neighbors?

Give Praise to the Lord

Psalm 147:1-6

Give praise to the Lord.
Everyone, everything.
Praise the Lord.

It is a right and joyous thing
to sing praise to our God,
for he is full of grace,
amazing,
and our spirits cannot help but sing God's praise.

God builds up,
strengthens,
saves.
God gathers us together,
all of us,
everyone,
even those we would send away.
God gathers us together,
and hold us in his embrace.

God heals
those with broken hearts,
shattered with grief or pain.
He binds up our wounds,
Kissing them with a healing touch.

God turns and counts the stars
that he has created,
finding joy in each one,
knowing the name
that he has given to it.

Great is our Lord.
Abundant in power,
Full of wisdom and understanding,
beyond anything we can comprehend.
Great is our Lord,
and worthy to be praised.

The Lord reaches out to lift up
the downtrodden,
and protects them from the wicked.
He holds the hands of those in need.

Praise the Lord
with your song.
Everyone, everything,
Praise the Lord

In Praise

The devotional I read this morning in Disciplines was centered around Psalm 148.  Have you read it lately?  It's a beautiful Psalm (read it here).

The author of the devotional says that each element of the Psalm is praising God by being whatever God had created it to be.  For instance, the stars are praising God by doing what stars do, the fruit trees by being fruit trees and the wild animals by being wild animals.

Have you thought of that before?  I'm not sure I ever have.  Have you considered that we praise God by being what God created us to be?  That we praise God by using creativity, if that is our gift from God; by teaching, if that is our gift; by singing, if that is our gift.  If we are kind or understanding or helpful, then using those characteristics (gifts from God) is a way to praise God.

Don't get me wrong -- if I am whining and grouching, I'm pretty sure those aren't gifts from God, and living those characteristics doesn't praise God.  But if I live into my potential, being the best me I can be, then I am praising God.

Go out today and use your gifts in praise of God. 

Praise

 

I mentioned a couple of days ago that I would post images of my office.  It's a little bit messy, but not too bad.  We've been, and remain, happily busy.

One of the lectionary readings for the week is Psalm 146.  It is a Psalm of praise.

I was reading a devotional out of Daily Feasting, and read this quote by Louis Stulman:

At its core the psalm is a meditation on what it means to praise God throughout life.  it addresses sustaining life commitments that shape attitude, behavior, worldview, and character; in other words, it attends to the building blocks of spirituality.

And then this one by the same author:

Accordingly, praise is more than an isolated act that takes place quickly and over a very short time.  It is durative and continuous, and envelops the continuum of life.  To be sure, praise of God is a fundamental commitment of life, no less essential to the faithful than oxygen is to the lungs.

That brought to mind a part of the training for CLM I read last year.  In the Worship module, it says:

If prayer is the primary means of Christan worship, the praise of our Triune God is one of the primary forms our praying takes.  Our praise of God is not flattery.  We do not praise God to gain something for ourselves,  neither is our praise simply a cathartic outpouring of positive emotion.  Rather, praise is our fully mindful and fully embodied response to our own and the world's experience of the presence and goodness of God.

I don't remember where I heard this or who said it, but I was in a meeting with a pastor (not mine), overhearing a conversation.  He said (something like), "They asked me if we could have a praise band.  I said yes, if we can also have a lamentation band."

So, some questions for our consideration.  I know "praise band" has come to mean a musical group that specializes in contemporary music.  Shouldn't all of our music praise God?  If you read the third quote, then you'll see that I don't mean that all of our music should be an outpouring of positive emotion, but couldn't all worshipful music be thought of as music that reflects our experience with the presence and goodness of God? 

And following that same thought (sort of), if praise is not the outpouring of positive emotion, then shouldn't our music, just like the scriptural psalms, reflect the whole range of our experiences with God, including the lamentations?  And can't lamentations be an expression of the our experience of the presence and goodness of God?  And if the definitions above are correct, then in some ways, couldn't lamentation be considered praise? (We wouldn't need a second band for that.)

Isn't the Sanctuary Choir, singing its traditional music, a praise band?  And isn't the trumpet voluntary at the end of a majestic hymn sounds of praise?  Why do we, in mainline, traditional churches, shy away from the word praise?  Isn't it our main purpose in worship?  And in the same vein, those who say that only contemporary music (and only contemporary music) is praise music are probably wrong.  As wrong as those who shy away from the "praise band."

We should all be praising God.

King of Kings

Hattip to Margaret, who sent me the link to this YouTube video. It's a flash mob singing the Hallelujah Chorus in a mall.

Whether this piece of music is to your taste or not isn't really important in this post. I've come to appreciate classical music, thanks to my friend MB and the line-up of musical pieces in my church, and I like this piece of music in particular. Even if I didn't, though, I would be struck by this video.

Imagine, for a moment, standing up in a mall food court and shouting your praise of God, that he is "King of kings and Lord of Lords." The vocal portion of this video begins with one young woman on her cell phone, standing up, singing a solo -- to a rather cheesy elevator music background accompaniment. It looks brave and courageous to me.

What would it be like if we were that brave in declaring our faith? What would it look like if God's work in your life and my life was so motivational and transformational that we were brave enough to tell a stranger in the mall that God is alive?

I haven't looked at the comments on the YouTube video, but I imagine there are some that talk about how great the event is, and some who tell how the commenter doesn't like it. There will be those who reject what we have to say. I think that is one of the reasons I am hesitant to say it, but, truthfully, I shouldn't be. I should proclaim my faith.

Hallelujah doesn't often sound like the Hallelujah chorus. Sometimes it sounds like an invitation to church, or a sympathetic ear. Sometimes Hallelujah is silent and sometimes it is loud, but it always proclaims the love of God.

I should be shouting Hallelujah.

Creation and Praise

We had a discussion tonight in Disciple class about creation and praise. In Genesis 1, there is a sense that creation is involved in the process of creation -- not motivating it, but putting forth creation. In Genesis 2, man works the last, becoming a partner in creation. The creation is involved in creating.

In the same way, perhaps, many of the Psalms --Psalm 19, for example, speak of Creation praising God. The mountains, the trees, the birds of the air, all praising God. We are called to join the chorus (Psalm 33, for example). We have a response to the wonder of God.

It's a great image -- to imagine trees clapping and mountains praising. But consider birds, flying in the valleys, riding the waves of heat rising. They are living up to their full potential as creations, and perhaps that is means of praise. There is something majestic and wonderful in watching them soar.

In Psalm 150, it seems as if we are called to "give it everything we've got" in praise of God. Cymbals, trumpets, dance -- our whole being involved in praise.

I wonder if perhaps that is what unites the concept. We are made in the image of God; creation is a product of the imagination of God, it sings of its glory when it fulfills its purpose. Perhaps we are glorious testimonies to God's power and wonder when we do the same.

Song of Praise

The chorus of praise began
With the angels
Their song a gentle melody
Whispered on the breeze
The notes pure tones
Of majestic glory.
Flawless in its simplicity
Nothing could compare
To its greatness.

And yet, the praise was not complete.

The sun, the moon, the sky, the stars,
Added to the symphony.
Darkness and light,
An antiphonal response.
The ocean rose against the sand
Clapping God’s honor.
Even the rocks contributed their stony silence
Created in perfection

And yet, the praise was not complete.

Trees, reaching toward heaven
Arms outstretched.
The flowers joined in the hymn
Heads nodding in assent.
All sang of his glory.
Bright colors, dancing rainbows
Seeds flew on the wind
Extolling God with their potential.

And yet, the praise was not complete.

Rhythm was added to the song
As the crickets chirped
And the bullfrogs joined in the percussion.
Glory had a voice
In the singing of the birds,
And the howling of the wolves.
The song finally had body and strength,
As elephants trumpeted,
And joy, as hyenas laughed.

And yet, the praise was not complete.

For one moment, one small break in time
He came to teach his children how to sing.
“This,” he said, “Is how you do it.”
And he stretched out his arms,
As a conductor, directing them into songs of love.
His dying breath a note of silence.
Creation brought to its knees
As the song of praise ended.
Angels shocked into pause.

And all waited to see if the song would begin again.

Haltingly, faltering, the children began
Their notes discordant,
Never perfect, far from complete.
But they did sing,
And creation picked up their tune.
Urging them along
Encouraging, helping,
Harmony at its finest.

And finally, the praise was music to God’s ears.


Poem inspired by a line from one of Suzanne's sermons -- On Holy Ground -- in which she said, "And the praise was not complete."
Image: From Target hill last night.