Sanctification

The other night, I was helping my sons take baths. My oldest finished his bath, and my youngest son came in for his bath. Earlier in the day, he was stung by a bee, and after a visit to the pediatrician's office, was told to rest. I gave him his bath, and as he got out, he told me he didn't want to be seven anymore. He wanted to be eight. He didn't like that his older brother's birthday is coming up soon, and he would be turning nine. The conversation continued as we put lotion on his body, oiled his head, and cleaned his ears. He put on his pajamas, said it one more time to me ("I don't want to be seven anymore!"), and I thought the conversation was over.

I went to another bathroom to put away the items we'd used for his bath, and when I turned around, he was standing there, crying. We had to have a sit-down conversation in order for me to find the root of his tears. He wants to be eight years old because he wants to grow. We talked about how he has grown since his last birthday - shoes and pants that no longer fit (even though his birthday was just last month!), that his hair grows, that he is taller, and that he is gaining weight. Yes, you can stay the same age, and still grow.

Human beings have a fascination with growing up. My children have grown up too fast - they have seen too much, and experience too much for their young ages. The irony is that a Christian life moves much more slowly. In a Christian life, we stay "seven" a lot longer as we grow in grace. John Wesley called the process of growing in grace sanctification. We keep moving on toward perfection throughout our lives. At times, like when we are younger, the growth is fast (and faster than our birthday can arrive); at other times, we take one step forward and two steps backward.

Just as we don't need to rush our physical growth, we don't need to rush our spiritual growth. We must always remember that sanctification is a process. It doesn't happen because we said yes to Jesus five minutes, ten years, or a generation ago. It happens because we are intentional about growing in our faith. Just as we need proper nutrition, sleep, and body care to grow, we must also engage in spiritual practices in order for us to grow our spirits. John Wesley encouraged us to practice equally works of piety and mercy. We grow when we read our Bibles, worship, have accountability groups, pray, participate in the Sacraments, and more; but we grow as much when we heal the sick, visit prisons, feed the hungry, and clothe the naked.

Those spiritual practices take time. We can't get all the nutrition we need in one helping, or sleep one night to become physically mature. In the same vein, we can't practice works of piety and mercy in fits and starts, or we don't really grow. Growth takes time, intentionality, and consistency.

My son won't be eight years old anytime soon - not for another ten months; but he is growing constantly as he eats well, exercises, takes care of his body, and gets the rest he needs. What if we took that same care with our souls? What growth would we see in our lives?

What Makes Good Music?

The year 2007 marked the 300th anniversary of Charles Wesley's birth. I was asked to give a presentation to a UMW circle, and upon the occasion, decided to bring together two of my passions - music and theology. I talked about the historical background of Charles Wesley, discussed his background as a writer of poems and hymns, looked at the number of hymn texts by him in the United Methodist Hymnal (there are 51 between that resource and The Faith We Sing), and I shared about him as an evangelist.

One of the interesting things that I remember about Charles Wesley was that they took the texts they wrote (poetry) and set them to music popular in their day. Bar tunes were not unusual settings for Wesley hymns. In fact, I'm certain that a few tunes in our hymnal originated at the local pub. The fact that the Wesleys did this made me want to teach a similar practice to this UMW Circle. So, we looked at a hymn from our hymnal written by Wesley. We looked at the text, and loved it, but we were unfamiliar with the tune. So, we looked at the meter of the poetry, turned to the back of the hymnal, and tried the text with other tunes which were more familiar, but also fit the text. Does text and tune fit together?

Finally, since this congregation happened to be one in which people were divided over traditional vs. contemporary music (and anyone who reads this blog regularly knows I think those terms are over-used, over-rated, and unhelpful), so I laid out my guidelines for what makes good music. Here they are, in case you were interested:

1) Does the text teach you something sound about your faith (i.e., is it good theology)?
2) Is the text easy to understand (do words get in the way, or do you have unfamiliar words in common language)?
3) Is the tune singable (can you catch the tune easily, does it have too many skips and jumps, etc.)?
4) Do the text and tune go together?

It's my belief (at least it was in 2007, and I think it still is) that if a hymn, praise chorus, or other form of worship music fits these criteria, it's good music, and should be used in any and every church. If worship music does not meet these basic criteria, stop using it!!!

Ultimately, though, it's good music if it glorifies God well and puts us in touch with the One who loves us. And with that definition, the sky's the limit!

Dependence Day

Today is July 4 - Independence Day in the United States. In my house, we've celebrated two independence days this year - in Ghana on March 6, and today in the U.S. We want our children to be proud of their heritage - where they come from, where they are, and where they will be. I think we need to have an appreciation and high regard for our heritage. It is the past that shapes who we are today; but it doesn't necessarily shape our future.

Today's lectionary Old Testament text was about the healing of Naaman. He was a mighty warrior, well-respected and held in high regard by others in government and the armed forces. He was successful, but he had leprosy. With sores and lesions all over, he was in need of healing. His wife's servant, a girl from Israel, knew about the healing power of Elisha the prophet. Naaman was encouraged to go and get the healing he needed. When he arrived, Elisha told him what to do - to wash in the Jordan River seven times. But Naaman, the proud warrior, thought he was too good to wash in the Jordan; he wanted to go to a cleaner river. His servants helped him swallow his pride, and he eventually went to the Joradan, washed seven times, and was healed.

Pride often gets in the way. On this independence day, I have been thinking that we should re-name it "Dependence Day," because of the pride we place on our country and our elitism. We place blind faith in our political leaders (Democrat, Republican, or other political party); we believe strongly in our military might; we spend trillions of dollars as though we will stop bleeding debt. As a nation, and as people, we want our independence, but the ways we assert our independence remind us that we are placing our nation, our ideologies, and our leaders above God. We need this day to remind us that we must be dependent - on the God who provides unconditional love, support, and blessings beyond measure. It doesn't come from "pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps," or from military power; it comes from God.

Happy Dependence Day! Remember who you are, and whose you are!