Day 155: Living Waters

On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.  He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."  John 7:37-38

I feel like these days there are people who are walking around with earplugs when they go to church or listen to the Gospel.

While we are in the midst of praising God and proclaiming God's name, Jesus invites us to come and drink.  The next part of the invitation is key, though.  Those who come to Jesus to drink will themselves become fountains of living water.

Of course, when we read this statement, we need a definition.  What are living waters?  John gives us a good answer, saying that this is the Holy Spirit.  But even then, we can have issues with understanding this because of the fact that we might not know what the Holy Spirit is.

When we think of the Spirit, we should always remember the breath of life, for spirit and breath are one and the same word in Greek and Hebrew.  And the Holy Spirit is the Lord and giver of life.  And what is life?  Life can be anything that we make of it, but Jesus has been clear from the beginning that eternal life comes from our faith in him.  Therefore, life is following Jesus.

So, if we are coming to Jesus for a drink, should our fountain of living water look like an outpouring of judgment based on the law of Moses?  Certainly not!  As Paul has said, the law reveals death.  Jesus, on the other hand, shows us life.  Jesus, the preacher and manifestation of love, is life.  We cannot forget that fact.  Jesus is the fulfillment of everything we do.  All of our worship, all our prayers, our reading, our preaching, our listening, our learning, our understanding points to Jesus.  Everything points to God's unconditional love for us.

When we go to Jesus for a drink of water, we will begin our transformation, much like a detox diet.  We will start to drink of this life giving water which will cleanse us both inside and out.  Then, through our transformation, we will start to become a fountain of love.  We will know that we are drinking of this fountain, for that will be when we are showing our love forth throughout all of the pain and suffering that exists in the world.  As Christians, we can only claim to be followers of Jesus Christ if we are becoming fountains of Jesus' love.  Otherwise, we are just pedants, proclaiming and sealing ourselves in hatred that closes in on us until we die both in body and spirit.  We need the Holy Spirit.  We need life.  We need love. 

Day 058: Edification

"How is it then, brethren?  Whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation.  Let all things be done for edification."  1 Corinthians 14:26

Recently, I have been thinking a lot about how I personally like to worship.  In sum, my preferred style is traditional but not impractical.

However, when I talk to other people around me, even those closest to me, we all have different preferences.  Some love the organ while others loathe it.  Some love modern language and others find it sacrilegious.  I have friends of different denominations: Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Episcopalian, and even non-denominational.  And, yet, each person has her own preference for her worship.

As I've been reading 1 Corinthians more carefully, I've been thinking a lot more about how we need to be aware that everybody will worship a little differently, and that's okay.  The root of the message, though, is that all worship should be to edify those who are participating - those who are involved should feel closer to each other as they observe their worship.

But then I'll see other people bash on different practices.  I guess since I'm a musician I've seen most of the bashing occur around the idea of what music is best or the most appropriate.  The only answer I can bring to the question is this: whatever works.  Not everybody is going to respond to the same kind of music in the same way.  Look back on history, how things have changed so much.  The earliest Byzantine chants must have resembled their Jewish counterparts.  Many hymns that were written throughout the second millennium were based on popular songs of the day.  Of course, now we probably wouldn't recognize the songs as such anymore, especially since they've become elevated under the cover of hymnals.  Contemporary Christian music, which is a blanket term for a great variety of music today, usually draws on different musical traditions, pointing them to God.

And that's the point.  We are called to direct our lives to God.  If an organ and hymnals brings you there, do it.  If a five piece band with projected lyrics and unison singing get you there, do it.  However, through the different styles of worship, we all report to one God.  So, be sure to respect how someone's traditions bring her closer to God.  In reality, your preferred traditions were probably considered wild and sacrilegious in their early days.