Monday Morning Music Ministry

4-26-21

That is the title of a Vietnam-era movie. About World War II-era Italy. It was the time when the early symptoms of Vietnam-war opposition manifested themselves in movies and books and TV shows that mocked war in general, denigrated the Vietnam war, and led to varieties of pacifism through American society.

In one way or another, the disaffection with things military has persisted, sometimes flagrant, sometimes dormant. The abolition of the draft, now 50 years ago, has insulated the majority of Americans from the most negative aspects of military life – interrupted careers and personal dangers, for instance; but also from service, discipline, sacrifice, and patriotic fulfillment.

The United States is not the only country without mandatory universal service. However, there are many nations that do require military conscription, training, and service. That list includes Brazil, Denmark, Iran, Mexico, North and South Korea, and Russia.

Famously, Switzerland requires that young people serve in the army for several years, and maintain weapons back in civilian life. Only a few years ago there was a referendum about abolishing this requirement, and it was defeated, including by three-fourths of young people. Famously also, little Switzerland, surrounded by many hostile and often expansionary neighbors, has not been invaded in more than 500 years. (Citizens are required to bear arms.)

Israel too is noted for its drafting of men and women into its military service. Without those men and women in uniform, one wonders whether modern Israel would only be a memory now, as of the ancient Israelites.

Whether viewed as good genii or evil spirits, there is no reentry to the bottle. It is hard to imagine America returning to a situation where its entirety of young men and women would be efficient in uniform, trained for combat and facing danger. No time… no ready resources… and, I regretfully believe, no physical competence nor emotional will.

A sad effect of the prosperity and “progress” in Western societies has been the loss of those virtues that once insured national safety and independence. Human nature does not change, and America’s false sense of security is built on several premises that all live somewhere between the naïve and suicidal – We trust in a monstrous military force. We believe that smart guys who invent things will protect us. We assume our political leaders make the right choices in diplomacy and military strategy. (HUH?)

We also, as a society, have an almost superstitious belief that countries that can challenge and defeat us… but, well, they just won’t, right? Or that countries that covet our land, our resources, our power, our riches… well, would not ever threaten or try a takeover, right? Nations that hate our history, our religion, our traditions… well, they’ll just leave them alone, right? They will pass over you and me and our neighborhoods, right?

All the times in history that every empire has fallen, it has been from internal decay and outside aggression beginning around the fringes. But… it will be different with us???

These are what we call rhetorical questions. For the here-and-now – this discussion – I want rather to bring it not to global matters or the sweep of history, but to you and me, and the people we see in our mirrors, and the families we care about. I return to that movie title, What Did You Do In the War?

Because in the drift we have charted (no, none of us are wholly innocent) we all will be combatants.

In the war to redeem Western Civilization, to salvage American institutions, and to defend the God’s church… there can be no draft-dodgers.

We can not rely on that modern version of a slave economy, the “volunteer military”… they are not slaves, but they are considered that, functionally, to many citizens who are not in uniform.

In the deadly (yes) battles to come, we will be required to go beyond the acts we think sufficient today… voting “correctly,” signing petitions and attending rallies, boycotting TV channels, and such.

We must think hard, and imagine the worst scenarios, because things are closer than you think. You must stop imagining “where things will lead,” and realize we are already in the middle of crises. You must stop trusting to the future, and see that the future is here – a dystopian future, the ugly opposite of Utopia.

Read ahead to the Book of Revelation. Revisit the lines in church songs like Onward Christian Soldiers. Realize: The Battle Hymn of the Republic is not a museum-piece but remains an inspirational call to action.

And Keep On the Firing Line – do you know it? – is not a Sunday School song from Rally summer camps.

What will you do in the war, Daddy? Mommy? Young man? Young lady?

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If you’re in the battle for the Lord and right,
Keep on the firing line;
If you win, my brother, surely you must fight,
Keep on the firing line.
There are many dangers that we all must face,
If we die still fighting it is no disgrace;
Cowards in the service will not find a place,
So keep on the firing line.

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Click: Keep On the Firing Line
Wally Varner and Calvin Newton – Keep On the Firing Line

4-19-21

Life goes on.

Easter is over; Memorial Day is next; Summer begins; will the lockdowns end? Oh, those politicians. Oh, those riots, Oh, those headlines. Best if I ignore TV news for awhile. Before we know it, school will start up again… or will it? I wonder if we’ll get more free checks by then?

It doesn’t always take “bread and circuses” to keep us distracted. Modern life, even without pandemic frenzy and political upheavals, presents a full agenda.

Life goes on; the sun rises, we tend to business, the sun sets, and we sleep till tomorrow. Things please us, and things alarm us… but there’s always tomorrow to worry, and, maybe, fix things. It has always been that way, right?

Just as it happened in the days of Noah, so it will be also [in the last days]: they were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.

Jesus looked ahead to our times, and (in Matthew and, here, in Luke 17) spoke about complacency, sin, self-delusion, and people taking false comfort in the meme “life goes on.” Who did He think He was, the Son of God or someone, thinking He could prophesy? What gave Him the authority to warn people?

How much worse it will be for those who never really know the Truth – never heard it, or honestly never had it presented to them. But for Christians who came through Easter, who have known the Truth, who have “accepted” Jesus, how many go through the year in effect saying, “Jesus died… Whatever.” Or “He rose from the dead… Whatever.” Or “I’ll go to Heaven, no worries” … and then eat, drink, marry, give in marriage. Whatever.

The suffering, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus gave humankind, in effect, a “Get Out Of Jail Free” card. That is so casual a view as to be near blasphemous, unless we realize how basically profound it is. As the saying goes, Salvation is free, but a great price was paid.

What Jesus said about the days of Noah, and our days, is that people putter about, doing this and that, when great things portend, if we would only see them. But we don’t.

Did Jesus die for your sins? Act like you know it, and thank Him!

Did Jesus rise from the dead? Act like it transforms your life too!

Did Jesus send the Holy Spirit? Act with guidance, wisdom, and power!

The Atonement was Jesus trading the punishment for your sins for the chance to live a life of love and service. The greatest deal in history, excuse my casual language again. It does not deserve a “Whatever” from those who have been redeemed.

If you do not act like your life has been transformed by Christ’s grace then, in fact… you have not been transformed.

One of the few things Jesus asked in a response was that we share the news of what He did. Can it be possible, then, to share without showing great enthusiasm? If you had a cure for cancer, and a friend or stranger had cancer, would you not share that? Even if it were “uncomfortable”? Even if they ridiculed you for trying to save their lives?

“Whatever”… and shrugging your shoulders cannot be your response.

We can have a thousand responses. But I suggest three:

1. Come (again?) to know the Truth – Jesus embodied the truth: “I am the way, the Truth, and the life.”

2. Repent of your “Whatevers.” In the St Matthew Passion is the prayer “Erbarme Dich” – Have pity, my God, for the sake of my tears!
Look here, how bitterly my heart and eyes weep before you.
Have pity, my God.

3. Share! “Go tell it!” Love others. Stay above the mundane. Rebuke the Whatevers. “Go into all the world…”

Life goes on. Act like it!

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Click: Have Pity on My Failings
J. S. Bach – “Erbarme Dich, Mein Gott”

4-12-21

Lately a lot of politicians begin their answers with the word, “Look…” or “Listen…” appearing to say something clear and direct. It usually is the opposite; a deflection. Like “C’mon, man” – a way to substitute for an answer.

But we all do it, or similar things. We tell our children to “look away” from something harsh or rude, usually correctly. We might claim to “look in the other direction” when confronted with unpleasant facts, or decisions we want to avoid. Body-language experts watch our eyes, the way we look up or down, or glassy-eyed, to discern our actual intentions.

“The eyes are the windows to the soul,” Jesus paraphrased in Matthew 6, citing Proverbs 30:17.

We draw too quick a conclusion, however. If we look away… refuse to acknowledge things… maybe, then, pretending things don’t exist, we can fool ourselves. Perhaps fatally.

Are we ostriches who hide their heads in the sand? If we look away do we become immune, and escape the consequences of that we avoid?

Of course I am not talking about a household accident, or a lesson a child needs to learn, or wise advice when we can offer it, even if uncomfortable. I address those like me who perceive that we are living an extraordinary times – extraordinarily troubling and dangerous. In society, within families, in the culture, in education, in politics, in the church world… many of us are shocked and grieved and anxious about the trend of events.

Argue back. Fight back. Lose friends, make allies. Pray. And, for many who have grown weary, sometimes the best (easiest?) (safest?) (holiest?) thing to do in the face of a tsunami of attacks is… to look away.

Doesn’t the Bible talk about a “remnant”? Should we gather our children as a mother hen gathers her chicks? Should we only fellowship with the saints?

Those are answers, but sometimes the wrong answers. I will return to “looking,” and the eyes God has given us – spiritual sight as well as physical vision.

Recently we discussed Easter, and how the miraculous Jesus looked down from the cross and, I believe, looked into my eyes, and yours, and humankind’s, into our souls. The crowds who greeted Him, then screamed for His death, scattered before Calvary – not caring to look.

When Jesus came out from the tomb, defeating death, he immediately began looking. For you and me. I wrote this week, in effect, He was saying “Here I come, ready or not!” He looked for people to forgive in the weeks that followed, and invited witnesses to look upon Him.

On Ascension Day, when He was seen to rise to Heaven and be seated at the right hand of the Father (confirming His divinity) it was required that witnesses look upon that transformation.

We should not look away from some things. We cannot look away from all things. We must look at more things, good and bad, straight-on. They will happen anyway. So, continuing the metaphorical part of this, don’t turn away from some challenges and problems. Look at them, understand them. Deal with them.

Go a step further, you and your eyes. Look FOR things. If we indeed live in parlous times, seek what is evil, what is harmful, what carries dangers. It is the first and best step to protect your and your family. And redeem the culture. And honor God.

LOOK! Don’t “look away.” Seek and ye shall find… the courage, the strength, the answers. You will find Jesus, if you look for Him.

Why do I think these details are important? I am afraid that we too often take Jesus for granted. Yes, God’s Son. Yes. rose from the dead. Yes, forgives our sins. But nobody can have a relationship with someone with looking that person in the face. Right?

A helpful hint. When things are strangely dim, or confusing no matter how hard you focus, or “look” hopeless; when things seem too dark; and maybe you don’t even know where to look…

Turn your eyes upon Jesus. He has been looking for you, and at you, all along. Meet His eyes.

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Click: Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus

4-4-21

He’s Alive.

Those two words are the most consequential in humankind’s long history, or ever will be.

He’s Alive.

For Christians, these words overshadow everything, for if there be no Resurrection, our faith is in vain.

He’s Alive.

For believers in any, and every, other religion, there is not one founder or leader about whom it is claimed that once dead, that figure came back to life.

He’s Alive.

For agnostics and atheists, you simply must confront the Biblical record, eyewitness accounts, and words of people like the historian Josephus, who recorded acts of the risen Christ.

He’s Alive.

For the skeptical, if you think the life, ministry, and resurrection of Jesus was a hoax, tell us how Christianity spread like wildfire after the Resurrection; and why so many people – including 11 of the Disciples – would endure their own torture and death… for a hoax.

He’s Alive.

For the wise, study His words, and explain how Jesus was anything but one of these: a brilliant swindler; a delusional fool; or… the Son of God.

He’s Alive.

For the logic-minded, calculate the odds of multiple hundreds of prophecies and predictions, written over centuries by many hands in many lands, that came true to the finest detail and timing.

He’s Alive.

For those who don’t “believe in miracles,” like the acts He was recorded as performing, or that He fulfilled by rising from the dead, start counting the number of other things you can’t explain in life, but “take on faith.”

He’s Alive.

For those who are tempted to think that this God or this Jesus might have been real once upon a time, and acted 2000 years ago, but not now…

Talk to someone whose life has been transformed;

Talk to someone who suffered awful depression, but now lives joyously;

Talk to a sinner who has turned from his or her ways;

Talk to someone who endured a fatal disease or injury… and has been healed;

Talk to an addict who now is “clean”;

Talk to someone who hated… and has learned to love;

Talk to someone who could not forgive, and was touched by someone else’s forgiveness;

Talk to someone who carried oppressive burdens of guilt, but now feels free;

Talk to that little baby who smiles back at you;

Talk to…

Well, talk to Jesus. He will answer you if you listen. He will lead you if you need. He will love you as if He has known you all along.

… because He has. He’s been waiting. When He left that tomb, by some sort of miracle, He came out looking for you.

He’s alive.

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Click: He’s Alive