Your Faith Journey - Finding God Through Words, Song and Praise

Over the past couple of weeks, I have had the privilege of spending some time with our grandson who is now nine months old.  He loves to play peek-a-boo.  He just loves to hide his face behind a blanket or object and then eagerly wait for us to ask, “Where’s William?”  When he hears those words, he is all smiles as he moves the blanket or whatever object it is he thinks he is hiding behind.  The ancient games of Peek-a-Boo and its close cousin Hide & Seek provide hours of glee-filled play for children as they hide behind objects, hide in bushes, under stairs, behind trees and in all kinds of places, just waiting to be found.  And, excitement always mounts as the whimsical pursuer or seeker happily stomps around searching for the hidden while calling out, “Where are you?”  Well, today as we hear this reading from Genesis, we hear the words, “Where are you?”  They are words that echo right down through the centuries and into our very lives. 

This Genesis story we hear in our first reading is part of the second creation story we find in the first book of the Bible.  Yes, there are two very different creation stories in this first book of the Bible.  Today’s reading comes from what is known as the Yahwist narrative.  It is just one among many of the early story threads gathered from multiple traditions that became sewn together to compile the book we now call Genesis.  And, as with many familiar Bible stories that we assume we understand, we often read into this passage and extrapolate ideas that are not there.  You see, this whole slithering, deceptive snake portion of the story likely was originally told to explain the animosity that exists between humans and serpents.  Furthermore, as scholars have studied these writings, theologians now agree that the snake insertion into this story was also likely meant to provide an explanation for the Israelite rejection of the Canaanite goddess Asherah, who was imaged as a snake in a tree.  Asherah was the great Canaanite fertility goddess, so one can detect here a not too subtle polemic against Canaanite religion.  And, yet another aspect that we usually do not grasp is that this serpent who appears in the story is never even identified in scripture as Satan. 

Anyway, as today’s story begins in verse eight, the serpent has already deceived Adam and Eve into disobeying God’s command, and these two human beings are now engaged in a hide and seek game of their own – a game in which the stakes are very high.  As they hunker down in the garden like children attempting to hide while fleeing the implications of their own actions, God seeks them out, fully aware that something has gone wrong.  God goes walking in the garden like the whimsical pursuer.  And, we get to listen as God calls out to them saying, “Where are you?” 

Now, it is fascinating that this is the first question God asks in Scripture.  And, what makes this question so important is that, as in every great story, this question is asked not just of the characters on the page and in the scene, it is a question that is asked of us.  You see, the stories of the Bible are our stories!  The Bible itself is such a great story because it is not so much a story of what happened to our ancestors in faith, but of what happens to each one of us.  

Notice that God does not accusingly ask, “Now just what have you done?”  No.  God simply and graciously asks, “Where are you?”  This question, a question God is always asking of us, exposes our futile attempt to hide from God.  And, at once, that question assumes an answer, an answer that reminds us we often are not where we should be.  In fact, it causes us to think about asking ourselves, “Where should we be?” 

You see, the thrust of this story is simply all about the human predicament.  Something has gone wrong.  We are not where we should be.  As we live our lives, we sense that there is an estrangement from our essential, created selves that is rooted in our alienation from our Maker and gets expressed in behaviors that alienate us from one another.  That is what sin is, turning away from God, alienation from God, from one another and from our very selves.  This story in Genesis is a story not so much of what happened to our first ancestors but of what happens to each one of us.  Our loss of innocence as we grow up and become more aware of the world around us, our alienation from our fellow humans and the animal world, our yearning for independence, and our fear of and alienation from God are all addressed in this creation story.  This story helps us understand the way in which sin alienates us from God and from one another because the hard truth is that we are sinners.  That does not mean we are rotten to the core.  Sin is the human predicament.  And, even though we try to hide while fleeing the implications of our predicament, God knows where we are.  The truth is that we cannot hide from God.  God knows us through and through and if grace meets us anywhere, it meets us in our sin. 

Notice in this story from Genesis we miss the fact that grace permeates the story.   All of a sudden, these two earth creatures are worried about not having clothes and God says, “Well, let me take care of that; I’ll give you clothes, even though I made you to be naked.”  That action of God in this story is a clear statement of grace. 

Yes, it is in the places of deepest struggle, pain and alienation where grace meets us and where we discover the Good News that God loves us no matter what and that God works through our weakness.  We do not have to hide from God for any reason.  When grace meets us, we learn that God considers us to be a treasure, just as we are, and God works in our lives, even in our brokenness.  That is the good news of Jesus Christ.  The Apostle Paul understood this quite well.  He had experienced this grace and God’s power in his own life.  Grace met him in the place of deepest sin and transformed his life.  Paul understood that the destructiveness of human sin is resolved finally and only by acknowledging our human limitations and our total dependence upon the love and grace of God.  In his second letter to the Christians who lived in Corinth, Paul says to his fellow disciples, “What we believe is that the One who raised up the Master Jesus will just as certainly raise us up with you, alive.  Every detail works to your advantage and to God’s glory:  more and more grace, more and more people, more and more praise!  So, we’re not giving up.  How could we!  Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace.”  (The Message; 2 Corinthians 4:14-16)

The Good News is that ours is a God who, no matter where we wander or try and hide, already sees us and lovingly pursues us.  And, God will take every detail in our life and work through it, using it to our advantage.  We do not have to hide because of who we are or what we have done.  God loves us, and God has already found us.

So, while like my grandson, we may think we are hiding, our gracious God already knows where we are while lovingly calling out to us asking, “Where are you?”  And, this God of grace upon grace, this God of grace and more grace, is always inviting us back to God’s very self.  May we eagerly listen to God’s call and joyfully respond because, the truth is, in Jesus we have already been found by this God of grace.

Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life.”  He also said, “I am the resurrection and the life.”  In Jesus, we do find life, abundant life, life that truly matters.  And it is because of the gift of new life we have already been given in Jesus that we come together to worship on Sunday mornings.  Otherwise, there really is no reason to gather together.  So, as we worship and share the good news of this new life we have been given, music is the accompanying counterpoint to that life-giving message.  Theologian, Karl Barth, has said, “All history is point and counterpoint – two melodies running side by side – God’s and that of humanity.  Alone, one of them is always incomplete, even God’s.  God preferred to die rather than be without us.”  Taken together there is meaning and beauty in the rise and fall of these two melodies.  And, in Jesus, their temporal dissonance, the discord that we often see and experience, is already resolved into final harmony.  It is a done deal, folks.  And, we live our daily lives by living into what we know will be that final harmony.

Music is not only bound up and intertwined with faith and worship, it is a primary expression of faith and worship as we pray by playing music and singing words that come from the deepest places in our being.  Music, faith, worship and theology are all interrelated and interdependent.  As we think of this interrelatedness, theology (our understanding of God) prevents music from becoming an idol or an end in itself by pointing us to its origins – in the doxology of creation.  And, music prevents our theology from becoming a purely intellectual matter by moving the heart of people to consider its ultimate purpose – life, new life, the doxology of the new creation we find in Jesus, the Christ.  God is making all things new, even each one of us.  That is why we are releasing butterflies this morning.  And, that is why, on this Music Sunday, it is fitting that we give thanks for the gift of music as a primary expression of faith and worship.   It is fitting that we celebrate, through music, the new life we have been given in Christ, the new life that is already ours.

Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life.”  He also said, “I am the resurrection and the life.”  In Jesus, we do find life, abundant life, life that truly matters.  And it is because of the gift of new life we have already been given in Jesus that we come together to worship on Sunday mornings.  Otherwise, there really is no reason to gather together.  So, as we worship and share the good news of this new life we have been given, music is the accompanying counterpoint to that life-giving message.  Theologian, Karl Barth, has said, “All history is point and counterpoint – two melodies running side by side – God’s and that of humanity.  Alone, one of them is always incomplete, even God’s.  God preferred to die rather than be without us.”  Taken together there is meaning and beauty in the rise and fall of these two melodies.  And, in Jesus, their temporal dissonance, the discord that we often see and experience, is already resolved into final harmony.  It is a done deal, folks.  And, we live our daily lives by living into what we know will be that final harmony.

Music is not only bound up and intertwined with faith and worship, it is a primary expression of faith and worship as we pray by playing music and singing words that come from the deepest places in our being.  Music, faith, worship and theology are all interrelated and interdependent.  As we think of this interrelatedness, theology (our understanding of God) prevents music from becoming an idol or an end in itself by pointing us to its origins – in the doxology of creation.  And, music prevents our theology from becoming a purely intellectual matter by moving the heart of people to consider its ultimate purpose – life, new life, the doxology of the new creation we find in Jesus, the Christ.  God is making all things new, even each one of us.  That is why we are releasing butterflies this morning.  And, that is why, on this Music Sunday, it is fitting that we give thanks for the gift of music as a primary expression of faith and worship.   It is fitting that we celebrate, through music, the new life we have been given in Christ, the new life that is already ours.

This is a special musical performance of They Shall Soar Like Eagles by the Chancel Choir at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan.

This is a special musical performance of They Shall Soar Like Eagles by the Chancel Choir at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan.

This is a special musical performance of The Gift of Love by the Faith Bells of Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan

This is a special musical performance of The Gift of Love by the Faith Bells of Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan

This is a special musical performance of One Steps He Leads by the Chancel Choir at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan.

This is a special musical performance of One Steps He Leads by the Chancel Choir at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan.

This is a special musical performance of Blindman by the Joyful Noise Childrens' Choir at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan.