As Jake and I planned the music for this Sunday we felt led to do things a little differently. Not only is the music in a different style, but our proclamation will be in a different style. I say this because Jake and I are going to offer it together, and hopefully, you’ll be a part of it, too.
To begin with, I want to let you know a little about what goes into the average Sunday. We always start with the scriptures, and we usually stick to the lectionary texts. These are the ones selected by the National Council of Churches, and they bind us together with all who follow Jesus and move us through the seasons of the year reflectively.
Today, given that we are doing a jazz service, Jake picked some tunes – and even wrote the anthem – in hopes of offering some basic themes of Christian faith that we are all going to weave together. Before that, though, I’d like Jake to share a little about the history of Dixieland Jazz and why it matters for worship.
[Jake acknowledges the origins of Jazz in New Orleans as coming from differing musical traditions and noting the desire of these musicians to honor God together. Many were earning a living late into the night, so Sunday afternoon became the time they came up with their own way of praising God. ]
As Jake and I talked more I thought, “Wow. People coming from differing traditions that come together to glorify God that sounds like the church!” The more we talked, the more we wanted to involve you in the conversation. So that’s what we’re going to do today.
To start with we’re going to talk about the common themes that we all see in the music today. Jake, why don’t you start us off? [Jake shares that love is the theme that binds the service together.] As for me, I see God’s providence as a theme. What about anyone else? What’s the first word or phrase that comes to mind from any of the scriptures that we’ve read today?
[After responses, if it has not already been said, Jake asserts the idea of trust.]
So now the question becomes, What does God’s word have to say about these themes? How do we see love and providence and trust in the scriptures? Let me rephrase that because it’s actually not rhetorical.
How do you see trust playing out in the scripture readings? [The congregation shares their thoughts, but I make sure the following are included. Trust is seen in Ruth accepting Naomi’s instruction and Boaz’s character. In Hebrews, we’re given Jesus as the trustworthy high priest, and in Mark, the widow’s offering is a sign of expectation and resignation. In our music, the song Lord, Lord, Lord notes past actions and present expectations of God.
Providence is seen in Boaz’s acceptance of Ruth as next of kin and in their child, who is the precursor for the line of David and even Jesus. In Hebrews, the sacrifice of Jesus provides freedom from sin, and in Mark, we see that the wealth and the opportunity to share are all provided by God. In our music, we will soon sing Precious Lord and be reminded that God is the ultimate leader and guide.
Finally, love is expressed in Naomi’s restoration and the promise of the Christ through the same child. In Hebrews, we learn that love has conquered sin, and in Mark, we see the widow’s offering as the full expression of selfless love. Finally, you will hear in our Offertory today, a call to love fully – even to love those that would do us harm.
That’s where it gets real, isn’t it? When we move from talking about themes to connecting scripture with our lives it can be a little confronting, but here’s where I take heart in Dixieland Jazz. We are Dixieland Jazz. We are a community that, in the long run, is more like a jam session with particular grounding themes that we are an orchestra with fixed rhythm and meter.
Every time a new person comes into the mix, we have to make eye contact and let the music flow between us until we can find a good space to play together – for we are all reaching for higher ground. We are all connected and separate at the same time, and we are all seeking a more common union. As we learn to trust we become aware of the active presence of God, which means that we realize that we are all held by the same love.
This love binds us but also transforms us. We see it in the Widow’s mite in her desperate faith and our relationship to one another’s desperation. We see it because Jesus’s sacrifice offers the lenses, and sin doesn’t have to blind us. It doesn’t have to bind us, and when it does – when our selfishness or someone else’s wins the day – the outsider often holds the key.
It doesn’t matter if they are in a caravan or in our community. It doesn’t matter if they meet the profile for most likely to be an active shooter or just the wrong skin color in the wrong part of town at the wrong time of day. What matters is our ability to see them as our own next of kin, the way that Boaz saw Ruth.
Now, I’ll admit that is much easier to say than to do, but it is still what we are called to do. I’ll admit that it was hard last night while walking from the Downtown Faith Alliance’s community art project at Artwalk with my sister and my son. There was a man I saw twice, asking for assistance. The only gift I was willing to give him was to look him in the eye when I refused, and I barely did that.
I know that giving him a dollar would not have solved his problems or fixed homelessness, so I must go from that encounter and wrestle with what it takes to make the world a place where he doesn’t need to ask.
Fortunately, we have one another to work together on that project. As I speak, we are in Cuba with Nell and Megan and George. As I speak, our collective witness is bubbling over into places of need through meals on wheels and CUPS and Family Promise and the UCO and Wesley United Campus Ministries. There is even a PDA group getting set to come back and work with us in January. As I speak, the Spirit of God continues challenging us to consider how we, as a congregation, will continue to reach out in love.
It’s just that simple. It’s just that hard, and to God be the glory, now and always. Amen.
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