Skip to main content

Introduction to Worship for 8/6/2017

By

Thunderstruck:

This week we continue our journey with the Gifts of the Dark Wood. The gift we are exploring this week is the gift of being Thunderstruck. This is the gift that stops us in our tracks and forces us to re-examine the path that we are on, or the choices that we make, or the views that we hold most dear. Our language and our stories are full of this metaphor, which was used in ancient times to talk about how God speaks. In Psalm 29, the Psalmist describes God’s voice “thundering over the waters”, and “breaking the cedars of Lebanon” with its power. Dr Elnes says that this metaphor is not to describe where thunder and lightning come from, but to give us insight into where we can hear the voice of God: in flashes of insight, in moments of new vision, in experiences that change us in unrepeatable ways.

Scripture Lesson: 1 Samuel 3: 1–20

The story for today is of the calling of Samuel, and what is perhaps the most noticeable in the context of our theme is that Samuel hears the voice of God, but he does not receive instant conviction: in fact, he first misunderstands where it is coming from, then he assumes that the message must be about someone else. He has to test what he has experienced, to make sure his new understanding is a true one, before he is ready to follow God’s call. Sometimes we experience “instant conviction” and are sure that we have been granted insight by God; more often our new insights lead us into further exploration and testing. The gift of being thunderstruck is the beginning, not the final conclusion.

Dr. Elnes also writes of the sense of connection and peace that, if we are paying attention, will confirm that we are on the path to which we are called. Yet he cautions, “you don’t suddenly step out of the Dark Wood on day exclaiming, “Now I can finally live my life.” Instead, you discover that the struggles and uncertainties associated with life in the Dark Wood remain. Only now they become deeply connected to a path that brings you alive. They begin to work for you, not against you. They also begin blessing others — even the world itself” (p.80).

Connecting Faith and Life


  • Do you ever experience flashes of insight? What are the most common forms in which they occur: dreams, day dreams, poetry, reactions to movies, television, other media, music?
  • Have you ever credited any of your “aha” moments with being the voice of God? What would be the difference in people’s reactions if you said, “God just spoke to me,” as opposed to saying, “I just had this amazing insight?”

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Introduction to Worship for 4/30/2017

By
Followers of the Way: Renowned Jesus scholar John Dominic Crossan made a profound statement about this week’s gospel reading. “Emmaus never happened,” Crossan wrote. “Emmaus always happens.” What we are invited to grapple with in that statement is the truth that the factual (historical) significance of the resurrection stories is secondary to a more profound truth: the risen Christ is with us. Now. Here. That is what the early church began to learn, and it is what enabled them to move on. Luke 24:13–35 The exact location of Emmaus is not known. Perhaps this uncertainty forms a commentary on the focus scripture. Emmaus may be anywhere. Hearts burning and eyes opening do not take place in only one place, either geographical or spiritual. Emmaus comes into sight wherever a path leads us toward communion with God and whenever we recognize the risen Christ among us. On the day of Jesus’ resurrection, two disciples walk along the road to Emmaus with Jesus, informing this “strange...
1 comment
Read more

Introduction to Worship for 2/26/2017

By
Matthew 17:1-9 And so the Season after the Epiphany closes: on a holy mountain where God may be found. It is a place of sacred mystery, where shining and shadow convey a holy presence. It is a place of community across time, where God’s people of past and present meet. It is a place of silence and witness, where visions are kept quiet and God says of Jesus, “Listen to him.” From here, we go forward into Lent: the 40 days and 6 Sundays that take us through Jesus’ progress toward Jerusalem and the conflict with the government of Palestine that would lead to his crucifixion. We will have special worship stations in the sanctuary, for reflection and prayer; a Tuesday morning prayer group; a book study on “Gifts of the Dark Wood,” a book that reflects on the hard places and what we find there; and in worship, we will tell the stories of Jesus and his encounters with people who were on the margins, that he brought into the center.  So this week, we pause to reflect on the insight tha...
Post a Comment
Read more

Introduction to Worship for 9/3/2017

By
Misfits: As we come to the close of our journey through the Dark Wood, we are considering one final gift. Eric Elnes calls this the gift of “Misfits,” and by that he means two things. The first is the experience each of us sometimes has of being a misfit in our cultural context or our community, when it seems that who we are and what we want is at odds with the world around us. And the second is the gift of others who are also misfits, who guide and challenge us along the way as we strive to find our place and our purpose in God’s commonwealth together. He names this second category of misfits as “mentors”, and invites us to identify and to keep regular contact with those who can mentor us toward living fully in the gospel, and keep us from becoming too comfortable on the wrong paths. Psalm 137: 1–6 The Psalm is the classic cry of the broken hearted, finding themselves in a faraway land and a world that does not value “Zion”—the reign of God on earth. By crying out their grief a...
Post a Comment
Read more