United we Stand!

(a bit long, but worth it, probably not actually but read it anyway)

I recently spent an evening July 3rd celebrating the independence of the United States of America (yes, the 3rd, apparently Thais don’t like the 4th). It was a piece of the states in a small though quite nice US Consulate in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Americans from all over the area piled in to celebrate and remember what happened some 200+ years ago.

The night was filled with hot dogs, Budweiser, red white & blue everything, and of course a rather modest but still enjoyable firework ‘extravaganza’. Before the night had ended I would imagine a good handful of ‘patriotic’ music had been sung with America the Beautiful capping the evening off. Funny to me how we pay such homage to the nation we aren’t choosing to live in currently, but nevertheless it was quite a uniting moment. I let my eyes come off the stars & stripes 50 feet above my head to look around at the some of the 800+ people singing, some loudly, some quietly some even more introspectively like they remember ‘like it was yesterday’ when they were looking over J. Hancock’s shoulder as he was about the put ink to paper and be the first name on the Declaration of Independence. It really was a fine moment for our nation, really: Almost 1000 citizens, united, neither democrat nor republican, black nor white, Christian nor Muslim, only American; praising the glorious achievement that is the United States of America. Barriers torn down as if these citizens had been indeed baptized into American culture itself.

It got me thinking…

I couldn’t help but see this event as a parallel to the worship service as a Christian I experience each Sunday…but with one big exception…the unity. Each Sunday morning/evening, depending on your age I suppose ;-) we engage in an act of musical praise to a perfect God whom we also call father. It would seem to me that as a Christian this event should be more unifying to the body of Christ than a few lines about “purple mountains majesty” and “amber waves of grain” seem to be for the American citizen. Somehow I felt it easier to high five and salute any half drunk American at the consulate on my way to the bathroom, than embrace the company of a brother or sister in Christ at any given service on Sunday. Why is that? Maybe it’s just me, maybe I’m the only one that doesn’t find worship time at Church as a less than unifying experience. I don’t see it dividing and I don’t think anyone else would argue that either. Which would make sense of how it got that way. It’s crept up on us.

Worship is such a beautiful thing…an opportunity for an imperfect person to give glory to a perfect God. We are unworthy of even that. I don’t wish to come across that I hate a believer expressing and communing with our Lord in a personal way. Just the opposite. It is simply what happens as a byproduct that I’m concerned about…merely self fulfillment or indeed a true manifestation of Christ’s goodness, joy, and hope in the midst of joined, united body of believers. I think that the entire body is missing out on the unity that comes as we sing songs to God with remembrance that along with those around us we belong to that same King and Kingdom to which we sing. That we should be able to look around the sanctuary, and see some singing loudly, some quietly, some even more introspectively as they remember ‘like it was yesterday’ that Christ was crucified for our sins that we might have life; that he put blood to earth for the last time some 2000 years ago and that this event would unite us as a body once again, “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” – Neither democrat nor republican, Calvinist nor Lutheran, young nor old, ‘pomo’ nor ‘modo’, only Christian; praising a heavenly deity that is the basis for all we think, see, do, and feel.
What a uniting figure, what a uniting Kingdom to which we belong. Christian, you have been baptized into a community, a citizenship that surpasses any border or culture. You belong to a peculiar people. Let us bring those presuppositions to the sanctuary each Sunday as we sing praises to our Lord. If American’s, one of the most individualistic societies probably of all time can find unity in such sheet music, I’m pretty confident the people of God can do the same.