Like many Americans and many pastors in America, my attention has been fixed on the recent murders in Charleston, South Carolina. The underlying racism and senselessness of the entire event is shocking - and yet understandable when we recognize that prejudice and racism still exist in our nation. The fallout from this tragedy has been astonishing as well. The love emanating from the affected community and the fact that the victims' families were able to share the hope of Christ and extend their forgiveness to him brought reporters documenting the story to tears.
It seems weird to say, but I've never been prouder of the body of Christ. I say that because their response is not just astonishing, it is unexplainable. This is a divinely-inspired reaction that can only be attributed to the Spirit of God. Our natural responses involve anger, bitterness, desire for revenge, and hate.
A similarly amazing story of forgiveness lies behind this week's Music Monday selection and I believe it is significantly relevant to what is going on in South Carolina. This video is a little lengthy because it tells the story and includes the song. Definitely worth watching if you have 8-9 minutes:
The term "shawshanked" has become a cultural reference to describe the situation when you are channel surfing and get totally caught up in watching a particular movie you hadn't been looking for. It is derived from the movie "The Shawshank Redemption" which has had that effect on many people due to its constant playing on various cable stations. Personally, I enjoy that movie but don't feel obligated to watch it when I see it on the channel guide. The mid-nineties movie, "Heat" however, absolutely sucks me in when I see it on. I can't recall ever seeing it on DVD, so I am sure it has plenty of objectionable material, but given the FCC edits cable stations make, I find it acceptable viewing as a thoroughly compelling and dramatic movie. Twice this weekend I ran across it and twice I forgot what I had been watching and let myself get into this classic cops-and-robbers film. What I've grown to appreciate more and more in each successive viewing is the musical score. It matches the tension and mood of each scene. And in the climactic ending, when the protagonist and antagonist square off in a shoot-out and chase, one particular song captures the scene perfectly and ends the movie exquisitely. That song is lyric-less but mesmerizing "God Moving Over the Face of the Waters" by Moby.
This weekend, I started to ponder both the content and title of this song- because apparently repeated viewings makes you think about such details.
I thought about perfectly the song matched the title when you remove it from the context of the movie and apply it to Genesis 1, which describes how "the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters" at the beginning of Creation. Listen to that song, think of Genesis, and see if your mind isn't entranced by beauty, transcendence, and the glory of God. I don't think all of this is just coincidence either. Moby has made a number of different statements about his belief in Christ (though His views on the Church and organized Christianity, while true in many ways, miss the point). It seems likely that Moby, being familiar with Scripture's introductory scene, was inspired to compose this piece. A piece that ended up a fitting ending to the final scene of a really entertaining (though spiritually meaningless) movie.Such is the essence of Music Monday, sometimes spiritual truth is found in what is trite.
Yesterday we had a special 'Camp'-themed service as the Rick Miller, director of Camp Shipshewanna at the Brethren Retreat Center, was our main speaker. Our church has a long history with the BRC and Camp Shipshewanna and we have given scholarships to 9 kids connected to our church to attend summer camp this year. Summer camp can be a really special time in the lives of youths. It provides a great opportunity to disconnect from all the stuff of the world and really focus on the Lord. I personally have many great memories from attending my church camp and then later on being a counselor there. And in high school, some of the most spiritually-enriching times were when I attended Word of Life Camps in New York with my Youth Group. Given our emphasis on Sunday, our worship team prepared a special song set that allowed us the opportunity to sing some of our old camp favorites. One song that stands out to me has a classic camp song is our featured selection on this Music Monday. We didn't sing "Shine Jesus Shine" yesterday, but whenever we sing it I think of the fun motions that varied over the years as I was growing up and singing it at Word of Life. Of course, along with being a fun song, it has a strong message about desiring God to shine his light through our lives.
