The Park Forum

Links for today’s readings:

Feb 12  Read: Proverbs 3 Listen: (3:05) Read: Psalm 33 Listen: (2:08)

Scripture Focus: Psalm 33.3

3 Sing to him a new song; 
play skillfully, and shout for joy.

Reflection: Worship Greatly

By John Tillman

Do you have an inner “worship critic”? I do.

I have decades of experience and expertise in planning, producing, and performing in large worship gatherings in addition to being a musician, singer, theater performer, and director. Any public performance, whether in person or on television, activates my inner critic to analyze the event.

It’s one thing to critique the quality of a worship service. We should always care about doing things with excellence for God’s glory. We must “play skillfully.” However, my expertise and experience aren’t always objective. Neither are yours. There is often a grey area between quality and preference.

Federico Villanueva reminds us of a variety of worship styles, stances, and volumes in Psalms.

“It has been said that there are two kinds of worshipers: the “Joy to the World” type and the “Silent Night” type. The latter like solemnity and silence, with matching candles. The former like it noisy, with worship viewed as celebration. The beauty of the Psalms is that they show that there is a place for both types.” (Federico G. Villanueva, Asia Bible Commentary Series)

The orchestration notes for some psalms indicate masses of loud instruments like cymbals and trumpets. (Psalm 150.3-5) Some psalms specify tender-sounding tunes such as “Doe of the Morning.” (Psalm 22) No style is excluded from “sacred” music.

Psalm 33 turns the volume up to eleven. “Shout for joy” (v. 3) means a cheer of victorious celebration. We are not well acquainted with the victory shouts one might have heard from ancient armies, but we are acquainted with the shouts of sports stadiums when one’s team has won a championship. Like it or not, worship can be like that. Worship can also be totally silent.

The vital quality of worship is not volume. Worship is not about a great production which meets our preferences or standards, but a great God. To worship properly, quiet your inner critic and distinguish between critiques of preference and quality. If a singer is pitchy or an instrument too loud or a sermon too long, but God is glorified, we should be able to say “amen.”

If the readings, prayers, music, and sermons point to God’s greatness and the gospel, I can deal with a less than perfect service. However, high production values can’t save services that mute or miss the gospel.

Don’t mistake your preferences for quality. “Shout to the Lord” and “be still and know he is God.” (Psalm 46.10) Worship God greatly, always

Divine Hours Prayer: The Call to Prayer

Come, let us sing to the Lord; … For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods. — Psalm 95.1, 3

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime by Phyllis Tickle.

Read more: Wearisome Worship

When we misrepresent God outside his house, our worship within his house is wearisome rather than welcomed.

Wearisome Worship

Read more: We Need Renewal — Worldwide Prayer

Please forgive our failures in thought, speech, and action, those we omit as well as those we commit.

We Need Renewal — Worldwide Prayer

Links for today’s readings:

Feb 11 Read:  Proverbs 2 Listen: (1:53) Read: Psalm 32 Listen: (1:34)

Scripture Focus: Psalm 32:3, 9

3 When I kept silent,
    my bones wasted away
    through my groaning all day long.

9 Do not be like the horse or the mule,
    which have no understanding
but must be controlled by bit and bridle
    or they will not come to you.

Reflection: Mule Behavior

By Erin Newton

Mules are notoriously stubborn. They are hybrid creatures; the result of breeding a female horse and male donkey. They are sterile, albeit hardy, creatures. Farmers and ranchers utilize the hardiness of the mule, yet a quick search for mules reveals a plethora of pictures depicting a bridled mule, firmly planted, resolutely fixed in place despite the pull and command of its handler. Despite all efforts, they often refuse to move.

We have our own idiom to describe people who refuse to do what is asked: Stubborn as a mule. It is typically not used as a compliment, for the intended recipient is someone who has been told to change and will not comply. The psalmist is warning people to avoid such mulish behavior when it comes to sin.

Psalm 32 begins with a thanksgiving for forgiveness. “Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven” (v. 1). It sounds like the Beatitudes, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matt 5:1).

This psalm reflects on how sin weighs a person down. It is like one’s bones wasting away. Unrepentant sin, as the Spirit convicts our soul, gnaws and festers. When we repair our relationship with God, seeking forgiveness, we are restored. Blessed.

Forgiveness doesn’t come easy—asking for it, that is. We are naturally stubborn. Our pride wants to hold our ground and defend our ways. But the pulling from God and the weight of sin can be a painful experience. The psalmist tells us to give in.

There is, however, the need to ensure that the commands given to us are reflective of what Christianity demands. Is it God asking us to change? Who is pulling on our reins?

Our society is wrestling with issues of cultural religiosity, where “doing the Christian thing” is more akin to following club rules. Those who seek to retain power in the “club of cultural Christianity” see all resistance as mulish (and sinful) unrepentance. They hold the reins of some people asking them to follow without question. This is not what this psalm is saying.

Being obedient to God is not the same as following anyone who dons the title “Christian.” Mules are stubborn but they are not necessarily dumb. They often refuse when they perceive the situation is dangerous.

Who is holding your reins? Who is pulling you along, shouting commands to follow? May it be God, and God alone.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Greeting

In you, O Lord, have I taken refuge; let me never be put to shame; deliver me in your righteousness. — Psalm 31.1

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime by Phyllis Tickle.

Read more: Temptation Has No Gender

Power, wealth, indulgence, sexuality…nothing escapes the corruption of sin and no gender is exempt from responsibility.

Temptation Has No Gender—Readers’ Choice

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Links for today’s readings:

Feb 9 Read: Job 42 Listen: (2:41) Read: Psalm 30 Listen: (1:32)

Scripture Focus: Psalm 22.1-2, 23-24, 30-31

1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? 
Why are you so far from saving me, 
so far from my cries of anguish? 
2 My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, 
by night, but I find no rest.

23 You who fear the Lord, praise him! 
All you descendants of Jacob, honor him! 
Revere him, all you descendants of Israel! 
24 For he has not despised or scorned 
the suffering of the afflicted one; 
he has not hidden his face from him 
but has listened to his cry for help.

30 Posterity will serve him; 
future generations will be told about the Lord. 
31 They will proclaim his righteousness, 
declaring to a people yet unborn: 
He has done it!

Reflection: A Poem Before Dying

By John Tillman

What poem would you quote before dying?

Before dying, Jesus pointed us to Psalm 22. What is in this poem that Jesus and the gospel writers wanted to be on our minds?

“To be or not to be” is a popular quote. It is referenced thousands of times in many shows, plays, and films, including the Arnold Schwarzenegger film, The Last Action Hero. Even those who slept through English classes would at least remember it was from Shakespeare.

Others would recognize it from the play, Hamlet, even if they didn’t “remember Hamlet accurately.” Many would know Hamlet said it. Many more would know it begins an important speech. Many others might remember the speech as one of the most profound meditations in the English language on whether to resist the oppressions, struggles, and injustices of life or surrender to hopelessness, inaction, and death. Many might have memorized it.

Whenever someone alludes to “to be or not to be,” everything you know about it is activated. Your level of understanding an allusion, depends on your level of familiarity.

Jesus alluded to Psalm 22 from the cross by quoting its first line. (Matthew 27.46-49; Mark 15.34-37) Some of those around the cross would not even recognize the quote. Some would recognize it was scripture, but not where it was from. Some would recognize it but misunderstand its meaning. But some, including the gospel authors, had a deep understanding of the entire psalm and why Jesus would reference it.

From the last line to the first, there are many similarities in Jesus’ crucifixion and Psalm 22. The psalmist begins by asking why God has abandoned him but overall, the psalm affirms that God hears his cry and did not turn his face away (Psalm 22.24). It describes many physical details of crucifixion and proclaims in its final line that “He (God) has done it,” (Psalm 22.31) or, in other words, “It is finished.” (John 19.30)

Biblical authors are masters of allusion, referring constantly to other texts. The power of an allusion depends on how deeply you know the source material. Refamiliarize yourself with Psalm 22 keeping your mind open to what Jesus speaking from the cross would direct your attention to. Imagine standing there hearing him quote it and having its lines run through your mind as you watched.

Deeper familiarity with scripture will lead to deeper understanding.

Resource:“Seeing What’s Really There: A Guide to Biblical Allusions” — The Biblical Mind Podcast

Divine Hours Prayer: The Request for Presence

I long for your salvation, O Lord, and your law is my delight. — Psalm 119.174

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime by Phyllis Tickle.

Read more: The Prayer From the Cross

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish?

The Prayer From the Cross

Read more: Job’s Christlikeness

Job is Christlike in his eucatastrophic return…everything in Job’s life died or was lost. Then, unexpectedly, everything was restored.

Job’s Christlikeness

Links for today’s readings:

Feb 6 Read: Job 39 Listen: (2:47) Read: Psalm 25 Listen: (2:18)

Links for this weekend’s readings:

Feb 7 Read: Job 40 Listen: (2:09) Read: Psalms 26-27 Listen: (3:13)
Feb 8 Read: Job 41 Listen: (3:03) Read: Psalms 28-29 Listen: (2:41)

Scripture Focus: Psalm 25.4-5, 8-9

Reflection: Where Admission is Free

By John Tillman

Some teachers and schools are selective about admissions.

To enroll in a renowned school or study under a renowned teacher, you typically must prove you are already an excellent student in that topic. So-called “great” teachers have the distinct advantage of only teaching students who are already great before they ever show up in class. There are good and reasonable explanations for this. Students must be prepared for rigorous study under a master teacher.

Many private schools deny admission to students requiring greater educational resources. Students with disabilities, poor grades, poor behavior, or other deficiencies are turned away. Explanations for this are significantly less good and reasonable. These institutions shirk responsibility to conserve resources and (in some cases) maximize profit.

Seven times in Psalm 25, the psalmist describes learning from, or being taught by, God. The psalmist connects God’s goodness to his willingness to teach anyone. God is the ultimate master teacher. No teacher is wiser. Yet, God is a teacher from whom we all may learn. God teaches the humble, the weak, the foolish, the failures, and especially, the sinners.

God shows, teaches, guides, and instructs us in God’s ways. God’s ways require humility, but deliver from shame. God’s ways require confession, but forgive wrongdoing. God’s ways require submission, yet lead to freedom. God’s ways pass through suffering, yet emerge in victory.

The psalmist learns despite being in crisis. His feet are ensnared. Treachery surrounds him. He is lonely, troubled, afflicted, anguished, and distressed. Enemies who fiercely hate him seek his shame and destruction.

Doesn’t it seem like we face crisis after crisis? Do you feel trapped? Betrayed? Do you mourn the hatred you see and feel?

If so, you are perfectly positioned, as the psalmist was, to learn from God. God is good and upright. Loving and faithful. He is demanding, yet forgiving. He is fearful to behold, yet gracious and beautiful in his mercy displayed toward us and revealed in Jesus.

Take Jesus’ yoke upon you. Learn from him. (Matthew 11.29-30) He’s the world’s greatest teacher, and admission is free. Go beyond informational education to experiential learning. Go beyond lectures to the laboratory of living.

Don’t just study the map of Jesus’ life from a comfortable chair. Put your feet on the road and travel his path. He is gentle and humble. May we become so. He is loving and courageous. May we become so.

Divine Hours Prayer:

Jesus taught his disciples, saying: “And indeed, which of you here, intending to build a tower, would not first sit down and work out the cost to see if he had enough to complete it? Otherwise, if he laid the foundation and then found himself unable to finish the work, everyone who saw it would start making fun of him and saying, ‘Here is someone who started to build and was unable to finish.” — Luke 14.28-30

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime by Phyllis Tickle.

Read more: Following Through Jerusalem

The path leading to glory with Christ is the path leading through suffering to death.

Following Through Jerusalem

Read more: A God Who Celebrates

Though we are unwieldy and unwise as the ostrich, give us grace to run in the path of your commands.

A God Who Celebrates