Behind the Music Stand

      In the traditional liturgical calendar, the season leading up to Christmas day is called “Advent.”   This is designed to be a time of introspection—of preparing our hearts for the coming of the Lord at Christmas.   There is usually one Sunday after Christmas and before Epiphany, when we celebrate the revelation of the Christ Child to the wisemen.   The Sundays following Epiphany, up until Lent begins, are “Ordinary Sundays,” from “Ordinal,” so they are numbered “First Sunday after Epiphany,” “Second Sunday after Epiphany,” etc.      So if we are preparing our hearts for Christmas in the season preceding it, then logically, we must be celebrating Christmas in the days following it!  How then, should we celebrate Christmas after all the gifts are opened and the tree is taken down?  We should be spreading the Good News of Christmas with our words and our actions—the Good News that Christ has come to give us the Peace of God—the “Shalom,” that is wholeness and completeness found

Today is our annual Advent retreat at church, and, as usual, we have different rooms set up in the church for individual meditation and prayer between times of group devotions.  The sanctuary and the adjoining prayer room are set up to be rooms of sensory stimulation--sights, sounds and even smells are dominant in these rooms.  Our Choir room, on the other hand, is set up to be a quiet room--almost a deprivation of senses. "What is the point?" you may ask.  The answer came out of a desire to help you set aside this retreat time for something different than normal.  We asked ourselves, "How can we make this a time of worship?" Without going into the voluminous explanation of what exactly worship is, that begged the question, "How do we experience worship?"  (For the sake of the discussion, we'll limit the definition of worship to the corporate, "In church" version.) So you sit down in the pew or chair, and things happen.  Songs are sung, s

In honor of finishing our sermon  mini-series on the 23rd Psalm: Psalm 23 - Amplified The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He tends His flock like a shepherd:  He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart [i] He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He refreshes my soul. Come to Jesus, all you who are weary and burdened, and He will give you rest… He is gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For His yoke is easy and His burden is light.” [ii] He guides me along the right paths for His name’s sake. So whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. [iii]   His will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. [iv] Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me… The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them has the light shined. [v]   Jesus is the light of

“Every path of Yahweh is one of mercy and truth for those who cling to his promised and written instructions.” (Psalm 25:10, Names of God Bible) If "Every path of Yahweh is mercy and truth," then conversely if we are not constantly striving to walk in mercy and truth, are we behaving as Christ wants us to behave? Furthermore, non-christians, do not belittle Christianity because someone consistently walks in hypocrisy.  We do not consider the injunction against murder to be wrong because someone murders.  If someone claims to be a teacher but the do not teach, we do not say, "All teachers are hypocrites!" We ought not to condemn what a person claims to be because they do not behave how what they claim to be says they should! So let's get specific:  don't dismiss all Christians and Christianity because one person *claiming* to be a Christian bombs and abortion clinic or an organization like Westbourough Baptist (sp?) spews venom and hatred. So I've

     Perhaps you've noticed the Christmas decorations are still up around the church.  Having spent many good years working in retail, I empathize deeply with those who feel that they should all magically disappear on December 26.  However, being a church musician in a more traditional and liturgical church, I also have a tendency to order my life by the liturgical calendar.      The liturgical calendar evolved over centuries and has its most elemental roots in the Jewish calendar of feasts, and according to the calendar, four Sundays before Christmas Day is the start of the season called Advent.      The term Advent comes from the the Latin word for "Coming."  During the Advent season we are reminded both that Jesus came into the world as a baby all those millennia ago, and that He will come again to take His children home.  It is a season of reflection and repentance, during which we are expected to prepare ourselves for His arrival.      The problem we have in weste