Proper 10 (15) Seventh Sunday after
Pentecost
2 Samuel 6:1-5, 12b-19
Episcopalian friends joined me in a visit to one of the
Presbyterian churches for which I had oversight in my interim governing body
executive capacity. One recognized the
organist as a neighbor and approached the chancel steps and spoke across the
chasm to greet him. He invited her up
closer but my guest stood back, aghast to be asked to go into the “holy place”
of the chancel area. The musician chuckled and said, “we are Presbyterians,
nothing is holy up here”.
The Ark of the Covenant for David’s kingdom was the place of God’s
abode. It was so holy and sacred that to touch it was to die. It had been “lost” in battle, was now found
and on its way to being the center of holy worship again. I can’t help but wonder how, during the
interim transition, the interim minister might introduce the holiness of God
along with the meaning of being God’s holy people?
In a parallel account in 1 Chronicles 13:12-14, the Ark was stolen
by an enemy of Israel and then restored. On the way to Jerusalem, the soldiers
were ambushed and the Ark was taken to the house of Obed-Edom for safe keeping. Obed-Edom household was blessed by the holy
presence of God represented by the Ark. Here
is one more path for using the transition “lens”. Here, the transition journey “home” to
Jerusalem was one that brought blessing and joy because of God’s holy presence
in the household. This is a worthy
exploration for the interim ministry preacher and worship leader.
For some of our traditions, nothing may be holy but then, aren’t
all things holy in that God created them and we use them for God’s glory? In that spirit of reverence perhaps we will
catch our “spiritual breath” and rediscover the presence of God that is so
critical to the future leadership of our congregations. We can give a radical twist to the interim
developmental task of renewing congregational
identity.
Ephesians
1:3-14
The identity theme of
God’s Holy People continues in the Epistle lesson for this Sunday. For the
interim minister and preacher, this text could become a series sermons focusing
on our identity. We are blessed by God,
made to be a blessing, adopted, heirs, redeemed, made righteous and much more.
As an interim pastoral leader it is too easy to stick with the
technical organization concepts of church size, our style, or our place on the
theological spectrum of evangelical – progressive. Or, are we simply a “friendly” church that is
a civic leader or servant “non-profit” outreach? One of the challenges of the interim transition
can be to stretch the congregation’s theological thinking about who we are, why
we are, and whose we are.
As poetry and hymn, there is ample opportunity to continue the
theme of worship and praise. One could
reflect on David’s praise in 2 Samuel.
David’s exuberance is a bit over the top for our (often)
intellectualized worship. An interesting preaching approach using both texts
might be to reflect on the the (proper?) place of emotion in worship. As a
friend of mine told me, “we are Presbyterians and we need to learn to worship
with decency and ardor!
Bob Anderson
Interim Ministry
Specialist
Life Coach for Ministry
Professionals
Toledo, OH
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