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What’s Good in Contemporary Worship? Day 2- Bilingual

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Holding her hand, he said to her, “Talitha koum,” which means “Little girl, get up!” Mark 5:41 NLT

I have always been intrigued at the various times within the Gospels that Jesus switched from one language to another. After all, why would Mark tell us in today’s verse that these specific words were spoken in Aramaic, if that were not the language Jesus was already using? Hebrew was the language Jesus would have been spoken earlier, and ironically the Gospel of Mark was then recorded in Greek. Throw a little Latin into the mix, as the tongue of the ruling authorities in Judea, and you will begin get the idea of the linguistic world that Jesus lived in.

Having attended a Brazilian church in Pennsylvania for sixteen years and serving on the worship team there for several of those years, I had to learn to move from one language to another daily. Quite often the set of worship songs we practiced included both English and Portugues as well a few that had verses which flowed from one to the other. What I learned in those days was that while praising God this way, our differences didn’t disappear, but that we began to mirror the verse in Revelation of people worshipping from every nation, tribe and tongue. (Revelation 5:9)

Today in America, there are over 43 million people whose native tongue is Spanish, and that number is growing rapidly, both through immigration as well as by birth. While the primary language of our nation remains English, it certainly won’t hurt, especially in the church if a few more of us could at least blunder along a bit in Spanish. Remember, Jesus commanded (not suggested) that we make disciples of ALL nations (Matthew 5:19). I have found that one way of making disciples is through bi-lingual worship. Our churches should not be where we battle, over which language is better. Rather, the Church of Jesus Christ is where including everyone means being able to communicate with them, and what better place to begin than during our times of worship? One of my favorite examples of this is called Be Alright (“Todo va a estar bien”). In this delightful song, Danny Gokey, Evan Craft and Willy González Cruz, combine to present the message that we can trust God’s goodness in the midst of difficulties and changes. With everything going on in the news lately, their message is never more important than right now. Once again, I welcome everyone’s input, but I do suggest that your comments will be more helpful if you listen first. Thanks so much! Be blessed, Dios lo bendiga, and Deus te abençoe!

A House of Prayer

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He said to them, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer for all nations,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves.” Mark 11:17 NLT

Keeping church and state separate is even written into our U. S. constitution, but Jesus shows us that church and business should also be separate. Often, the pastors of large churches are criticized for their overzealous fund-raising appeals. But while we are criticizing them, we easily lose sight of the wheeling and dealing that can creep into our time of corporate worship. We must remind ourselves that church should never be the place we go to make business connections or to advance our financial position. Jesus called the temple of His day, “A house of prayer for all nations,” Interestingly, this is not the first time that Jesus did this. In the second chapter of John, we find a similar scene right at the beginning of His ministry. But after three years, those same money changers were back doing the same exact things. In His first visit, Jesus made an additional reference to the temple, that time calling it, “My Father’s house.” When we go to church, it is important to remember that though some denomination, or non-profit organization may have their name on the title, in God’s sight, the church is a place belonging entirely to Him and is to be used exclusively for prayer and worship.

This coming weekend is Palm Sunday, and the start of the festivities surrounding Easter. With all the hustle and bustle we have to consciously make the commitment to refocus and remember who this is all about. Why are we planning the things that we do? Who is it for? is there space to pause and reflect on the cross and resurrection morning? Just as in HIs day, they celebrated as Jesus rode into Jerusalem, but only a few days later the crowds began to chant, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” Jesus came to give His life. Will He also find us pushing and shoving for financial advantage or forgetting Him in the midst of the busyness of special meals, egg hunts and purchasing of Easter outfits? Just as in His day, from the money changers in the temple, to the soldiers gambling for His clothing, many people missing seeing the value of God’s free and precious gift, as Jesus died to pay the price for our sins. But the good news is that story didn’t end on the cross. Just as He had said, three days later, very early on Sunday morning, Jesus rose, triumphant over death and offering the gift of eternal life to everyone who would simply believe in Him.

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Rejoice!

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Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. 2 Corinthians 13:11 ESV

The greatest divisions in the church do not usually come from disagreements over doctrine, forms of worship or liturgy. No! The biggest problem most of us face is learning how to get along with the person sitting right next to us in the pew! Though we often think of the early church as being a perfect model of Christian love and fellowship, the Corinthian church in the Apostle Paul’s day was more like us than you might imagine. Their issues included some of the members suing each other, sexual scandals and angrily arguing over who was the best apostle. I wonder if on some days, the Apostle Paul felt like pulling out his hair when he got news of the latest struggle. Maybe the line spoken by Professor Digory in the book, The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, by C. S. Lewis, would have been something Paul would have loved to shout:

“You’re a family!! You might just start acting like one.”

So as Paul closes his letter to these Christians, he lays out a list of practical guidelines for living as God’s family. Today we will just look at the first:

Rejoice – Not just rejoice, as if we won the lottery, got a promotion, or received an unexpected income tax refund. This is a rejoicing together. Think of the joy of planning a surprise birthday party for a friend together. We orchestrate events so that our friend walks into a dark room without the slightest idea of what is going on, then someone flicks on the light, and everyone shouts, “Surprise!” If we can’t think of the last time that we shared that kind of joy in church, then we are missing out on God’s best for us. Now, to pull off a lifestyle of rejoicing, it will take a group effort, but just as the children in the Narnia stories learned to be a family through their struggles, and adventures, we can also learn to be the kinds of brothers and sisters that Jesus intended. Remember, how after he washed His disciples’ feet, Jesus told them that they would have joy if they learned to do the same. Do you know anybody with dirty feet today? It might not seem like it, but finding a way to wash them is the first step to a joyful life together!