St. James Lutheran Church
St. James Lutheran Church
1380 North Waukegan Road (847)234-4859
Lake Forest, Illinois 60045
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Sermon Archive - July 9, 2000
Pentecost IV

Pastor Danielson

Mark 6: 1 - 13
 
"Dancing at the Crossroads 2000" is a glorious success!"  I say, "IS a
glorious success," because even though 6 of our teenagers and I, together
with 25,000 other youth of the ELCA, have returned to our homes from last
week's "gathering" in St. Louis, an additional 20,000 high school youth
gathered this week for a second "Crossroads Event" that ends today.
 
I am sure that our teens would agree---every minute of every day got better
and better! Take a look at the photographs displayed in the narthex. The
evening sessions were the highpoints---especially the music!
 
This is not grandma's music---by the way. And, it's not the music of Martin
Luther or John Wesley (even though we did sing a smashing rendition of "A
Mighty Fortress," with a steady, haunting drumbeat). The performing artists
we heard, serve-up hard rock, rap, hip-hop, and retro-swing. You won't hear
anything resembling it in the elevator, the grocery store or in most churches
for that matter. I didn't even know there was such a thing as "retro-swing"
until the kids began dancing in the aisles---and I underwent a mental
flashback. 
 
Should you ever decide to attend such an event or one of the many smaller
gatherings that are offered regionally, prepare to be rattled with rock riffs
that are hard, hair-raising, harrowing, and, at the same time, holy!
 
It is all part of today's world of contemporary Christian music---a growing,
nearly 1 billion dollar-per-year industry. Although a generation ago it was
easy to separate the "Christian sheep" from the "secular goats," the tunes of
groups we heard at both "Crossroads" worship and party-nights have a sound
that would mix right into any Top 40 play list.
 
Check out the lyrics of this award winning song sung by "Lost & Found" a
popular duo our kids couldn't get enough of:
 
"Oh them lions they can eat my body,
but they can't swallow my soul;
They keep on trying to crash my party,
but they can't gain control.
No way, baby!"
No, No-No; No, No-No!
 
If you think the introduction of contemporary music into traditional Lutheran
worship has been divisive---you haven't witnessed anything yet! Actually,
here at St. James the transition that took place 15 years ago, first with
individual musical offerings and then Damascus Road, was relatively
uneventful. However, the Church is now facing the dilemma of not only
controversial musical instrumentation and sounds, but lyrics that have one
foot in the sacred and the other in the secular.
 
How does one live "in the world," without being "of the world" when Christian
music and worship offer no clear distinction?  A growing number of critics
are suspicious that the newest breed of contemporary Christian artists and
writers are simply riding a "Jesus wave" toward their own material success.
 
Entertainment artists themselves are finding that it's not easy to serve two
masters and yet, individual performers and groups like those we heard over a
five day period, are clearly and deeply faith-based and they remind us (as
one Christian rock artist did David Letterman on his "Late Night Show") that
"every gift we have, including heavy metal, is indeed a gift from God."  
 
Within the context of this morning's text, contemporary Christian music may
be telling us that, while Jesus was rejected at Nazareth, he's found a new
home in New York, Los Angeles and Nashville! He has moved from bad reviews in mid-America to multimillion-dollar deals in the nation's urban centers,
becoming a multimedia magnate through books, music, film and video games.
 
What conclusions should we draw from this phenomenon? What does Jesus think
about all this?  Who can say for certain but, interestingly enough, one
record company president who handles some of Christian rock's most successful
artists, tells those who are thinking of crossing-over into the secular
market: "Don't cross-over unless you plan to take the cross over." Jesus
couldn't have put it better.
 
The challenge of living a spiritual life in a secular world, had to be on the
mind of Jesus when he told his disciples to "hit the road"---to go out into
the world "two by two." And, he not only authorizes the disciples' transition
from living in the "sacred circle of apostleship" to serving in the "profane
world of ungodliness," but Jesus provides a user-friendly list of
instructions for them to follow:
 
"Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave the place (the town
or village).  If any place will not welcome you and they refuse to hear you,
as you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against
them."
 
It's clear that Jesus wants his disciples to get to work, and this means
taking the gospel to work with them. The message of Christ is not always
going to be popular, so postmodern apostles need to be prepared for
rejection. They must be ready to "shake off the dust" that is on their feet
as they move on to more promising fields of service.
 
Likewise, when we step into the world, we better have the gospel with us. It
is, after all, not a question of IF we are going to cross over the line
between worlds, sacred and profane---we do it all the time. We leave our
homes, where we set the spiritual and moral tone, and cross over into the
workplace where the rules are usually determined by others. We live a
substantial part of our lives in office buildings, schools, grocery stores,
restaurants and the like. We confront people who curse and harass, who cheat
and abuse, who lie and steal, who live to work and work to live, who chase
the gods of materialism, who are nonplussed by the very notion of living a
Christian lifestyle.
 
The challenge for Christians, and perhaps even more so for Christian
disciples who are artists and musicians, is to mediate between the two
worlds. "Praise music," launched with guitar and tambourine some 25 years
ago, has evolved into an industry that is not only transforming the way
Christian music is produced and disseminated but also, in the process,
changing the way the Church worships---sings, prays, and preaches.  Praise
songs such as "Lord, I Lift Your Name on High," "He Has Made Me Glad," "I
Love You, Lord," "Majesty" and "Awesome God," all of which you have no doubt
sung here at one time or another, represent a contemporary form of hymnody
that is already more popular in American churches than traditional forms.
 
With straightforward lyrics and easy to sing tunes, contemporary Christian
and gospel music sales are the industry's fifth largest---selling more than
twice as many albums as Latin, classical, jazz and New Age music combined.
(Christian Century, February 23, 2000).
 
Of one thing you can be sure.  In our worship and music, Jesus honors both
"the new" and "the old." Also, he doesn't kow-tow to either. If the old
doesn't "do it" for you, as an instrumentalist, vocalist, or worshipper, then
move on to the new;  if the new doesn't "do it" for you, then return to the
old or, to somewhere in-between. There are plenty of ways to be at home in
the many worlds of Christian worship and music.
 
Prepare to "shake the dust" of old or new off your feet. The Church is
constantly receiving "new things" so its people can let "old things" go; 
and, at the same time, the Church is rediscovering "old things" because some
of the "new things" just don't seem to fit.  Don't be afraid to shake-off
whatever dust just doesn't "do it" for you. Do so whenever you find yourself
in worship "places" that are not welcoming, or in which you are simply
uncomfortable---whatever the worship style or form. "If you ever go to a
place where you feel you don't belong, leave it!" because, in fact, Jesus
says you should;  and, he adds to those words of permission, " . . . shake
the dust (of what you leave behind) off your feet."
 
Frankly, Jesus doesn't want us to be in "faith places" where we don't want to
be. Jesus wants us to be in "faith places" where we want to be and where we
feel we belong. Whenever you get the feeling that you might be "out of
place," say so.  And, if there is a willingness on the part of others in that
"faith place" to change, help them with that change!  If there is not such
willingness, then "shake the dust off your feet" and move on. Remember, you
have none other than Jesus' permission.
 
Now I realize that, in terms of true biblical scholarship, this
interpretation of "shaking off the dust" might be a stretch.  However, if I
have learned anything over the years, it is that, in Scripture, what is not
always explicit is often clearly implicit.  Count on it!  Amen!

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