Posted in worship

The peace of the Lord be with you always.

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Erika Giraud on Unsplash

In our congregation, we celebrate Holy Communion at just about every worship service. Following the words of institution, I say, “The peace of the Lord be with you always,” and then encourage the congregation to share our Lord’s peace with those around them.

In addition to the traditional, “Peace be with you…” “…and also with you,” I’ll witness worshipers embracing, exchanging a kiss, shaking hands, waving and other assorted greetings. Some folks are a little uncomfortable with the moment, unwilling to share germs or give up valuable personal space. Many, I am sure, are not even aware of why we do this. So a member encouraged me to write about this part of the liturgy.

The sharing of the peace is intended to be a powerful reminder of the evening on the first day of the week when the disciples were hiding behind locked doors. Some had seen the empty tomb. Some had seen the risen Christ himself. Suddenly, Jesus is standing there among them and says, “Peace be with you” (John 20:19). Powerful words. Through Christ, God has reconciled us to himself. Our sins are forgiven, the relationship has been healed, and we have peace with God.

The real presence of our Lord in the sacrament also brings the peace of the Lord to us, which means we have also received the ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18). We bring the salt and light of a new relationship with God into our world. God also enables us to pursue and be at peace with one another before we approach his altar (Matthew 5:23,24).

Conflict is inevitable. Relationships are fragile. Feelings are easily hurt. But forgiveness is real. Reconciliation overcomes separation. Love covers a multitude of sins. And as we participate in the body and blood of Christ, we have a lot in common. We are all members of one another. We are his church!

Keep that in mind each time we share our Lord’s peace with one another.

Posted in church, Lent, Ministry

It’s time for purple

Posted on by William Douthwaite

In liturgical churches like ours, the altar will look different this week. As the season of Lent begins on Wednesday, the paraments will be purple.

Purple was an expensive dye at the time of Jesus. It was made from the secretions of a certain snail. Thousands of those snails were needed even for a small amount of the dye. Only the rich, which usually meant royalty, could afford purple garments.

Jesus wore a purple robe just once, along with a crown of thorns, as soldiers mocked him for being a king (Mark 15:17). This color is a powerful reminder of that Jesus was despised and rejected, a path of suffering that culminated with his crucifixion.

Reminded of the sacrifice he made for us, we enter the season of Lent with repentance. Turning from our sin to our Savior, we will find forgiveness from our king, who came to suffer and die for us.

Posted in construction

Just a little off?

Posted on by William Douthwaite

I’m not a builder. I’ve never built a house. I know little about construction. But I have a question. Does that doorway look right to you? Does that right column look vertical?

Hey I was just walking down the street with my dog Samson, when I saw this. Is that going to pass inspection? Is the homeowner going to be OK with that? Personally, I’d be pretty disappointed. I am sure someone is paying $200k+ for the house!

The demand for housing is high. Houses are popping up on lots in days. This does not look good.

Posted in Ministry, pastor

What does a pastor do on a Saturday?

Posted on by William Douthwaite

I had a colleague who had a very hard time sleeping on Saturday nights. He always lay awake, worrying about Sunday. So he decided to not even try. Sleeping, that is. He would stay up all night from Saturday into Sunday preparing his sermon, and then preach the following morning.

Good for him. I could never do that. I’d be dozing off during my own sermon! That never goes over well. I’ve got my sermon mostly done by Wednesday and go over it a few times sometime on Saturday. Some pastors have a Saturday night service. For me, that would be a drag. My Saturdays could involve any number of things.

Today I worked in the yard, visited a family mourning a death, ran a few errands and got a few chores done around the house. Other Saturdays I have gone to a movie with my wife, performed a funeral, painted a room in my house, played with grandchildren, had some extended family over for supper and built a play fort in the back yard.

My day off is Friday. If you suggest, “How about Friday?” I will typically answer, “No, that doesn’t work for me.” Saturdays however are flexible. Sometimes I had nothing going on. Sometimes my plate is full.

The one thing I never do is discuss the question, “Do you want to go to church tomorrow?” That’s pretty funny. With retirement on the horizon, maybe we’ll have that discussion. But for now, Saturday means I set my alarm for 4:30. Sunday’s coming!

Posted in God

Mr. Nice Guy?

Posted on by William Douthwaite

As I read Psalm 92 the other day from An American Translation of the bible, I paused at verse 2, where the psalmist mentions God’s faithfulness and kindness. The ESV uses the term “steadfast love.” The lexicon uses the longer term “lovingkindness.” God is also described as “kind” when Paul writes, “Do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?” (Romans 2:4 ESV). So I started thinking, “What does it mean that God is kind?”

In my mind, a kind person is nice. Not mean, rude, abrasive or irritable. In my mind God isn’t like that either. But it just doesn’t seem right to simply describe the Almighty as a nice guy. When you head down that path, you end up with everyone in heaven, because after all, God is kind. There’s got to be more to it than that.

Other New Testament passages (Eph. 2:7 and Titus 3:4) link God’s kindness with Jesus and his saving work. That makes God actively kind, similar to activity associated with agape love. His kindness is an aspect of his grace. When you don’t get what you deserve and your sins are forgiven for the sake of Christ, you’re experiencing God’s kindness. It’s a kindness meant to lead you to repent and get your act together.

I wonder if Israel camped at the base of cloud-covered Mt. Sinai, the ground trembling beneath their feet, thought of God as kind. Powerful? Yes. Holy? Check. Frightening? Yep. Nice? Not to their enemies, that’s for sure. But for the moment God was providing and protecting them. That’s pretty nice of him. And I wouldn’t ever want to take that for granted!

Posted in heaven

Furniture in heaven?

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Grant Durr on Unsplash

Today I was reading Psalm 99 and came across verse 5

Exalt the Lord our God;
    worship at his footstool!

It’s not unusual for my mind to wander to some interesting places in the predawn hours of the day. That verse first made me exclaim, “God has an ottoman?” Actually, that sounds really cool. Creation is finished. God’s ready to put his feet up and rest. Why not? Then I wondered, “Does God have any other furniture? Jesus spoke of his father’s house and its many rooms. Is it furnished? If so, how?

I know it’s not important, but just off the top of my head I recall some heavenly furniture mentioned in scripture: a throne, a banquet table, lampstands (floor lamps?). That might be it. And that’s OK with me.

Update: A friend of mine told me her parents always said not to be afraid of thunder. It was just God rearranging his furniture!

Posted in children

More prepositions

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Tanaphong Toochinda on Unsplash

I get to spend a few hours watching two of my one-year old grandchildren each week. They are both at the age where they notice, investigate and taste everything. They spend all their time discovering new skills, flavors and sounds. They constantly learn new ways of moving, communicating and manipulating. Their lives are best characterized by prepositions: in, out, up, down, over and under.

An hour of watching my granddaughter do that instilled in me a new desire to do the same. Much of my day is familiar, routine and habitual. But it doesn’t have to be. I am certain there are many tastes and smells, motions and skills, sounds and places yet to be discovered. I just need to add a few more prepositions to my day!

Order something different to put in my mouth. Put on some headphones and listen to a different kind of music. Climb up on the roof and see what’s going on around my neighborhood. Get down on the ground and see the world from a toddler’s perspective. Go out of my way to talk to someone I don’t know.

I can’t remember where I saw it, but I clearly remember the sign: “Don’t grow up. It’s a trap!” How true. I’m a little jealous of those who get to be full-time little ones. I’ll have to work hard to let my inner kid out more often. More prepositions. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Posted in communication, Ministry, preaching

What makes a sermon “good?”

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Brandable Box on Unsplash

The other day I was pondering the question, “What makes a sermon good?” What makes it effective, memorable, inspiring, applicable and edifying? Can it even be all of those things at the same time? I know that some sermons are none of those things. Every preacher has a dud or two somewhere in their files. But if someone comments, “Boy, that was great!” what moved them to say that? Was it short, funny, convicting or reassuring?

I’ve come to believe that a sermon that touches my own heart will connect with others, too. Perhaps that’s the best quality for a sermon to have. It connects an ancient scripture with contemporary life. It moves from a page in the bible to a place in your mind. It connects the Creator with his creatures. It allows the thoughts and feelings of a prophet or a king or a fisherman to resonate with a parent, a waitress, a student or a welder.

The moment of truth comes when somewhere in my preparation, a word, a phrase, an image or an event suddenly strikes a nerve. It’s hard to describe, but I know it when it happens. It might be a moment of conviction, relief, surprise or joy. But at that moment, I know I have something to say.

For example, I’m preaching on the transfiguration of Jesus from Matthew’s gospel this Sunday (Matthew 17:1-9). The disciples get to see a side of Jesus they’ve never seen before and never get to see again. All kinds of glory wrapped up in a very plain human package. There it is. Great things like computers or gifts are wrapped and shipped and arrive at my house in very plain packages. Church and ministry might seem boring and unexciting, but don’t ever forget all that glory wrapped up in “the body of Christ.”

That’s the thought process that got me to Tuesday. Now I have something to say. I’m still putting it all together for Sunday. But I’ve made a connection. I pray that my hearers will, too.

Posted in Ministry

Getting my chops in shape

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Chris Bair on Unsplash

With Easter around eight weeks away, I wanted to be in shape to play trumpet that Sunday, so I’ve been working hard to get my chops in shape by playing as many days each week as I can. From experience, I know it will take consistent practice over the next few months to play my best for hymns and special music that day.

One does not simply pick up a horn and play after months of inactivity, or since the previous Easter. It takes a while to restore muscle tone, breath support and endurance. It also takes some self-discipline to work this into my already busy days. But you know how it is: you make time for what is important to you. Not only is this important to me, but it is still something I love to do.

Today I took my horn to work with me and played through the Epiphany and Lent sections of the hymnal. It is miraculous to me that I can fill an empty, expansive sanctuary with sound from a single horn. The moment I do, something unique comes to life in me as sounds, overtones and melodies fill a room. I played everything up a step. You can never practice transposition too often.

The physicality of playing a brass instrument is addictive. You send a stream of air through the horn from deep within your lungs. The feel of your lips buzzing in the mouthpiece turns into a tone by the time it reaches the bell. In an instant a dot on a staff is transformed into a sound that not only fills a room, but lingers in the air after you stop blowing. But I don’t stop blowing. I need more. I inhale, breathe out and ride the wave of sound that carries out over the rows of seats in front of me, towards the massive cross window behind the altar and rising through the cupola into the heavens. It is a magnificent and glorious experience that words can barely describe.

Once I start playing again, I can never remember why I let myself get out of shape. I enjoy it so much! But life happens, family and work commitments suck up time and music is relegated to the back burner. Without a band to play with, it’s hard to keep practicing. Today it was definitely worth it, though.