Through gates of pearl...

We sometimes hear the expression "the pearly gates", often in connection with a joke that mentions Peter and someone seeking entrance to heaven. Today, for All Saints' Day, we sang the hymn For all the saints (words by William W. How) and the line that grabbed my attention this year was in the 8th verse: "...through gates of pearl streams in the countless host..." I think the reason this line stood out to me today is connected to what I witnessed at the women's conference I attended in May. You can read about that here. At the end of the message this morning, each one in the congregation was invited to come forward and light a candle representing someone (a saint = Christian believer) who had influenced them in their spiritual walk in the past. The candle would also represent someone that we hope to influence for Christ. Although we are a small group, it was moving to see each flickering flame and realize that those candles represented a miniscule portion of 'the countless host' - some of whom have gone before and some who will come after us.

A New Perspective

I hinted in my previous post that my perspective on some hymns has changed over time. That fact is consistent, I think, in that our perspective on many things changes as we go through life. The specific hymn that came to mind during Holy Week was "Beneath the Cross of Jesus", a hymn I have known and sung since childhood. I used to dread singing this hymn as it seemed to me to be so painfully slow and mournful, and not really enjoyable to sing. When I consider the text, the tune (ST. CHRISTOPHER) definitely suits it and I think as children, very generally speaking, we do not want to think of sad things, or hear sad tunes. Maybe the simple fact of it is that as we mature physically, we realize that sadness is inevitably part of life. Hopefully we also are maturing spiritually and realize the importance of Christ's death and why the cross is such an important part of our faith.

On Good Friday, when we sang this hymn, I found my eyes filling with tears at the profundity of the words of verse 3 - part prayer, part confession.

I take, O cross, thy shadow for my abiding place;
I ask no other sunshine than the sunshine of His (Jesus') face;
Content to let the world go by, to know no gain nor loss;
my sinful self my only shame, my glory all, the cross.

Remembering my baptism

I admit, it is getting a little hard to actually remember my baptism although it happened in my teens, outside, in a river. On January 11th, the Sunday that we read the passage from Mark about Christ's baptism, I came home from church and spent about a half hour looking for the photo I have somewhere of the Beaver River in Ontario where I was baptized. If I had found it I would have scanned it and posted it here. In any case, the important thing as I see it, is not that we have an actual memory of the time and place we were baptized. After all, many believers are baptized as infants or young children. The important thing is to remember what it means. As I mentioned earlier, I was baptized in a river - totally immersed under the water and raised up to life in Christ. Each year in the church calendar there is a week to remember Christ's baptism, and through it, our own. It seems very appropriate to me that we do this at the beginning of the calendar year when our minds are so often focused on a new beginning.

Advent: Preparing for Christmas (3)

Our time of waiting is more than half over. Christmas draws near! This morning during worship we lit the third candle of our Advent wreath. Here's what was in today's bulletin.


"Here at St. Andrew's we have been lighting one candle each week during Advent (the 4 Sundays preceding Christmas). There are many symbols associated with this tradition. The wreath, an unending circle, has long represented eternal life. Gerry Bowler suggests in The World Encyclopedia of Christmas that it may also foreshadow Christ's crown of thorns. You will notice that 3 candles are purple - the liturgical colour for Advent. They represent Hope, Peace and Love. This week we'll light the one pink candle - the liturgical colour for Joy. As the darkness of December deepens, the candlelight grows until Christmas Eve when we will light the white Christ candle. God has sent us the Light of lights!"

Symbols and visual aids are useful in worship. They help us 'see' our faith in new ways. However, if the symbol is to stay meaningful, we must know the history behind it. This is why I feel it is so important to keep teaching others, and learning things myself, about worship, how and why we do what we do. I'm sure at some point this thought alone will provide material for a post or two!

The days are still getting shorter; the darkness grows longer. Look ahead, my friend, your redemption draws nigh!

Advent: Preparing for Christmas (2)

Already we have arrived at the second Sunday of Advent. For a few years now, I have submitted little write ups for our church bulletin during the Advent/Christmas season. Sometimes these paragraphs specifically address the music being used that week. Other times they have been about Christmas customs, symbols or legends. Here's what appeared in today's bulletin.

There are many colours and symbols associated with the Christmas season. You will notice that the tree in the sanctuary is decorated in white, red, gold and silver. Why? White is the symbol of the purity of Jesus Christ. Red represents His shed blood. Christ's death on the cross brings eternal life to those who believe and put their trust in Him. Gold and silver represent wealth and royalty. When Christ returns to earth, He will be crowned King for all time. Hallelujah! There is one apple hanging on the christmas tree. Can you find it? The apple is there as a symbol of the first sin. Adam and Eve disobeyed God by eating fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. You may wonder how this ties in with Christmas. Without their sin, we would have no need of a Saviour and no reason to celebrate Jesus' birth.