Necrophilia - the love of death

It’s easy to forget how radically subversive the resurrection actually is.

In the corridors of power, in the halls of the wealthy, in the darkest and most impoverished slums of the world, and in each of our own hearts is a natural, but destructive tendency, to fall in love with death. It is from this necrophilia (literally: love of death) that most, if not all, of our brokenness, woundedness, dividedness and suffering comes.

What is this love of death of which I speak? It is the natural human tendency to embrace and nurture attitudes and actions that lead to pain and destruction. When we choose cynicism and apathy over the more difficult, but life-giving, choice for hope and action, we have chosen necrophilia. When we choose hatred and the harbouring of grudges over the more difficult, but life-giving, choice for love and forgiveness, we have chosen necrophilia. When we choose expediency and self-interest over the more difficult, but life-giving, choice for sustainability and shared interest, we have chosen necrophilia. When we choose legalism and judgement over the more difficult, but life-giving, choice for grace and understanding, we have chosen necrophilia. In every moment, every relationship, every situation in which we allow our darker, less noble selves to guide our decisions and actions, we have made the choice to love death. Whenever we allow ourselves to be part of what destroys and divides our world and its creatures, we have become lovers of death.

The Pharisees would never have thought of themselves as lovers of death, until they were faced with what real, abundant life would mean. Where Jesus offered them grace, they retreated back to the safety of law. Where Jesus offered them love, they retreated back to the status of power. Where Jesus offered them a part in the larger, inclusive reality that God offers to all human beings, they retreated back into their sheltered, exclusive “old-boys club”. And, in order to prevent the truth being seen, they killed the one who offered them life. The ones who claimed to love life, had revealed themselves to be lovers of death.

But, here’s where the resurrection becomes so subversive and powerful. The love of death has no power over the love of life. Jesus loves life so much that he is prepared to die in order to remain free from the love of death. Paradoxical isn’t it? He goes to the cross still loving life, and still offering life to anyone who will leave their love of death behind. And if that’s not enough, he reveals the fundamental powerlessness of death by rising again. When life and death come face to face, life is the last one standing, as death kills itself by trying to kill life.

Our worship in this Easter season is intended to remind us of life’s indestructibility, and to lead us into the love of life. If we can commit to resurrection sufficiently that we will refuse to do anything that cooperates with death - even when it brings us pain and suffering, we have truly embraced the resurrection, and we will find, even if death tries to silence us once and for all, that we have truly found life eternal.

So, where are you tempted to get familiar with death? Where is necrophilia at work in you? What can you do to commit yourself again to the love of life? Do it. Do it now.

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John van de Laar is a Methodist minister, liturgical consultant and the author of the book Food for the Road – Life Lesson from the Lord’s Table. He holds a Master’s Degree in theology from UNISA, and is the founder of Sacredise.com, an international worship training and resourcing ministry. John is married to Debbie, and they have two sons.
Visit www.sacredise.com for more articles by John, as well as resources for personal and public worship – music, prayers, liturgies, images and drama scripts.

Resurrection Worship

Christ is Risen!

This is the message that was proclaimed around the world this past Sunday. This is the message that continues to be proclaimed for the fifty days following Easter Sunday. The Easter season is not over - it includes the three faith foundations of Resurrection, Ascension and Pentecost. In Christian worship, every Sunday is considered a celebration of the resurrection, and now, this fifty day season is considered to be one long Sunday - an extended resurrection celebration.

This begs the question: How then do we celebrate this long Easter appropriately? Perhaps a closer look at the Easter story can help us to answer this question.

The first thing I notice is that the resurrection is like a divine game of ‘hide and seek’. Jesus constantly appears and disappears. He keeps surprising his followers, and often they don’t even recognise him. I find this to be a challenging reminder that Jesus cannot be “nailed down”. As followers of Christ we are too tempted to think we know him and understand him better than others. We find it all too easy to exclude those who disagree with us, and convince ourselves that they’ve missed the boat.

But, the ‘hide and seek’ Jesus reminds us that he refuses to be co-opted into our agendas, groups or belief systems. The only appropriate response to the Easter miracle is humble adoration, acknowledging, as Isaiah did, that “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts," says the LORD. "And My ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.” (Isaiah 55:8 NLT).

What this means is that our worship needs to be filled with awe and humility, and with a new desire to recognise God’s greatness and glory. This is true of every Sunday, but in the aftermath of resurrection, we have a special opportunity to embrace this humbling journey. It also means that we need to make a new commitment to living by faith, recognising that ultimately our lives are not in our own hands, but in the nail pierced hands of the risen Christ.

The second thing I notice in the resurrection story is that the first witness to the resurrection is not one of the “inner circle” of disciples - Peter, James and John. The first person that Jesus encounters after he is risen is Mary Magdalene - a woman with a dubious past, who was brought to vibrant life during Jesus’ ministry. So unlikely is she as a witness, that the apostles are unable to believe her at first. Peter and John both run to the tomb to check it out for themselves (perhaps feeling a little peeved that Jesus didn’t choose them to be first?).

What this means is that the resurrection continues the work Jesus did before his death - including the outcast, raising up the oppressed and breaking down our arbitrary lines of class, race, gender, orientation, economic and educational status, and religion. As we worship, then, we are called to embody the resurrection life that is available to all, and that includes all. We are also called to seek ways to bring that life to those who most need it - the poor, the excluded, the wounded and the grieving.

May the next fifty days not be just a celebration, but also an offering of practical, Christ-honouring, and justice-bringing service. Resurrection is about the offer of new life. So, too, must the worship that flows from it be.

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John van de Laar is a Methodist minister, liturgical consultant and the author of the book Food for the Road – Life Lesson from the Lord’s Table. He holds a Master’s Degree in theology from UNISA, and is the founder of Sacredise.com, an international worship training and resourcing ministry. John is married to Debbie, and they have two sons.

Visit www.sacredise.com for more articles by John, as well as resources for personal and public worship – music, prayers, liturgies, images and drama scripts.

Carrying Crosses

How has your week been? Under the usual juggling of work, family and personal needs has there been a sense of some deeper significance? Maybe you’ve recognised it – the truth that this is the most important week of the year. Maybe you have shared in special times of worship to remember the events that happened two millennia ago. This is Holy Week – when we reflect on the suffering of Jesus.

But, what makes this week important is not the remembering, nor the understanding we might gain. This week is what theologian Marcus Borg calls a “thin place” - a place where the ‘line’ between spiritual and physical realities grows thin. It is an opportunity for us not just to remember Jesus, but to encounter him. It is a moment when the stories we read can become our own lived experience. If we allow this week to do its work, everything can change.

For Jesus, the cross was not something he went through alone. We celebrate that Jesus “died for us”, offering us life, forgiveness and the hope of heaven, but there is more to it than that. Peter says it this way:

“To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.” (1 Peter 2:21 NIV).

This is a disturbing thought, but until we embrace our own crosses, we are not yet followers of Christ. Perhaps we can explore three ways this challenges us.

FORGIVING
We know that Jesus’ dying words of forgiveness were for us. We also know that Jesus calls us to forgive, although we all find excuses when it gets too hard. But, Jesus doesn’t ever limit forgiveness. He was betrayed by a close friend, and disowned by another. All but a few (mostly women) ran away when he was arrested, and even people he had taught and healed called for his execution. Yet, Jesus never utters a word of condemnation. Whatever pain others have inflicted on you, the cross calls you to the liberating work of forgiving.

NOT JUSTIFYING
Do you have a compulsive need to justify yourself? Do you work really hard to explain to others why you are right? It’s natural to do this, but it breaks down relationships, because in making ourselves right, we make others wrong. Jesus refused to do this. In spite of the accusations he remains silent, allowing his life to speak for itself. Perhaps this week you can try to let your life speak for you, and give up the quest to justify.

BEING KIND
I am always deeply moved by Jesus’ kindness in the midst of his own pain. He has the compassion to speak kind words to a dying thief beside him. He has the kindness to commend his grieving mother to the care of John, his beloved disciple. This challenges me to refuse to use my pain as an excuse for unkindness. Rather, I am challenged to make a new commitment to compassion.

As we reflect on Jesus’ suffering this week, we can open our hearts and embrace the cross, not just as something Jesus did for us, but as something he calls us to do for him and others. And if we can make the commitment to follow Jesus’ sacrificial example, our worship, this week, really will change everything.

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John van de Laar is a Methodist minister, liturgical consultant and the author of the book Food for the Road – Life Lesson from the Lord’s Table. He holds a Master’s Degree in theology from UNISA, and is the founder of Sacredise.com, an international worship training and resourcing ministry. John is married to Debbie, and they have two sons.

Visit www.sacredise.com for more articles by John, as well as resources for personal and public worship – music, prayers, liturgies, images and drama scripts.

On the Side of the Least

This week two significant events come together.

In South Africa this past long weekend we celebrated Human Rights Day - the remembrance of the massacre of political protesters in the Sharpeville township on March 21, 1960. Today, this is a moment when we re-affirm our commitment to equality and liberty, and to support the basic rights of all human beings.

This coming Sunday, Christians around the world will celebrate Palm Sunday - the remembrance of Jesus’ donkey-riding, crowd-applauding entry into Jerusalem. It is easy to overlook the fact that this was also, essentially, a political protest.

In a country that was oppressed by the Roman Empire, and in which Caesar alone was to be acknowledged as king, proclaiming Jesus as Messiah was a profound act of political subversion. When you add to this the cleansing of the Temple, which, in three of the Gospels, happens immediately after this procession, you can’t miss Jesus’ commitment to justice. According to Father Richard Rohr - Franciscan priest, author and speaker - ninety percent of Jerusalem’s economy was built on the sacrificial worship of the Temple, and the corrupt system of selling animals and changing currency which supported it. The poor were being fleeced by the religious leaders and their cronies, and Jesus made a strong, visual statement of protest at this injustice.

Their is no question in my mind that Jesus is a defender of human rights. While some may try and make a debate of this, it is clear that the Bible is strongly biased toward social and economic justice. God, as the prophets taught and as Jesus himself proclaimed, is on the side of the poor and oppressed, and of those who are authentically allied with them.

What does this mean for us as we worship?

Many who will read this article will be among the wealthiest people in the world. (If you live on more than $10 a day - roughly $300 or R2 300 per month - you are among the wealthier than eighty percent of the world’s population). Many of us may have been taught that Jesus came primarily to give us a way to heaven when we die, and we may even have been told that we have no responsibility to the poor, because Jesus said that the poor would always be with us (Matthew 26:11 - although, we often forget that Jesus was quoting Deuteronomy 15:11, which gives a clear instruction to be generous to the poor). But, when we see what Jesus was doing that day as he rode into Jerusalem, when we hear what he was saying as he overturned the tables in the Temple, when we understand what it meant for him to defy the authorities, even to the point of death - refusing to play their power-games, their war-games, or their money-games - we cannot avoid the challenge to pray and work for God’s Kingdom to come “on earth as it is in heaven”.

Our worship, this week and every week, can easily become an escape from the challenges and pain of the world. But, if we allow this to happen, we will find that we are not worshipping Christ at all. The Jesus of the donkey and of the Temple, is the Jesus who champions human rights. And we, who are called by his name, have not truly worshipped him until we have joined him in overturning the tables of injustice, inequality and oppression.
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John van de Laar is a Methodist minister, liturgical consultant and the author of the book Food for the Road – Life Lesson from the Lord’s Table. He holds a Master’s Degree in theology from UNISA, and is the founder of Sacredise.com, an international worship training and resourcing ministry. John is married to Debbie, and they have two sons.
Visit www.sacredise.com for more articles by John, as well as resources for personal and public worship – music, prayers, liturgies, images and drama scripts.

Faith Ancestors

I never cease to be amazed by the way youth is exalted in our society today.

It’s not that I don’t value young people. I believe that the energy and passion of the young are desperately needed in our world. I cheered the youth of the United States on when they helped Barack Obama win the presidency. I believe that the youth of South Africa are an immensely significant force for change, and hold the keys to addressing our current challenges. And when it comes to the Church, I often measure the health of a church by how strong, creative and missional its youth work is.

But, young people are still young people. One of the features of the current Millennial Generation is that they have vast amounts of information, and the most powerful technologies at their fingertips, but, simply because they haven’t lived long enough, they lack the life experience and discernment to sift through it all and tell the difference between what is good and life-giving and what is bad and destructive. The real longing of this generation - whether it’s recognised or not - is for mentors: older people who understand them, speak their language and connect with their world, but who can guide them through the labyrinth of information, ideas, changes and technologies that they face. They need fathers and mothers - ancestors - in the faith. And this includes those who are no longer alive.

In Chapter Eleven of the book of Hebrews, the writer tells the stories of the heroes of faith from the Scriptures. Then in the first verse of Chapter Twelve, he offers this encouragement:

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.” (NLT)

The point is clear - our ancestors in faith offer us strength, encouragement and an example of how to live well as we seek to follow Christ. This week people around the world celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, but, of course, he is only one Christian leader among many who can inspire and teach us. From the great biblical saints, to those remembered in each age of Christian history, our ancestors in faith provide a depth and wisdom that we ignore at great expense.

One of the gifts of worship, is that it continually tells the stories of God’s activity in and through men, women and even children. This is not to say that we need to build our lives as carbon copies of these saints, but that, as we worship, we can learn, through them, who God is and how God operates. We can get a glimpse of God’s purposes in our world, and we can find the courage and hope, as they did, to take our place in God’s plan of salvation.

Last week I wrote about the challenges of “consumer worship”. One of the ways this pattern is changed, is by embracing the history and traditions of worship that Christians have used through the centuries. And it is our ancestors in faith, who lived this history and created these traditions, who can lead us into the meaning and life that they offer.

So, who are your faith ancestors? Who are the mentors that you turn to for wisdom and guidance? How can you honour them in your worship of Jesus this week?

From Consumer to Contributor

In the last few years a disturbing shift has happened in the worship of the Church. What began as a helpful way to provide new resources to worship leaders - the production of worship CDs - has become a multi-million dollar industry.

Now, I’m not knocking worship CDs and their related products. I still believe they can be helpful. But, I am concerned about some of the unintended consequences. For example, worship CDs are now recorded with commercial interests in mind - production quality is based on listening - not singing along; song choice is impacted by what will sell; and musical keys are selected to make the lead singer’s voice sound good.

But, perhaps the thing I am most concerned about, is the shift in how we enter and experience worship. In many large venues where “worship concerts” are held, all the lights focus on the stage, while the congregation sits in relative darkness. The music is performed by professionals, and the arrangements are designed to provide a great visual and musical performance. The “audience” in these situations, may choose to participate, but the event is not designed with congregational participation in mind. If it were, the lights would be on, and the music would be arranged to make it as easy as possible for the people to sing.

The result of all this is a “consumer” culture in worship. As author, Brian McLaren puts it, our congregations have become “sophisticated consumers of pre-packaged worship experiences”. And the problem with this is that consumer worship does not change lives. All it does is pander to our preferences and confirm us in our self-centred, “bless-me” spirituality.

This is where the season of Lent is such a challenging and helpful gift to the Church. In Lent, we are called to a life of spiritual discipline which directly and intentionally challenges our self-centredness. In particular, the discipline of giving (which includes giving of time, abilities and resources in service and generosity) confronts our consumer spirituality.

Giving and service are often seen as disciplines that are practiced outside of the church building, and they certainly can be. It is always a good thing to practice our faith in the daily routine of work, family and leisure. But, we really learn these practices in church as we worship together. If we are allowed to only sing what we want to sing, and to only worship in a style that suits us, our consumer tendencies are never confronted. But, when we are brought together with those who sing and pray differently from us, we are forced to learn to serve them by making space for their worship - even it means sacrificing ours. This is the only loving, Christ-like response. As Richard Twiss once said, “you don’t love someone until you learn to love their music”. And then, having learned to serve each other in the sanctuary, service becomes a natural outflow into the rest of our lives.

So, how is your worship? Do you come as a consumer or as a contributor? How prepared are you to learn to worship in different ways and styles - to serve others by laying your own preferences aside? If we can learn to do this, then we begin to get a glimpse of the vision of heaven: “I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb.” (Revelation 7:9 NLT)

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John van de Laar is a Methodist minister, liturgical consultant and the author of the book Food for the Road – Life Lesson from the Lord’s Table. He holds a Master’s Degree in theology from UNISA, and is the founder of Sacredise.com, an international worship training and resourcing ministry. John is married to Debbie, and they have two sons.
Visit www.sacredise.com for more articles by John, as well as resources for personal and public worship – music, prayers, liturgies, images and drama scripts.

I Don't Want It All

Years ago the band Queen sang, in one of their hit songs, “I want it all, and I want it now”. This could well be the anthem of our age, and yet, we are living through the consequences of this way of living. Don’t get me wrong - I love Queen, but, I believe that the arts both guide and reflect the soul of the society from which they arise, and our society is not healthy. Our addiction to material wealth and convenience - to “wanting it all” - has driven us to levels of consumption that has made our planet sick. Our greed and inhumanity has created vast chasms between the rich and the poor, and our indifference has set us up for the kind of economic collapse we are dealing with today.

None of this is news, and we are all culpable. Which is why we desperately need something to challenge us, to stop us in our tracks and call us to a different way. In other words, we need something to help us repent.

Both John the Baptiser and Jesus built their ministries around the call to repent. John called people into the water and instructed them to live differently - justly, generously and mercifully (Luke 3:3-14). Jesus proclaimed that God’s reign had come, and that to enter it required repenting and believing (Mark 1:14,15). Repentance and believing must go together - we cannot hope to change if we don’t believe in the new way we seek to live. Perhaps that’s part of the problem with how we do things. We struggle to let go of our materialism and consumption, because we trust it for security, and we don’t have much faith in the alternative - sharing, simplicity and equity. So, again, we need something to help us to believe, and then to lead us into repentance - to turning ourselves around, choosing new values, and embracing new behaviours.

This is why we need seasons like Lent, with its discipline of fasting. If we will embrace the journey with the mindfulness that it deserves, it offers us a chance to “test the waters” of a new way of living. It’s a small step to commit to just 40 days of Lenten fasting, of turning away from our addictions and greed. We are given the opportunity to choose just one area of our lives, and to repent for a while, doing things differently, and observing the results.

This may all sound a bit shallow and unspiritual, but for me it demonstrates the grace and patience of God. If we will accept the challenge, Lent will lead us into a first hand experience of what our lives can be like when we turn away from “I want it all” and trust in “Give us this day our daily bread”. And, as I have heard from many sincere Lenten pilgrims, this taste of a new way of living is usually enough to boost our faith, and inspire us to wholehearted repentance - the kind that overhauls our lives completely.

So, even though we are already well into Lent, it’s not too late to take this small step of faith. And, if more of us would do it, perhaps the power of Lent would grow, and perhaps the values that drive our world into consumption would slowly shift. Yes, it’s a dream. But it’s a dream worth dreaming.