Ode To Joy!

For the past couple of weeks, I've had this really strange thing going on with God when it comes to his sense of timing. You see, as part of our study of life in the wilderness, I've been getting ready to preach through the Ten Commandments as a basis for God's moral standard for his community. After all, we're part of God's community at Hope, right? And God has standards for his community, right? And we're supposed to learn those standards and make them an uncompromising part of our lives, right?

So lately I've been working all week on launching into these Ten Commandments on Sunday. But it seems like every Thursday God de-rails me. Two weeks ago, I was struck by a need to simply experience the presence of God and celebrate in worship together. Last week, I felt compelled to revisit the implications of the Tabernacle in our lives today. Now here it is Thursday again, and I have this sense that the Lord is pushing me to put off that first commandment yet another week so we can consider the much bigger (and, admittedly, much more controversial) tension between Law and Grace. After all, we can't really begin considering the impact of God's legal code and moral standards in our lives if we have confused ideas about some erroneous distinction between the Old and New Testaments, can we?

As a result, I find myself spending a huge chunk of time wrestling with old debates and discussions thrust upon us by people who celebrate a theological system instead of simply pursuing the beauty of truth. (Yup, that's a loaded statement right there!) I don't want to get caught up in the terminology and extreme arguments of systems like "dispensationalism" and a whole bunch of other "isms" that come into play here. The simple truth is that I don't like the way some theologians have framed the debate in the first place. I can sympathize with what they're trying to understand and communicate, but so many theological considerations become muddied with the shallow thinking of the masses who simply want to be told what to believe rather than explore the wonders of truth for themselves.

Paul had it right when he talked about explaining "God's mysteries." Rather than drawing lines between those who agree with us on some systematic theological point and those who hold to a different (but, in all fairness, reasonable and intelligent) perspective, I feel compelled to simply immerse myself in the wonder of it all -- and, in doing so, to be challenged to the very core of my being regading my own adherence to what God has revealed about his practical standard for personal holiness.

So I grind on with all these very chaotic trains of thought rushing through my mind, and I strive to hear the clear whisper of God's Spirit in the midst of it all so that I can accurately forge the words to explain it in a way that is clear and compelling for my church family. And I must admit that I'm also trying to hammer down these occasionally rising feelings of frustration -- and even outrage! -- at some of the theological folly I'm reading. It only makes it worse when I come across statements of absurdity from brothers who I respect or who are widely popular and trusted among followers of Christ today.

(Can you tell it's been one whopper of a day?!)

Anyways, in the middle of all this, I was on the phone with Margo just venting about the struggle of starting my sermon prep over again on a Thursday, rambling on about theological integrity, thinking aloud about some of the strange ideas I'm reading on law vs. grace, etc. Suddenly I hear the delightful sound that I've got new e-mail waiting for me to read. Oh, look! It's from Andy! And it's a link to a YouTube video, along with some mysterious blurb about "Ode to Joy" and Muppets.

Well, see for yourself. All I can say is, "THANK YOU, ANDY!" for totally making my day. I sat here and laughed, and somehow the simple escape of a moment of humor brings refreshment to my weary thoughts. Loads of fun!