What Should a Christian Wear? by Mark D. Roberts

Psalm 132:1-18

May your priests be clothed in godliness;      may your loyal servants sing for joy.

Psalm 132:9

Early in my pastorate at Irvine Presbyterian Church, I stirred up a storm by what I wore—and didn’t wear—when I preached. As it turned out, congregation members were impressed by what they called my “flashy ties.” In actuality, I was wearing what had been normal in the church in Hollywood where I had served as an associate pastor. But my “flowery ties” were a bit much for the simple-stripes taste of the Irvinites.

More controversial, however, was my decision not to wear a clerical robe when I preached. Partly, this had to do with the heat in our un-airconditioned worship space. But, mostly it had to do with my sense that Irvine Presbyterian tended to regard its pastors as the only true “ministers,” thus minimizing the calling of the laity into the ministry of Christ. I believed that my choice to not wear a robe would underscore a right biblical theology of ministry. It did this, though with great controversy and complaint. For years, some church members continued to express their unhappiness that their pastor was not wearing a robe when he preached.

At this point in my life, I’m less worried about what pastors wear when they lead worship. I’m much more interested in what all of Christ’s ministers—namely, all Christians—”wear” each and every day. Using the language of Psalm 132:9, I want to ask myself: Am I clothed in godliness? I want to ask you the same question.

The Hebrew word translated here as “godliness” is more often translated as “righteousness” (tzedeq). It refers, on one level, to right living, to acting in a way that honors God. But tzedeq is a relational concept, which begins in our right relationship with God that is expressed through right relationships with others. Thus, to be clothed in godliness means living each moment in a way that reflects the presence of God in our lives. It means treating others in a way that glorifies God and reflects his own character.

Do I put on God’s righteousness each day? Do I wear it to work? Do I wear it at home? When people see me, do they see God’s presence and power?

QUESTION FOR FURTHER REFLECTION: How would you answer the questions I just asked of myself?

PRAYER: Gracious God, sometimes we can worry way too much about what we wear, our physical clothing. Help me to be even more concerned about whether or not I’m dressed in your righteousness. May I seek to honor you in all that I do, each moment of each day, in public and private, in work and in rest. Be glorified in and through me, O God. Amen.

http://www.thehighcalling.org/reflection/what-should-christian-wear?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheHighCallingDailyReflections+%28Daily+Reflection+%26+Prayer%29

Is It Right to Display Art in Places of Worship? A Personal Story, Part 2 by Mark D. Roberts

Ezekiel 41:1-26

Above the entrance, from the interior to the exterior of the temple, and on every interior and exterior wall, there were carved winged creatures and palm trees. The palm trees were positioned between the winged creatures, and each winged creature had two faces.

Ezekiel 41:17-18

In yesterday’s reflection, I began sharing a personal story related to the use of art in the sanctuary of Irvine Presbyterian Church, where I served as pastor for sixteen years. I explained how, when we built our sanctuary, we included few pieces of art. The sanctuary itself was a work of art, in our view. Moreover, we intentionally included large, clear windows in our design, so that worshipers could look out and our neighbors could look in. We chose to let the artistry of nature inspire our worship.

But, not long after the sanctuary was completed, a beloved, 90-year-old member of our church told us that she would donate a very substantial amount of money to add stained glass to all of our windows. Ida envisioned traditional glass art: dark colors, biblical scenes, etc. In the largest window of the sanctuary, she hoped for a traditional scene of Jesus and the children, with a fifteen-foot-high Jesus.

As you can imagine, this became a delicate conversation, since we wanted to affirm Ida’s generosity but not her design expectations. So we began a long conversation about our diverse visions for the sanctuary and how we believe artistic glass might function in this space. Ida was extraordinarily open-minded and joined our design team. In the end, we did add lots of artistic glass to our clear windows, but maintained their clarity so that we might look out while our neighbors looked in.

The artistic glass on our windows employed imagery from the book of Revelation: “Then the angel showed me the river of life-giving water, shining like crystal, flowing from the throne of God and the Lamb through the middle of the city’s main street. On each side of the river is the tree of life, which produces twelve crops of fruit, bearing its fruit each month. The tree’s leaves are for the healing of the nations” (Rev. 22:1-2; we also used Rev. 4:7). We called the result “Windows to Heaven,” in an effort to show how, in worship, we experience the reality of heaven on earth.

We wrestled with Ida’s hope for a realistic, traditional, prominent image of Jesus, since the rest of our glass was intentionally impressionistic. In the end, we added a somewhat traditional image of Jesus in a prayer alcove, a private location in the sanctuary that was not visible to worshipers. This pleased Ida, who continues to serve in my mind as a model of graciousness and flexibility.

I’m sharing this story, not to suggest that what we did at Irvine Presbyterian is best for all churches. On the contrary, each worshiping community needs to discover how to apply biblical principles to their worship experience. My story serves as an illustration of how one community of believers tried to express in tangible form a biblical vision of worship and art, one in which God is glorified and God’s people are bound together in reverence and mutual love.

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER REFLECTION: Given that artistic taste differs widely among people, how can art be used in a worship space so that it unifies rather than divides a congregation? In what ways does visual art help you to worship (or not)?

PRAYER: Gracious God, again, I thank you for creating this world as a place of beauty and for giving us the ability to perceive and enjoy beauty. Thank you as well for allowing us to imitate your creative work by making things of beauty. No matter how talented we are, may we use all of our gifts in service to you, not just in spaces set aside for worship, but everywhere.

Today, I give you thanks for Ida and people like her, who are exceedingly generous, humble, and open-minded. May I be more like her!

I also give you thanks for those endowed with special artistic gifts. May they use their gifts for your purposes in the world. Amen.

http://www.thehighcalling.org/reflection/it-right-display-art-places-worship-personal-story-part-2

Not to Us, Not to Us! by Mark D. Roberts

Psalm 115:1-18

Not to us, O LORD, not to us,      but to your name goes all the glory      for your unfailing love and faithfulness.

Psalm 115:1

Psalm 115 opens with a striking bit of poetry: “Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name goes all the glory for your unfailing love and faithfulness” (115:1). Though God may richly bless his people, so that they appear to be glorious (115:12-15), the glory belongs to God and God alone.

Psalm 115:1 reminds me of an experience I had almost exactly twenty years ago. For several months, I had been talking with the search committee of Irvine Presbyterian Church about becoming their Senior Pastor. When the committee finally voted to choose me, I was thrilled. But I knew that their selection was not the end of the process. In a Presbyterian church, only the congregation can extend a call to a new pastor. So I had to be voted on by the membership of Irvine Presbyterian Church. This vote would happen at a congregational meeting on a Sunday, following worship services in which I was the preacher.

As you can imagine, I was very nervous as I got ready to preach my “try out” sermon. I wanted the people to like me, at least enough to vote for me. I wasn’t really afraid of not being elected by the congregation, but I was scared that I might receive a large number of negative votes, which would have been a blow to my confidence and self-image.

On the Saturday night before my big Sunday, I went to the church campus to pray. Nobody was there, so I could pray openly. As I walked around the church buildings, I began to ask God to help me, to bless my preaching, to open the people’s hearts, and to secure a positive vote. But the more I walked and prayed, the more I found my priorities shifting. At first I was praying for good things to happen to me. I was seeking my own glory, if you will. But the more I talked with the Lord, the more I began to desire his glory, not my own. I realized as never before that my calling to this church in Irvine was not about me. It had everything to do with God and his purposes for that fine church. Yes, I hoped to be blessed by God as the pastor of the church (and, indeed, I was blessed during my sixteen years there, far beyond anything I imagined on that night of prayer). But I found my heart yearning for God’s glory. I yearned for him to be lifted up in the Irvine church and through the church in the community. By the end of my time of prayer, I was praying along the lines of Psalm 115:1: “Not to me, but to you be the glory. Not to me, but to you!”

I can still become preoccupied with how people feel about me. When I’m a guest preacher, I often have to confess to the Lord that my gut instinct is to want most of all to be liked by the congregation. As I seek him and humble myself before him, God once again changes my heart, giving me a passion for his purpose and glory. He will do the same for you as you offer yourself to him.

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION: When have you felt a passion for God’s glory? How would seeking God’s glory make a difference in your daily life? In your work? In your family?

PRAYER: Not to us, O LORD, not to us,      but to your name goes all the glory      for your unfailing love and faithfulness. May you be glorified, Lord, in my work. May you be glorified in my family. May you be glorified in all of my relationships. May you be glorified in my earning and my spending. May you be glorified in my public life and my private life. May you be glorified in my church. May you be glorified in every bit of my life. Not to us, O LORD, not to us,      but to your name goes all the glory      for your unfailing love and faithfulness. Amen.

http://www.thehighcalling.org/reflection/not-us-not-us-0