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The Requiem Series – House Beautiful

The Requiem Series

Introduction:

This 8-part series explores the contours of grief and Christian hope, and highlights the biblical passages interpreted by Johannes Brahms in his classic chorale work, A German Requiem. For a deeper dive into both the Bible and the music, see Carol Bechtel’s curriculum, Sowing Tears, Reaping Joy: The Bible and Brahms’ Requiem (Kerygma 1996; Sowing Tears, Reaping Joy ).

 

Study #5

House Beautiful

Read: Psalm 84:1-4

How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts!

The author of Psalm 84 is jealous…jealous of the priests who live at the Temple in Jerusalem “ever singing God’s praise.” In fact, he even is jealous of the sparrows who build their nests at the altars in the Temple’s open-air courts. His logic is, “If even the sparrow is welcome there, then surely I will find a safe haven there as well.” His longing for God’s beautiful house is so strong that he is literally fainting for them. The mere thought of his destination makes him sing for joy.

If you’ve ever been on a long journey toward a beloved destination, you’ll know that the mental picture of that place exerts a powerful pull on your spirit. That’s how the psalmist felt about the Temple. And it’s how believers should feel about God’s heavenly Temple.

In yesterday’s meditation we focused on the fact that everyone dies. Today’s text reminds us that the grave is not, in fact, our ultimate destination. Thanks to Jesus Christ, the grave has become an open door. It opens onto God’s heavenly house of worship. It’s a picture that exerts a powerful pull…and gives us strength and hope for the journey!

Prayer: Help us to keep our eyes on you, O God, and on the beauty of our ultimate destination.

Listening option: Brahms’ Requiem, Movement 4

 The Requiem Permalink

The Requiem Series – We Have to Be Carefully Taught

The Requiem Series

Introduction:

This 8-part series explores the contours of grief and Christian hope, and highlights the biblical passages interpreted by Johannes Brahms in his classic chorale work, A German Requiem. For a deeper dive into both the Bible and the music, see Carol Bechtel’s curriculum, Sowing Tears, Reaping Joy: The Bible and Brahms’ Requiem (Kerygma 1996; Sowing Tears, Reaping Joy ).

 

Study #4

We Have to Be Carefully Taught

Read: Psalm 39:4-7

Lord, let me know my end, and what is the measure of my days….

Most of us go through life in various levels of denial about the fact that we are going to die. Teenagers are notorious for thinking—and acting—as if they were immortal. But most of us don’t like to think about our own mortality at any age. It often takes an illness or a tragedy to give us a “reality check.”

When the psalmist prays for God to teach him the measure of his days, he is asking for just this kind of reality check. It may seem like a strange request. Yet, we will often live our lives more wisely once we learn this lesson.

In Dickens’ famous short story, A Christmas Carol, Ebenezer Scrooge is transformed by a vision of his own name on a tombstone. While most of us do not  experience such a dramatic personality transplant, a close brush with death will often produce a significant change in attitude.  We savor things we used to take for granted. And we know—as the psalmist does—that our hope lies, not in ourselves, but in God.

Prayer: Teach us, O God, that our days are numbered. But teach us, as well, that in life and in death, we are the Lord’s.

Listening option: Brahms’ Requiem, Movement 3

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The Requiem Series – Fading Flowers

The Requiem Series

Introduction:

This 8-part series explores the contours of grief and Christian hope, and highlights the biblical passages interpreted by Johannes Brahms in his classic chorale work, A German Requiem. For a deeper dive into both the Bible and the music, see Carol Bechtel’s curriculum, Sowing Tears, Reaping Joy: The Bible and Brahms’ Requiem (Kerygma 1996; Sowing Tears, Reaping Joy ).

 

Study #3

Fading Flowers

Read: Isaiah 40:6-8

The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our God will stand forever.

Traditional requiems focus on the peace of the dead. Brahms’ Requiem focuses on the peace of the living. Yet, what will it take for those living with grief to be truly at peace?

Brahms answers this question with these verses from Isaiah 40. They remind us that true peace lies not in delusions of our own strength, but in our relationship with an eternal God.

I learned something about this contrast the day I visited the funeral home for Annie, a young girl killed in a snowmobile accident. At one point I noticed Annie’s father slipping away from the long line of mourners. He bent over his daughter’s casket, stroked her hair, and gently planted a kiss on her forehead. The image of his fresh grief has stayed with me ever since, in part because it struck me as such a beautiful expression of grief held in hope’s strong embrace.

The death of a child is a cruel reminder of how quickly the human “flower” fades. Yet, peace is possible even in midst of pain when we realize that our fragile lives are rooted in God’s eternal grace.

Prayer: In our frailty, oh God, we surrender ourselves to that love that will not let us go.

Listening option: Brahms’ Requiem, Movement 2.

 The Requiem Permalink

The Requiem Series – The View from the Graveside

The Requiem Series

Introduction:

This 8-part series explores the contours of grief and Christian hope, and highlights the biblical passages interpreted by Johannes Brahms in his classic chorale work, A German Requiem. For a deeper dive into both the Bible and the music, see Carol Bechtel’s curriculum, Sowing Tears, Reaping Joy: The Bible and Brahms’ Requiem (Kerygma 1996; Sowing Tears, Reaping Joy ).

 

Study #2

The View from the Graveside

Read: Matthew 5:4

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

Anyone who has ever stood beside the grave of a loved one will wonder at these words. Blessed? Surely not. Cursed maybe, but not blessed! If we didn’t know that it was Jesus talking, we might conclude that the person who said this didn’t know what he was talking about.

Yet, we know that Jesus was all too familiar with the view from the graveside. In John 11 we read the story of how Jesus wept for his friend Lazarus. So, far from being unfamiliar with grief and loss, Jesus was “a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief” (Isaiah 53:3, KJV). What, then, can his words mean?

A dying saint was heard to remark, “I have never felt such pain, or known more joy.” Her words bear witness to the kind of “blessedness” Jesus is talking about. It does not deny the agony of the present, but it testifies to the way Jesus infuses that reality with hope. And that, for the Christian, is what makes all the difference. It is what makes joy possible even when pleasure is out of the question.

Prayer: Be present with us, Lord Jesus, in the midst of our grief. Help us to experience the blessedness of your presence and the hope of your resurrection.

Listening option: Brahms’ Requiem, Movement 1.

 The Requiem Permalink

The Requiem Series – Sowing Tears

The Requiem Series

Introduction:

This 8-part series explores the contours of grief and Christian hope, and highlights the biblical passages interpreted by Johannes Brahms in his classic chorale work, A German Requiem. For a deeper dive into both the Bible and the music, see Carol Bechtel’s curriculum, Sowing Tears, Reaping Joy: The Bible and Brahms’ Requiem (Kerygma 1996; Sowing Tears, Reaping Joy ).

 

Study #1

Sowing Tears

Read: Psalm 126:5-6

May those who sow in tears reap with shouts of joy.

My colleague, Stan Rock, has been fighting a long battle with Parkinson’s disease. He told me once that Brahms’ Requiem has been an important “coach” for him in this battle. When I asked him why, he said, “Because of its honesty and its hope.”

Honesty and hope. I think Stan put his finger on the secret to the Requiem’s potential for opening our hearts to God’s healing touch. It does not shy away from the depth of human suffering. Yet, it enfolds its listeners with a quiet confidence in God’s saving power.

Today’s verses from Psalm 126 are set to music in the first movement of the Requiem. They capture both the honesty and the hope that Stan spoke of. Tears are a real part of grief, after all, and the psalm does not try to deny them. Yet, it does help us to see them in a new way. Using images of seedtime and harvest, the psalmist prays that God will turn the seeds of our tears into a bountiful harvest of joy.

Prayer: Merciful God, help us to feel your love, even in the midst of our grief. Help us to trust that you will turn the seeds of our sorrow into sheaves of joy.

Listening option: Brahms’ Requiem, Movement 1.

 Esther Permalink

The Esther Series: The Power of the Written Word

Introduction:

This 12-part series takes a new look at an old story and finds fresh words of courage, faith, and challenge for today’s Church. It is based on Carol Bechtel’s commentary on Esther in the Interpretation series (Westminster John Knox, 2002).

 

Study #12

The Power of the Written Word

Read Esther 9-10

 [These days were] turned for them from sorrow into gladness…. (Esther 9:22, NRSV)

Of all the chapters of Esther, these are most difficult. On the one hand, we are relieved that the dreaded day is turned from sorrow into gladness. On the other hand, it’s hard to get past the body count, and the fact that Esther seems to have turned a bit bloodthirsty. She asks, after all, for a second day to “do according to this day’s edict.”

Remember, however, that Esther and Mordecai had tried to avoid all this carnage by having the first edict revoked. Remember as well, that the second edict allowed only for self-defense, so no one would have died if the Persians had not attacked. The fact that so many died on the second day signifies that there were still enemies out there waiting for their chance.

Of all the things we can learn from the book of Esther, surely one of the most important is that the written word is a powerful force and can be used for good or evil. The book ends with Esther and Mordecai sending letters encouraging the people to celebrate their deliverance by delivering others, making the holidays “days for sending gifts of food to one another and presents to the poor.”

Prayer: Help us, gracious God, to read and heed your Word, and to give as generously as we have received.

 Esther Permalink

The Esther Series: The Battle Is Not Done

Introduction:

This 12-part series takes a new look at an old story and finds fresh words of courage, faith, and challenge for today’s Church. It is based on Carol Bechtel’s commentary on Esther in the Interpretation series (Westminster John Knox, 2002).

 

Study #11

The Battle Is Not Done

Read: Esther 8

How can I bear to see the calamity that is coming on my people? (v. 6, NRSV)

It’s a bit like one of those scary movies. Just when the danger seems to be past, the villain jumps out to terrorize us all over again.

Here, too, we let our guard down when Haman is safely dead. But we can’t afford to forget that Haman’s words outlive him. His edict is still very much alive, and the danger is not past as long as it is in effect.

Fortunately, Esther keeps her eye on the edict. She steps right back into the line of fire to beg the king to revoke the edict that will soon spell death for her and her people.

Isn’t it ironic that the most powerful man in Persia can’t revoke one little law? The best Ahasuerus can do is to give Mordecai his signet ring and suggest that he “write as [he] please with regard to the Jews in the name of the king.”

So Mordecai crafts a second edict in an attempt to counteract the first. This edict allows the Jews to defend themselves when attacked. It’s not an ideal solution, but under the circumstances it will have to suffice.

Prayer: Help us to think of creative solutions to conflict, O God, and forgive us when we are too quick to choose the violent path.

 Esther Permalink

The Esther Series: Esther Argues Her Case

Introduction:

This 12-part series takes a new look at an old story and finds fresh words of courage, faith, and challenge for today’s Church. It is based on Carol Bechtel’s commentary on Esther in the Interpretation series (Westminster John Knox, 2002).

 

Study #10

Esther Argues Her Case

Read: Esther 7

Let my life be given me…and the lives of my people. (v. 3, NRSV)

All eyes are on Esther as this chapter opens. Will she do it? we wonder as the dinner party winds down. Will she intercede for her people?

This is not an idle question. We thought she had the perfect moment before (see Esther 5:5-7). We wondered whether she’d lost her nerve, or if there had been some other more mysterious reason for her failure to “pop the question” at that first banquet. Now, however, we’re in a better position to take stock of her timing.

Think of how much has changed. The king’s divinely inspired insomnia has set up Haman’s downfall and Mordecai’s rise. Whatever Esther’s reasons for hesitating were, God seems to have made good use of them.

God makes good use of Esther’s gifts here as well. In a beautifully crafted argument, she pleads for the life of her people. If we thought she was just a pretty face, we underestimated her. If we wondered whether anyone was smart enough to outwit the wicked Haman, we now see that Esther can run circles around him. And if we doubted that the wicked are punished, we have only to look at the gallows in Haman’s back yard. He certainly never expected to test them himself.

Prayer: Help us to be ready, dear God, to use our gifts for others’ good and your glory.

 Esther Permalink

The Esther Series: No Rest for the Wicked

Introduction:

This 12-part series takes a new look at an old story and finds fresh words of courage, faith, and challenge for today’s Church. It is based on Carol Bechtel’s commentary on Esther in the Interpretation series (Westminster John Knox, 2002).

 

Study #9

No Rest for the Wicked

Read:  Esther 6:4-14

Thus shall it be done for the man whom the king wishes to honor. (v. 11, NRSV)

Haman can’t sleep either. He is like the people the psalmist describes who “plot mischief while on their beds” (Psalm 36:4). He is so anxious to set his mischief in motion that he gets up and heads to the royal court. To his delight he finds that the king is already up. Even more delightful is the king’s question: “What shall be done for the man whom the king wishes to honor?”

People don’t often expect the Bible to be funny, but it’s hard not to laugh out loud at what happens next. “Whom would the king wish to honor more than me?” Haman asks with the flawless logic of a megalomaniac. Without missing a beat, Haman describes an elaborate parade in his own honor. The speed with which he comes up with the details suggests that he may have had this fantasy before!

Haman’s dreams become a nightmare when the king orders him to “do so to the Jew Mordecai.” Even the members of Haman’s fan club scramble to distance themselves from him when he returns home to lick his wounds. Their words seem to recognize that Haman is no match for Mordecai’s God.

Prayer: Help us to remember that “though the wrong seem oft so strong, God is the ruler yet” (“This Is My Father’s World”, by M.D. Babcock, 1901).

 Esther Permalink

The Esther Series: Sleepless in Susa

Introduction:

This 12-part series takes a new look at an old story and finds fresh words of courage, faith, and challenge for today’s Church. It is based on Carol Bechtel’s commentary on Esther in the Interpretation series (Westminster John Knox, 2002).

 

Study #8

Sleepless in Susa

Read: Esther 6:1-3

On that night the king could not sleep, and he gave orders to bring the book of records, the annals, and they were read to the king. (v. 1, NRSV)

Have you ever experienced a coincidence that felt more like an act of Providence? Author Frederick Buechner says that a coincidence is God’s way of remaining anonymous!

Much has been made of the fact that the name for God never appears in the book of Esther. Yet, God’s presence is palpable in the triple coincidence of this passage. First, the king has trouble sleeping. Then, he asks for the annals to be read to him. Finally, the passage that is read is the one about Mordecai saving the king from assassination.

Perhaps this last one wasn’t a coincidence at all, but a conscious decision on the part of the king’s servants who knew that Mordecai had not received any reward. Be that as it may, God’s fingerprints are all over the servants’ decision.

There is a sense in which the whole outcome of the book of Esther hinges on these happy coincidences. It’s a wonderful reminder of what the Heidelberg Catechism means when it talks about the fact that “without the will of my Father in heaven not a hair can fall from my head” (Q&A #1).

Prayer: Give us a stronger sense of your providence, O God. Help us to trust ourselves to your love and care.