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Posts by JVandelaar:
Worship That Transforms; Part One
April 15th, 2009
I know, the Bible commands it, God desires it, we were created for it; but all of these reasons are a little like saying that we eat only because our bodies need food to survive. This may be true, but what we eat, how we eat, and the effect that our eating has on our lives goes much deeper than just the act of survival. So, too, our worship goes far deeper than just obeying a Biblical command or responding to some in-built human drive – or at least it should.
Facing The Shadows
March 25th, 2009
We don’t much enjoy shadows in our world today, and perhaps even less so in the Church. When darkness becomes visible, we try to batter it away and shine all the brighter, hoping that we won’t have to face what the darkness might reveal. Take the current economic crisis for example. We all long to put it behind us and return to life as normal. I see relatively few people taking the time to examine this darkness and learn what it seeks to teach us about economic equity and justice – but that is a topic for a whole different article.
This is why I really like Tenebrae – the Service of the Shadows. In my church it is held every year on the Thursday of Holy Week, the night before Good Friday. It is a time when we explore the shadows that encroached on Jesus in his last hours and ultimately took his life. As we reflect, through gentle song and thoughtful Scripture reading, on the people around Jesus and their response to what was happening, we see our own darkness in them. We recognize that, like Peter, we too easily deny Jesus; like Judas, we too have a price for which we will betray him. We see our own cowardice and self-righteousness, and our own Pharisaical need to control and condemn. We see our own grief in the eyes of Jesus’ mother, and our own despair when death and evil seem to triumph.
I need this service. I believe we all do, because it enables us to do the work of facing our shadows, and until we do this, we cannot be delivered from them. The first step to salvation is admitting that I am sinner. The first step into the light is acknowledging my own shadows.
As an attempt to do this work well, I wrote a dramatized version of the Tenebrae service some years ago. Instead of the traditional readings, this drama uses a series of monologues, spoken by some of the people who went through this dark journey with Jesus – Peter, Judas, Mary, and others – to explore and face the shadows. It has been used many times, by many churches and groups around the world, and has been found to be a helpful and meaningful way to journey, in worship, into the depth of Jesus’ suffering, and to face the sin darkness which lives in each of us and drove him to his death.
If you’re looking for a way to make this Easter a deeper, more healing and restorative time, take a look at Facing the Shadows – A Tenebrae Drama. This link will take you to a page of resources for Holy Week and Easter (Scroll down to the bottom to find the link to a .pdf of the script).
What Difference Does Worship Make?
October 16th, 2008
Soon after encountering Christ for the first time as a young teenager, I eagerly began telling everyone who would listen about my newfound faith. In one conversation as I tried to convince a friend of my brother that Jesus would make a huge positive difference in his life, he gently expressed his doubt about my words. As far as he was concerned, Jesus made no difference at all.
“How can you say that?” I cried in my shock.
How You Worship Defines How You Live
September 17th, 2008
I love Harvest Festival.
I love the decorations, the fruit, vegetables and flowers that burst with color in their displays. I love the sense of celebration that flows through the service, and the special opportunity that is provided to contribute to those in need by bringing produce for distribution. As a way to express thanks for God’s abundant goodness, and as a chance to remember the sacredness of our world and the people who live in it, Harvest Festival is unique in the Church calendar.
What Difference Does Worship Make
August 20th, 2008
Soon after encountering Christ for the first time as a young teenager, I eagerly began telling everyone who would listen about my newfound faith. In one conversation as I tried to convince a friend of my brother that Jesus would make a huge positive difference in his life, he gently expressed his doubt about my words. As far as he was concerned, Jesus made no difference at all.
