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Biography
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"Come, Let Us Worship" "O come, let us worship and bow down, The 95th Psalm, from which my text is taken, is an inviting and warranted call to worship God. Ever mindful of the covenant God had made with his people, the psalmist was summoning one and all to celebrate with him the grace and guidance they were continuing to receive each day. Verses 1 and 2 of the psalm voice a festive call to join in celebrative song in God's honor, and verses 3 through 5 are a reminding, well-stated reason for it all. Verse 6, my text, reminds us of the humble spirit in which worship is best done. This psalm that calls to worship seems rooted in a habit of praise; its lines suggest a strong sense of tie with the goodness and mercies of God. There is an expressed eagerness on the psalmist's part to praise, but he did not think of doing this alone. Thus his appeal: "O come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation." That psalmist knew that worship usually deepens when done in company. Muriel Lester once wrote, "There is nothing more illumining, more enabling, than to be one in a company of people who have come together in order to free their spirit from entangling personal bonds, quiet their soul by silence, release their aspiration by music and poetry, concentrate their mind on spoken wisdom, open their heart...to God and to come into touch with Jesus Christ." It is so! Yes, it is so. I am therefore concerned about those who seem to have given up on worship, who confess little or no desire to take the time, and to find the people who regularly experience what true worship means and does. Perhaps some have been turned off by rituals that puzzle them, or feel left out, isolated, because of musical styles that are unfamiliar or not to their liking. I am acutely aware of the many criticisms voiced about church life in our day, especially criticisms regarding worship features and functions. This psalm speaks to that matter, with insight to share about what worship means and does when we truly celebrate God. First, celebrating God opens us to our Creator and helps us gain needed clarity for our lives. Our Creator is our God, so it is reasonable and right to remain submitted to the Lord, our Maker. (vs. 6) As for clarity for our lives, we all need it. Our paths in life are not always clear, and many experiences are certainly not readily understood. Given the nature of life as we know it, there are many boundaries against which our minds press as we seek understanding, and sometimes we stagger under burdening questions and deeply agitated feelings. The terms of life in this world stir any sensitive person to seek clarity for understanding our situations and our stress-filled selves. Worship opens us up to the clarifying light from Scripture-wisdom and the strengthening awareness that we are not alone in this world. The experience of worship helps us consciously regard God, and as we do so we are led beyond the limits of our confusion by fresh vision. Being with God in a time of worship lets us see the higher good, and being in touch with voiced truths from God opens doors of insight for us to deal wisely with our days. Hearing God's word read and explained extends the horizons of our understanding. Meaningful music steadies our feelings, with words that stir and direct our faith. All of this, and more, sets us on course with an informed mind, a lifted spirit, and a renewed courage to live. D. Elton Trueblood once wrote, "It is not easy to be a human being. Human life carries with it marvelous possibilities, but there are, at the same time, untold ways in which it can go wrong." Being before God in worship clarifies our path, cleanses our hearts, and lets us gain God's help to keep ourselves from going wrong. Second, celebrating God together with others can strengthen our ties as a spiritual community with them. Authentic worship honors the importance of our human togetherness before God. God is the Maker of us all. Something fundamental happens for human community when we stand before God and understandably address God as "our" God, and, as the psalmist put it, "the rock of our salvation" (vs. 1). The psalmist used the possessive plural so many times in this psalm that we cannot mistake his concern for togetherness with his people. God delights when we worship, plan, and live with an interest in others, and when we live by a deep sense of tie with them. God has willed our togetherness. The spirit of belonging strengthens and ennobles us, The attitude of caring and the realization of companionship steadies us. Worship is something more than the observance of traditional forms, certain ways of singing, speaking, kneeling, standing, and praying. Worship does involve celebrating God, but it also strengthens our sense of tie with all of God's children. Stirred by a sense of God's love for us as individuals, it becomes increasingly easier for us to love each other and dare to hold hands, because God helps us to link our hearts. A third, and sometimes overlooked, insight this psalm gives regarding worship is found in those words of verse 7: "O that today you would hearken to God's voice." The psalmist was reminding us that worship is genuine only when commitment to God's will is a part of our celebrative deeds. Times of worship help to deepen our commitment, and the need for a strong, steadfast commitment to God's will is always with us. This kind of world demands such a commitment on our part. This psalm recognizes that. Homage to God must live in a heart that is surrendered to the holiness of God. Praise to God is best rendered when matched with a piety and sense of purpose that God approves. Our celebration in worship is worthy only when it is lived out in commitment. Daniel Sidney Warner, that God-sensitive hymnist, understood this, and wrote: "By thy blessed work obeying,/Lord, we prove our love sincere;/ For we hear thee gently saying,/ 'Love will do as well as hear.'" Worship is doing homage to God and doing honor to God in one's living. Celebrating God and commitment to God should be as steady in our lives as water that rushes from a lively stream. Come, let us worship God! Interview with James Earl Massey Lydia Talbot: Dr. Massey, in your earlier message, "Come Let Us Worship," what would the Psalmist say today? How would he take that command: "Let us worship and bow down" out of the temple and into the public square? James Earl Massey: I think he would understand the latter part of what I treated, the way the worship of God is to affect our dealings with each other, our decisions as we work together as a common community and the handling of our common needs. The worship of God is more than a temple event. It is a life experience. Talbot: A life experience. In one of your recent articles, "How God Calls a Leader," a tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King... Massey: I recall that. Talbot: You say that King was really the latest American clergyman of that level of reform in our society and you pose the question: Is he the last? How would you answer that now? Massey: I would hope that he was not the last. For every generation will need someone whose life God has touched in such a manner that they can become leader for the masses. Dr. King was a leader for the masses, and that need continues to exist. In dealing with war, in dealing with community issues, in dealing with the leadership of a nation, there needs to be someone who has a prophetic edge to what they do and a prophetic spirit in what they are. Talbot: Prophetic edge and prophetic spirit - you are concerned in that article about the racism in our society, the violence, the loss of compassion if you will. What do you say to those forces on the right and the left today, who are claiming a monopoly on the Christian faith? Massey: How problematic, because the skewing of any theological position can leave someone out, because we view God's will as directed only to a particular group rather than to all. Every 30 or 31 years, our nation goes through a cycle. There's a swing of the pendulum from public interest to private interest. Professor Arthur Schlesinger Jr. has dealt with this in one of his books, and he ably analyzes this problem as it exists in our history. We are now at that point of having moved back to the privatized interest, and we are seeing that reflected in what Congress is doing and deciding. And it is not good for us. There must be a balance, and the prophetic person has to keep the nation reminded of God's interest in our problems and God's will for the solution of our problems. Talbot: You remind your readers of that very problem in your book called The Responsible Pulpit. Now, you wrote that in 1974. What would that message be today for pulpits around this country? Massey: It means seize in courage in the face of all opposition, to bring this message again to the nation, so that always we are faced with what Israel was faced with in her day: prophets on the scene who can say, "Thus saith the Lord," so that the nation can find its way in righteousness and truth. Talbot: Now Dr. Massey, you've had a distinguished career as a religious educator, as Dean of the Seminary, at Anderson Seminary in Indiana. You've taught in many places, all the way to Kingston, Jamaica, as I recall. And are regarded as among Who's Who Among Clergy in America. You have a distinguished list of credentials, but you've just retired. What are you going to be doing at this point in your life? Massey: At this point in my life, I will continue to speak, but I will not undertake any formal teaching assignments as before. And I will continue to write. At the present time I'm one of a group of editors working on the new Interpreters Bible. There was in the 1950's a publication of the Interpreters Bible, 12 volumes, and we are now working on the updating of that, using a new set of writers, a new style and using all the new tools for investigating Scripture to discover its meaningful message. There will be 12 volumes again, and two volumes are already out. One came out last August. Another came out in April of this year, and we're expecting another one within a month. And every year thereafter there will be two volumes, God permitting. Talbot: Now, the New Interpreters Bible as seen from the perspective of the Church of God, which is your denomination? Massey: No, as seen from the perspective of The United Methodist Publishing House, which was the publishing house for the Interpreters Bible in the 1950's. Talbot: Well, how does that connect with the very hot issue in our society today, and that is the inclusive language lectionary. What are your feelings about that? Massey: My own understanding of Scripture is that some of the language was conditioned by the culture. All language is conditioned by culture. But, to change the ancient language of a book that comes to us from previous centuries is not always to understand it. If this presents a better and fresh understanding that is true to the original intent, okay. But if it alters the intent by having been changed, then we are poorer indeed. Talbot: So, a difference between revisionist Biblical literature and language, and politically correct language. Massey: Yes. I would say the volumes should be translated as clearly as possible for those of our culture and time, but it should not be manipulated for political reasons. Talbot: Now, Dr. Massey, you told us on this program during your last visit that you had been married for more than 40 years to your wife, Gwendolyn, and that you are still on your honeymoon. Tell us about your family life and how that is a source of inspiration for you in ministry. Massey: I am still married to Gwendolyn. I am still on a honeymoon. You'd have to ask what her feelings are at this point, but it was a matter or guidance, I believe, that the two of us came together. And it has shown itself in all the benefit that she has been to me, spiritually and otherwise. We, in our marriage, have seen some very difficult times, some losses of children, prebirth losses, five times, but all of that has cemented us. We only have each other. There are no children that we have, and so we give our love to the children of others, and to other people. Talbot: Reaching out in service to others. Massey: Those who have no children are not without those upon whom they can bestow their love. Talbot: In our final moment, share with us now a bit more about your spiritual journey and what advice you might give to young people today, who might be contemplating ministry. Massey: The one single piece of advice I would give is the advice given by the Psalmist: "Wait upon the Lord," because our time sees so much rushing, so much haste, and when we are in a hurry we make grievous mistakes. But to wait before the Lord in prayer, to wait before the Lord in reading and meditation, is to hear his voice more distinctly, and waiting still longer to have confirmed what we thought we saw or heard initially. Talbot: We thank you for that reminder, Dr. Massey. |
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