A Series from the Psalms #3: “Meet with You” (Psalm 22, 42:1-2)

Even as Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey, hailed as king with loud choruses of “Hosanna”, I am sure the loneliness of Gethsemane (and, ultimately, of the Father’s face turning away as He hung upon the cross) began to weigh on Him.

• Listen to “Meet with You” featuring Kim Baysinger.
• Print and save the sheet music for “Meet with You”.

That brings me to this, perhaps the loneliest, most yearning and honest of all the songs I’ve yet written. I wrote it for a friend who was going through a very tough time – sitting in an Ohio prison and full of questions for God. I know I could never get into his shoes quite enough to do that experience justice, but this was my humble attempt.

Thankfully, as I write this, my friend is out of prison, in a good church and a healthy relationship, has a job and has seen God’s mercy work wonders in his life. Perhaps, however, with the reminder that Jesus does indeed understand – and care about – our loneliness, this song will minister to someone you know…

In His Peace,
Fisher

Caught as Much as Taught

One of the reasons I am so passionately adamant that all forms of Christian fellowship need to predominantly be welcoming to children – not child-centered, but conducive to children worship with, and then playing near, adults (sometimes, even at adult Bible studies!) – is because they benefit so much from watching the Faith happen, seeing it as something you grow up with, not grow out of.

It’s a cliche because it’s true: “the Faith is caught by our children as much as it is taught to them”.  I saw that this Saturday morning, and was much overjoyed.

This morning, my daughter Avery woke up a little after me.  Once I was finished washing the dishes, I showed her the valiant defeat suffered by her mommy and me at the hands of one of our friends in a board game last night (she asks me to report on these types of late-night activities; I think all kids are curious about what grown-ups actually do after their kids’ bedtimes!).

But then, when I was finished telling her, she looked rather seriously at me (the kind of look like, “I have something rather important to share with you”), and said, “Daddy, you know how on Saturdays, when you don’t have to go to work, you sit and read your prayers with me?”

It’s true that Avery has walked in on me praying from my prayer book (The Divine Hours, compiled by Phyllis Tickle) several Saturday and Sunday mornings (and many weekdays during a recent hiatus from our work here in Bolivia), and it’s true that she has many times sat down to listen (and to echo certain parts, like the “Our Father” or the Gloria).  I’ve even occasionally altered things on the fly, such as singing “This is the Day” when the psalm on which it is based came up in the prayers, to make it more interactive and accessible for her.

But no way did I expect her to be anticipating that time together.  For her, I thought the specialness of this simple fellowship was the act of cuddling on the couch, which I’m sure it is, in large part.  However, there was no mistaking it: she wanted to do prayer-time with daddy.  She wanted to meet Our Father with her daddy.

So, with a wink and a shrug, I decided, there’s no such thing as too much prayer.  I found the next Office in the prayer book, sat with her, and we prayed.

Now, that’s something I’m glad she’s catching from me!

The Cure: And Jesus Prayed… Part 4

I think the cure for Christian disunity is a focus on Christ and an avoidance of the extremes.

Could I be more simplistic? “Allow me to ’splain… No, no time. Allow me to sum up.”

Okay, as I see it, there are two extremes that damage Christ’s Bride, the Church: one is rampant error, and the other is theological snobbery.

“There is one Faith…” – And Jesus prayed, part 3

“One Faith”, a song by John Michael Talbot, is one of my favorite anthems of Christian unity. I love calling Talbot my brother, even though he is Roman Catholic and I am, well, not (sorry – I hate the word “Protestant”. We Anglicans have an uneasy relationship with that label, too; “mere Christian” will do just fine, thanks).

Maybe Jesus’ prayer for one Church will again be answered in our lifetime.

Christianity Today has been doing some fine, intriguing articles of late about the evangelical tradition’s rediscovery of the ancient Faith, and I just got sent another neat one – spawned by the Pope’s visit to the White House – about how relations between the Roman and evangelical traditions are warming a bit…

To which I have to give a cautious, but enthusiastic, w00t!