Tuesday's thoughts on Sunday's sermon

So now we are down to two Sundays and there is more to say than I have time to say it. The concert Sunday was an example of something that is so evident at the church. There is so much talent in First Church and the variety of musical expression was an incredible example of what it means to express our sense of the holy in ways that communicate metaverbally.

Possibly the most glaring error we have made as Christians is the way in which we have tried to speak of God. We have used words that seem anthropomorphic in an attempt to describe God in terms that are human. We talk about God acting or God speaking or God being almost like a human being/superhero type of force when we really don't think of God that way. We pray to God as if God were a "cosmic butler" who can come into our lives and bring us from the brink of disaster to a sense of health and wholeness.

God is more than we can say but clearly involved in what we know. God is the presence we cannot deny but it is difficult to speak of God with any degree of connection to what we think. But it is the case that speaking of God is one of the most difficult tasks we have and it is one of the most important jobs the church has.

Last Sunday Karen Stoody turned a Sunday afternoon into a moment we will never forget by inviting some of the most talented people in Fort Collins to express their faith in music. The expression in the sanctuary was a response to the disaster in the mountains. The music was a prayer to God saying, in music, what none of us could speak with our words.

It was a call to God to be present to us. It was an expression of love and concern for the victims of the fire and a prayer for the safety of the people who came to put it out.

Sunday afternoon was a theological event. It was theology set to music and it was an expression of the ineffable nature of God in ways we all could understand.

It was an honor to be there.

Karen Stoody and her musicans rock!!!!


If you have thoughts on this write me at charlesschuster@fcfumc.net.

If you are willing to share your thoughts with the readers of the blog click on the 'comments' box below.

I look forward to hearing from you.



Charles Schuster