SEPTEMBER 2001

"Urban Worship: Worshipping God in Spirit and Truth"

True Worship in the City – Isaiah 58

Isaiah 58:1-14 (NIV)

"Shout it aloud, do not hold back. Raise your voice like a trumpet. Declare to my people their rebellion and to the house of Jacob their sins. For day after day they seek me out; they seem eager to know my ways, as if they were a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken the commands of its God. They ask me for just decisions and seem eager for God to come near them.

"Why have we fasted," they say, "and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?" Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers. Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists. You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high. Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for a man to humble himself? Is it only for bowing one's head like a reed and for lying on sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord?

"Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter-- when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the Lord will answer. You will cry for help, and he will say, ‘Here am I.’ If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday."

The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings. "If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight and the Lord's holy day honorable, and if you honor it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words, then you will find your joy in the Lord, and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob." The mouth of the Lord has spoken.

A couple of weeks ago when this passage was read in church as the Old Testament text of the day, my wife couldn’t resist leaning over in the pew and noting that in reality I was the designated "repairer of broken walls" around our house for at least this summer. You see, this is our year for buying an 86-year-old Chicago two-flat in need of much repair (walls included). So, we have learned what it is like to try to follow through on two jobs at the same time, one at work, and then much more work once we reach home. While books and furnishings are not yet tucked away, we have made major strides on repairing all the major systems – including any breaches in the walls.

But let’s get real as to the kind of worship called for and demanded by the prophet here in Isaiah 58. He’s not trying to memorialize the people who fix ancient walls and streets in this city just because they’re good at it! Rather, he’s lifting up the motive out of which they’ve come to do such honorable things! He starts with some prerequisites about what true worship should include, filled with enthusiasm and integrity. "Shout, Raise, Declare!!!" are the kind of words he gives us in verse one – filled with emotion! Quickly we realize it’s a question of the nature of fasting and worship that is really going on here. "Why have we fasted?" "Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife!" "Is not this the kind of fast I have chosen?

Note that midway through the chapter, the prophet alters his spin just a bit, growing more humane and obedient to God at the same time. Verse 6 speaks about loosing the chains of injustice, verse 7 calls for us to share food with the hungry, and clothe the naked. Then, as we call to the Lord, verse 9 assures us, he will answer us with his powerful words, "Here am I."

The Prophet finishes his selection with a clear coupling and warning about the importance of the Sabbath and Sabbath rest. God intended those who worshipped with energy and integrity and worked hard to take care of their cities to also honor their God and his all of his creation rest on the Sabbath. "If you honor it (the Sabbath) by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words, then you will find your joy in the Lord…."v. 13,14.

We can all outline much work needing to be accomplished in out cities across America. More work than can be accomplished by the most efficient urban strategists given 10-day weeks over three years. Rather than accomplishment, God is asking for true and just worship with our entire beings. That, you and I can do. Today, anyday. Amen!

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A Letter to London

(The editor of CityVoices writes a letter to a friend in London four days following the fateful terrorist attacks upon NewYork and Washinton, DC)

Greetings from Chicago.

My apologies that this letter so tardy in regard to the books which you previously shipped my way. But perhaps there is some good reason for my delay in communication after all. This Saturday, September 15^th, allows me to catch you up to speed, just a bit, on where the rest of rest of urban America is – stunned, shocked, a bit thankful and very confused to say the least with all that has happened in the four days. By the time you receive this brief note, we will no doubt be even more stunned and confused, as much more will have transpired. We can only hope and pray that our own government will respond in such a delicate way that honors the truth and integrity of justice while at the same time not positioning itself (or ourselves) as agents of the same mass destruction and hatred that has recently and viciously been visited upon us. I’m not at all sure this can be done in the context of a sophisticated 21st century economy.

Meanwhile, cities everywhere, especially here in the western world, grow increasingly anxious. The biblical notion of town and city as a "safe place" is hard to understand right now. Much could easily be attacked in Los Angeles, London, Chicago, Paris, Tokyo, Montreal and other such places. And there’s much here for the picking. So much of the signs and symbols of our culture are up for grabs, if you will. It points up the ever deeper need to heed biblical admonitions to lay up these treasures in our hearts -- so much else is merely transitory.

It’s been amazing, as a middle American, to see how fast Britts and other Europeans have responded to the American cause during this past week. Certainly you also understand the animosities that America has raised up in the hearts and lives of the have-nots of our world, and how easily their positions and emotions have spilled over into the criminal acts of war we have seen committed this past week. You understand all this far better than I can ever hope to. Nevertheless, we Americans have been genuinely touched by the warmth of support we have felt from our brothers and sisters from all across the globe who have hurt with other humans who are hurting deeply. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

God’s grace and peace to all,

Aggressors and peacemakers alike,

Whomever, and however they may perceive themselves in our complex urban world.

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