Hi First Presbyterian Church,
It’s time for our Mid-Week Meet-Up! This Sunday is Palm Sunday, and that means our worship schedule is different than usual. Worship this Sunday will be at 8:30 am and 10:30 am! Our choir, alongside many soloists and instrumentalists, have been hard at work rehearsing Dan Forrest’s Requiem for the Living, which they will be performing at the 10:30 am service. The reason for the time change is to give the choir enough time to prepare for the later service. The majority of the later service will be the choir’s performance of the requiem, which means if you want to hear my Palm Sunday sermon, you will have to come to the 8:30 service, since that will be the only time the sermon is given. As an additional reminder, here is our schedule for worship during Holy Week:
Thursday, April 17 - 1:30 pm (with Communion in the chapel) and 7:00 pm (with foot-washing in the sanctuary)
Friday, April 18 - 1:30 pm (in the chapel) and 7:00 pm (in the sanctuary)
Sunday, April 20 - 7:00 am (at the canal behind the Pittsford library), 8:30 am (in the sanctuary), and 10:30 am (in the sanctuary)
Thinking about our worship on Palm Sunday and the music we will hear has me reflecting on a passage of scripture we read from 1 Chronicles 15 on Day 194 (March 21) in our one-year Bible reading (which is a retelling of the same story we read about from 2 Samuel 6 on January 30.)
In 1 Chronicles 15, we see very specific instructions given to the Israelites about how they should worship. They were to carry the ark of the covenant in a very specific way (1 Chronicles 15:15) and were to station musicians in specific places to play specific instruments like harps, lyres, cymbals, and trumpets under a musical leader's direction (1 Chronicles 15:16-24). This leaves us with the impression that the worship of Israel was very organized and done in a prescribed order.
Yet, at the same time, we also see King David and others leaping, shouting, and dancing as the worship music was being played (1 Chronicles 15:29 and 2 Samuel 6:14-15). This was apparently a spontaneous thing for him to do, because it caught some people by surprise (1 Chronicles 15:29).
I think we learn something important in this story. Just like the Israelites followed specific instructions for worship, our worship should be thoughtful, purposeful, and employ the very best talent that we have to offer God. However, just as David danced and leaped, we also ought to leave room in our worship for spontaneity and heartfelt responses to the movement of the Holy Spirit.
As we worship this Sunday (and, indeed, every day), let us be both purposeful and spontaneous in our expressions of love and praise to God. Let us remember what Jesus taught us when he said that our worship of God should be “in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24).
I hope to see you in worship this Sunday!
Peace,
Pastor Aaron