Sunday, September 23, 2007

If Conrad Hilton Had An Auction For PBS

Can something be true and deep and trite? Some of you have heard me say (over and over) that things become trite because they are repeated so often.
At church today they sang songs with generic melodies; it was hard to tell when one song ended and another began. The verses weren't particularly objectionable, expressing as they did, the laudable goals of surrendering to God and that He was worthy of that surrender. But, they weren't particularly inspiring as such things go, and they were repeated about a million times each. Mentally, I checked out early and often.
And then a skit.
But then, a sermon about how to reach your fellow humans with the good news about Jesus. They even suggested writing down the name of one particular human that you were concerned about.
That was probably a good idea, because if you take the mass of humanity it's hard to care about each of them. Especially the large mass of humanity that was shopping at Fred Meyer's today. I mean, come on, who counts out 87¢ in the express line? Like the bumper sticker says, "Jesus loves you, the rest of us think you're a jerk."
Additional reading:
Here are some lyrics that put a lot of theology into each verse, and they rhyme.
Long my imprisoned spirit lay,
Fast bound in sin and nature's night;
Thine eye diffused a quickening ray,

My chains fell off, my heart was free;
I rose went forth, and followed thee.

No condemnation now I dread;
Jesus, and all in him, is mine!
Alive in him, my living head,
And clothed in righteousness divine,

Bold I approach the eternal throne,
And claim the crown, through
Christ my own.

Here's some more, with a link to a quick summary of the prophetic verses alluded to in the entire song.
O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

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