“Who Can Ascend the Hill of God?”

In Psalm 24, the psalmist asks, "Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place?" In other words, who can stand in the presence of God; who can experience the holiest of holy; who can enter into the most sacred encounters with God? Remember, the psalm was likely used as a liturgical procession for those climbing the mountain to the temple in Jerusalem. It was a fitting question to ask as the people of Israel made their way into that most holy and sacred sanctuary in that holy and sacred city. 

Immediately, the psalmist responds to his own question, "Those who have clean hands and pure hearts." Of course the psalmist is talking figuratively about a spiritual truth and approach to a faithful life as a child of God. As such, the psalmist is referring to an attitude of hope, grace, mercy, forgiveness, joy, compassion, faithfulness and any other discipline God would hope his children would embody in all of their lives and relationships with other people. 

The truth is that we are invited today to ascend the hill of the Lord with clean hands and a pure heart. However, we know that we can't attain that spiritual depth on our own. Clean hands and a pure heart ultimately come out of a relationship with God who blesses us with the spiritual gifts to be hopeful, merciful, forgiving, loving, full of joy and compassion, and ultimately to live lives of faithfulness. These are the very gifts God offers to us as we grow in our relationships with Him. 

This hymn speaks in such simplicity the truth of what it means to be invited into the sacred and holy of an encounter with God. And, that we need to rely on God's grace through Jesus Christ to make us pure and clean. And ultimately, this calling from God is to take our part in the building of God's kingdom as we are the hands, feet and heart of God.

“Who Can Ascend the Hill of God?”

Tune: Ye Banks & Braes

Meter: LMD

Who can ascend the hill of God

And stand on holy, sacred ground

The loved by God, as we are flawed

God’s grace and mercy are profound

Those with clean hands, whose hearts are pure

Have all we need to make our way

With faith restored, we will endure

As to our God we come to pray.

Not on our own are we made clean

we can’t be pure just as we are

we need God’s grace as we have seen

in Jesus Christ, we’re made aware.

God grant us courage on our way

To be your hands, your feet, your heart

To climb the hill we greet each day

And in your kingdom take our part.

Text: copyright, The Rev. Canon Mark Kinghan, 2015. Not to be reproduced or redistributed in any form without the express written permission of the author.

"An Idle Tale" ... Easter Hymn

According to Luke, when the women went to the tomb and encountered the angel, they heard the message, and were sent on their way. They went to to find the disciples and to share what they had been told. The disciples' response, "these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them." Who can blame them for this response out of a human understanding, using their finite human minds?

I recently heard another translation of this passage which makes complete sense and magnifies what the disciples were saying. "It's bulls**t!!"  Not a bad descriptive and makes the point pretty clearly what the disciples were thinking and saying in response to this story the women were telling them. What are other descriptive we could use ... rubbish, crap, gibberish, malarkey, hooey!! All equally through provoking. To them is could only be fabricated and nonsense!

How many today have the same response? As human beings, if we can't understand, explain or prove something like the resurrection of Jesus, then how can we possibly believe it.

Our resurrection faith, though, isn't about knowledge or scientific proof. It is about faith and trust. And, our Easter belief comes from experiencing the power of the risen Christ in our own experiences of life and death when we have nothing else to hold on to that will get us through.

Maybe it's an illness we've been diagnosed with; the death of a loved one; losing a job because of the economy; struggling with an addiction; living with mental health disease; a relationship that has dissolved whether with a spouse, a child, a sibling or a long time friend. Often, through the gift of time and people who support us along the way, we come face to face with the resurrected Christ who inspires, heals, upholds, strengthens and offers us peace.

What a profound gift. And when we've experienced it, we know it is no idle tale. It is the truth that sees us through which we rejoice in and give thanks for.

We are an Easter people; we are a resurrection people with a resurrection faith!

This hymn is written to express our faith in what many see and hear as an idle tale. It is sung to a favorite hymn tune, Woodlands, with the meter 10 10 10 10.

My prayer is that each of us may know and believe the promise of God, that our Easter faith is no idle tail, not rubbish, crap, gibberish, malarkey, hooey or bulls**t. It is the core of what we believe and who we are as a people of the resurrection. Thanks be to God!! Alleluia!!

"An Idle Tale"
tune: Woodlands
meter: 10 10 10 10

An idle tale, it never could be true

That Christ was risen and was dead no more

The women witness to a new world view

Good news of hope, an answer to their prayer.

God’s message clear, though challenged human thought

No explanation could replace the doubt.

Death was the end, no matter what he taught

This is what life on earth is all about.

We live, we die, and that’s what they believed

But God would open up another way

All grief, all death and sin would be relieved

Good news of promise greet this glorious day.

Christ is alive, he’s risen from the dead

No idle tale! Alleluia!

New days of promise wait the way ahead

The tomb is empty, Alleluia!

Text: copyright, The Rev. Canon Mark Kinghan, 2015. Not to be reproduced or redistributed in any form without the express written permission of the author.

"Nails So Sacred, So Divine" ... hymn for Good Friday

Nails are such a vivid part of the story of Good Friday ... the passion and death of Christ. And yet I had a difficult time finding a hymn with "Nails" as a theme.

Such a brutal death; being nailed to a cross. The nail piercing through Jesus' hands and feet are such a profound image of pain and suffering that he bore on our behalf. That's what makes the nail sacred and holy; that for me is also sacramental in the image of the nails, especially as I hold one in my hand as a means of meditation and reflection. The nails represent all the indifference, arrogance, pride, discrimination, hatred, hypocrisy and negligence that make up our corporate and individual sin. And by God's grace, those sins are defeated forever. What a gift!

The sadness of course, is that Jesus continues to be nailed to the cross throughout all time, including our own. And, if we are honest, we know we are at times complicit; we contribute to the wrongs and injustices of others. 

And yet, God on Good Friday makes it all right; through the nails of cross, God gives hope and promise that we grasp on to with faith and hope. Our anxieties are calmed; and all by God's love and through God's mercy. What a gift; a profound gift!

The words to this hymn reflect the theology of Nails and all that happened on Good Friday. It lifts up the painful truth that it was all for us and our forgiveness and reconciliation with God. What a profound truth that is at the center of our faith as we wait with hope and anticipation for the rest of the story, the hope and promise of new life on Easter morning. The last verse leaves us with a sense of hope and a reminder of the good news of what this day is about. 

The tune I chose is one that is used for a Lenten hymn, "Song 13". The tone and rhythm are somber enough to be appropriately Good Friday. And yet, the tune can be uplifting too by the last verse. 

I hope you enter into a reflection on what the nails of Good Friday mean for you; your theology of the nails hammered and what they represent for you.

"Nails So Sacred, So Divine"

Tune: Song 13
Meter: 7777

Nails so sacred, so divine
Piercing flesh and heart and soul
Hammered as a holy sign
God’s intent to make us whole.

Nails profound with mystery
Piercing Jesus’ hands and feet
Death no more, God’s victory
Sins forever to defeat.

First the nail of arrogance
Then a spike for all our pride
Followed on by negligence
As the Saviour hung and cried.

Nails are fastened day by day
Though the years and ages pass
Victims still become the prey
Wrongs, injustice still amass.

Holy nails within our palm
Sacramental sign of grace
Our anxiety to calm
Love’s great story to embrace.

Text: copyright, The Rev. Canon Mark Kinghan, 2015. Not to be reproduced or redistributed in any form without the express written permission of the author.