September 23, 2007

25^th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Preparation for Worship

And his master commended the dishonest steward because he had acted shrewdly.

Luke 16:8

Most of us will not this week christen a ship, write a book, end a war, appoint a cabinet, dine with a queen, convert a nation, or be burned at the stake. More likely the week will present no more than a chance to give a cup of water, write a note, visit a nursing home, vote for a county commissioner, teach a Sunday school class, share a meal, tell a child a story, go to choir practice, and feed the neighbor’s cat. Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much.  

Fred Craddock

At least three themes emerge from our study of the parable text this morning.  Christ calls for us to be more faithful, more forgiving, and more considerate of our relationships with one another as we exercise our commitment to follow him.  These themes are echoed in the music chosen for worship today.  The prelude presents three variations on the German chorale "O God, Our Faithful God," which speaks of the faithfulness of God's loving mercy, care, and grace in our lives.  The choir's anthem, "Commit Thy Way Unto the Lord," sets the text of Hymn 282, "If Thou Would Trust in God to Guide Thee," as an expression of our call to follow Christ and place our trust in him.  The hymn, "Forgive Our Sins As We Forgive," clearly connects to today's parable and the text of the Lord's Prayer ("forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors").  Our service ends with the hymn "Lord, Make Us More Holy," which is an African American Spiritual setting that encapsulates all three worship themes. 

     The postlude is a fugue by the German baroque organist, Johann Pachelbel.  This fugue is a chromatic setting, which means that the main theme, or fugue subject, is derived from a series of half-steps, or notes that are immediately adjacent to each other on the keyboard.  The effect of this chromaticism is an uncomfortable and unforgiving tension, which is eventually resolved at the fugue's end into a more harmonic structure.  In this way, the fugue is illustrative of the challenges we face in offering forgiveness to each other.  Just as in this fugue, we are called to set aside the tensions and frictions we experience in favor of a more harmonious relationship with one another and with God.