BOOM Worship :)

Today’s worship in the chapel at The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia was what I like to call “BOOM worship”. The onomatopoeia, “Boom”, really means nothing other than the pseudo-emotion that I feel once in awhile during worship. Sometimes this emotion happens during high liturgical masses, but other times (often to my surprise) this happens during unconventional worship. Some would call this Boom the Holy Spirit’s presence, but I think that’s a little too proverbial for me.

The Rev. Dr. Karyn L. Wiseman Associate Professor of Homiletics and Director of United Methodist Studies at LTSP preached and presided at the Wednesday Eucharistic service. There is always much to be expected when Wiseman preaches because she was trained specifically in homiletics and liturgy. I could hardly wait to see what the Spirit would do during worship, and how Wiseman would preach the Gospel and proclaim the Word.

Wiseman’s service did not follow the traditional Lutheran ordo, which led to an early reading of the psalm and the assigned gospel text. The text that was assigned was Luke 15:1-10, the Revised Common Lectionary reading from the 17th Sunday after Pentecost.

Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, "This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them." So he told them this parable: "Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, "Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.  Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. "Or what woman having ten silver coins, if she loses one of them, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, "Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.' Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."

I was minding my business while Wiseman began to read the gospel. Suddenly, one of my colleagues (and friends) stood up and rushed out of the sanctuary crying. I was concerned and within 10 seconds of her exodus, myself and three others left the sanctuary to check on our friend. When we came outside to see what was wrong our colleague was smiling and told us to go back inside because it was part of the “thing”. We were all laughing as we went back in, though we were still confused. When we entered the space others asked us what happened and if our friend was alright. We just nodded and waited to find out what would happen next. When Wiseman finished the gospel and began her sermon she quickly remarked on what happened. This served as the illustration for her sermon. It was a BOOM kind of impact that it had on all of us because it was right there in our faces. She told us that this “experiment” has been done in various religious settings and most times no one moves because they are so focused on remaining in the place where they are “supposed to be.”

This text is often preached concerning the one sheep that is lost. Instead of preaching about the sheep that is lost, Wiseman preached a sermon concerned with the fate of the other 99 sheep. By nature, sheep are not intelligent animals, or they do not appear intelligent by our standards. They are so interested in sticking together that they would die together before they moved to another place without guidance of the shepherd.

There are so many things that we lose in our lives: car keys, credit cards, cell phones…. We are tied to the things that we have because we are products of a consumeristic culture. That wasn’t what this was about though. Wiseman had individuals place items that they often lose or represent loss on a table place by the baptismal font. Many individuals brought the usual suspects. I placed a necklace on the table that was given to me by my last field education site where I spent a year in ministry with them. It represents loss for me because when I left the congregation to move to another site I felt deeply grieved. This ritual action allowed me to reflect on my experience and to let go of the grief I still held within myself. Others felt similarly and were called to remember that we don’t have to cling so tightly to things. Likewise, we do not need to cling so tightly in a herd to people who look like us, talk like us, and believe the same things as us! The sheep that wanders from the pack is the bravest of sheep.

Wiseman encouraged the community to be brave enough to go out and stray from the flock. She said that when you’ve strayed too far the Lord will come for you and bring you back into the fold. This was an unconventional exegesis of the text, but I think it worked well in this community. The message gave us all a little BOOM feeling inside and encouraged us to use that BOOM elsewhere.

- LB