This is not a hold up, but I won’t turn away your donations.
I want to keep talking about hands, as a continuation from last weeks meditation. I talked about how we are God’s hands and should be doing his work with our hands. This week, I want to bring a few verses from the Psalms into focus..
Psalms 134:2
Lift up your hands in the sanctuary and praise the Lord.
Psalms 141:2
May my prayer be set before you like incense; may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice.
Psalms 143:6
| I spread out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land.
”Put your hands up!” is not just a phrase used in the old West during a robbery. It’s a scriptural practice used to show praise and honor to God. It isn’t just a goofy practice in other contemporary churches. It’s Biblical. So I ask this question, without having a good answer. Why don’t we ever do this in our worship service? Why do we consider stillness and silence to be proper worship? I have a couple ideas, but I really don’t have the answer for this, and I’m hoping that you might be able to help answer this question. Do we think we will be ridiculed by our peers if we held our hands to the sky during a song or a hymn? Are we “too cool” to be seen doing this? Are our traditions getting in the way of our heartfelt worship? Why are we too reserved to worship the Lord with all our heart, soul, and mind in front of our own Brothers and Sisters? Stick ‘em up! |
I’ll be very transparent with you, Jesse. A few years back (before I was married to Eric) I was frustrated with my former ecclesia in Oregon, and I started visited other churches, not on Sunday morning, but on Wednesday and Saturday evenings. When I was first around the hand up-holders, I felt uncomfortable. I just stood there, holding onto the chair in front of me, and sang the words up on the screen (except for the ones that were trinitarian, of course). After a few times of visiting other churches, though, I found that I was starting to lift my hands naturally as well when I was really moved by the words. It was SO freeing! It made it easier, of course, because no one knew me there unless I had gone with a friend. (I actually went with other frustrated Christadelphians a few times.)
When I was dating Eric, he was a Christian, but not a Christadelphian. I visited his former church in Palm Desert, and he visited my former ecclesia in Oregon. He held his hands up then, and he doesn’t now. What happened to him … and to me? Well, I think we conform to those around us. Because others in our ecclesia are not holding their hands up during hymns or prayers, we don’t either (although I believe Eric does sometimes during the prayers … when no one is looking). We sing from the Praise the Lord songbook every other week in our tiny ecclesia, and I sway to the music and sometimes stomp my feet and even clap. Sometimes one or two other people join us, but most people stay still. I don’t hold it against them, but I wish they would let themselves go. I believe that if more of us in our community expressed ourselves through raising our hands, etc., others would join in. It needs to start with a few, though. Too bad we’re not attending the same meeting – we could band together!
I’ve often wondered about this myself.
This reminds me of the question I asked on Facebook about Psalm 100 and letting the various musical instruments praise the Lord and when was the last time you ever went to a meeting and heard harps and timbrels and tambourines and lyres, etc? I knew the answer but just wanted to invoke some good thought provoked discussion on the topic.
The answer to your question is very simple although you probably won’t like it or think it adequate. The answer is that we don’t want to in anyway look, act or feel like those goofy churches you mentioned. There is just so much of that in the world that does not magnify or uplift our Lord, but is merely a “fake me out” demonstration of holiness, until Christadelphians want to stay clear of it. This is to in no way suggest that all who do it are in this category but enough to shy away from the practice altogether. Now that said, what prevents you from doing it at any time? You don’t have to wait for an assembly. Whenever you feel “the Spirit move you” then by all means “stick um up!”
Our love to you all.
That is a great question. I do however know of two brethren that do this on a regular basis. I think we don’t do this ,lifting up of hands , because of our English tradition of being reserved which is not of course the case with our African or Caribbean brethren. Should we do it. I would not be opposed at all since it seems to be scriptural. But it would make some of our more traditional brothers uneasy. I think it is still a matter of the heart so whether we lift or hands or not God sees the heart. It could possibly help us focus on God because if you are holding your hands up and out its harder to think of other things.
Think about the image of a child in need. They run to their parent and hold up their hands. Should this be what we think of as we ‘lift up our hands’ acknowledging out total dependence on our heavenly Father?
Fits with the image of God ‘bowing down his ear’ to be closer to us.
Jesse, it’s late as I’m reading this, and I’m not able to take the time to give a more complete response. One consideration might be that if you insist on taking on this practice, which will set you apart from a group of people who would be uncomfortable with what you are doing it might be considered “placing a stumbling block before your brethren”.
You might answer that by saying that their custom of “stilted worship” is a stumbling block that prevents you from your right to worship as you see fit, and there is some validity to that point.
However, is it not usually better to give than to receive?
Just random thoughts from a tired mind…
Good one!
Been there. Done that. Got the reprimand.