"During the days of Jesus' life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission." (Hebrews 5:7, NIV)
What does piety mean for us?
If you have visited many different churches you have probably been exposed to a wide variety of worship styles and traditions. Within the United Methodist Church you can find worship services that span the spectrum from very traditional "high church" to very contemporary "charismatic" worship. You can find people who raise their hands and shout "Amen!" standing next to folks who would rather remain quiet during worship and keep their hands in their pockets. There are churches with pipe organs and there are churches with rock bands. The contemporary worshipers often criticize the traditionalists for being "too pious" and the traditionalists may criticize the contemporary worshipers of "false piety." People outside the church simply criticize all church as being "afflicted" with piety. Elton Trueblood writes about the church this way: "The real trouble is that its piety is not deep enough!" I think what has happened is that the word "piety" has come to mean something bad, something distasteful – something derogatory. The dictionary defines piety as: religious devotion and reverence to God. In other words, piety is simply a term of respect. That doesn't sound like a bad thing to me at all. Maybe the problem is that we have too little piety in our lives.
Think about it: we say a few hasty prayers, we sing a nice hymn or two, and we read snippets from the Bible. Does this really amount to reverence for God? Is this adequate evidence of our respect for our Creator and Savior? To develop and maintain a close personal relationship with God requires more effort than that. We need a massive dose of piety if we are to be healers of the world in Jesus' name. The seat of our disease, says Helmut Thielicke, "is not in the branches of our nerves at all but rather in our roots which are stunted and starved." Thielicke reminds us that Martin Luther prayed four hours every day, "not despite his busy life but because only so could he accomplish his gigantic labors." To work without praying is like a tree reaching out its branches higher and higher with no adequate root system to keep it from toppling over. Piety, respect and reverence for God, leads us to spend time in prayer and study so our roots are developed in strength and power to support us through the times of our life.
February 17th is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. This six week period offers us a wonderful opportunity to prepare for the events of Holy Week – the passion, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. There is no better time than the Season of Lent to renew our piety…to renew our reverence and respect for God. This is the perfect time to get in the habit of spending more time in daily prayer and Bible study. It's your chance to re-commit your life to Christ and to get back in the habit of weekly worship attendance. It might be the time for you to join a Sunday school class or start attending our Monday evening Bible study group. Maybe this is your chance to join the choir. Lent might be when you will shout "Amen!" in the middle of a sermon for the first time in your life. However this season affects your practice of piety – showing respect to God – your life will be transformed. Transformation, after all, is what our relationship with Jesus Christ is supposed to be about isn't it?!
I pray that you will give this some serious thought. The six weeks of Lent are an opportunity for all of us to develop a deeply pious relationship with Jesus; to strengthen and deepen the roots of our faith; to stand up and give in to the transformation that God promises us through Jesus Christ. This is our chance to respond to what God is calling us to do as a church and to be as Christian disciples. Piety – reverent submission to God – gives us the courage we need to allow God to truly lead our lives, all our lives. Jesus offered prayers with loud cries and tears. The Psalms tell us to pray morning, noon, and night. Daniel knelt in prayer three times a day. Paul tells us to pray continually. Church history has countless examples of the call to prayer in the early morning and late evening. We are called to talk to God as we begin each day, as we go to work, and as we end the day. There is no wrong time for prayer. It seems to me that prayer is the perfect means of showing reverent respect for God and of cultivating the deep roots of our relationship. That is true piety. It's not a bad thing at all. It means many things and is manifest in different ways for different people. Piety is the deserved respect we show to the God who loves us so much that He would die for our salvation. How will you let piety be manifest in your life today?
God bless,
Pastor Don
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment