Christian Counseling Service -- Devotions

How long to sing this song

Monday, March 25, 2019

From Luke 1
You will conceive in your womb and bear a son.

Hail to our babies and grandbabies, hallelujah, praise the Lord! They were born on December 17, August 31, April 6, February 24, and May 3. And now a new one's coming. There is much giggling going on, and nothing's gonna stop it.

I will sing, sing a new song!

But having all those babies ... so much work for the mothers. Counting up 6 babies times 9 makes 54 months, which is 4½ years. But more to the point, that is 39,420 hours, or two million, three hundred sixty-five thousand and two hundred minutes.

How long to sing this song?

One day at a time, sure, but sometimes it has to be an hour, or even a minute at a time. There's no hurry, God might say. Sure. Tell that to the mom.

Gabriel knew nothing about having a baby, right? Well, maybe that's a leap: God, from whence he came, surely knew all there was to know. But Mary was clueless. Gabriel seemed prepared to answer her questions, but I wonder. Was he touched by the look in her eyes?

What, me?

Are you kidding?

What does this mean?

What do I do now?

Elizabeth! Go and see Elizabeth. She too is having a very unexpected baby, and she's 4,320 hours further along. Gabriel saw the relief in Mary's eyes. Both messenger and Mary thanked their God. And before they parted, Mary spoke. "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be unto me according to your word."

He set my feet upon a rock and made my footsteps firm.

Jesus learned so much from Mary. The writer of Hebrews remembers Psalm 40 and speaks as Jesus: "As is written of me in the scroll, behold, I come to do your will, O God." Like mother, like son. Jesus too comes to be a servant, not to be served. Surely every mother wants this for her child. Jesus was the apple of his mama's eye.

* * *

1983, Red Rocks, Colorado. Under the blood red sky, Bono and his U2 buddies ended their concert with Psalm 40 - their song "40." One by one they left the stage and the audience just kept singing. "How long to sing this song?"

That was 1983. Until 1990 they ended most of their concerts with Psalm 40; then in 2005 they began singing it again. I notice, watching the Chicago video, that Bono hangs a rosary on the microphone. It was his gift from Pope John Paul II. Bono says his friendship with Eugene Peterson sustained his faith for many years. Their conversation was rare, but sweet, and it's wonderful to watch. Take. The. Time. Listen to Jan Peterson: don't run. Dance.

And as Jan also says, "Fiat mihi--may it be unto me."

I'm not a mother, nor is the pope, nor is Bono, nor was Eugene Peterson. We're all children, we are all God's kids, we each have our work to do. None of us comes to be served, but to serve. May it be, so say all of us, unto me according to your word.

Lord, I know no better prayer to pray and say to myself, today and every day. May it be. May it be unto me. May it be unto me according to your word.

Thanks to Wikipedia and Youtube for wonderful stories and songs (see the links above).

Janice Peterson, "My Life as a Pastor's Wife," from Christianity Today, October 29, 2018, essay adapted from her first book, Becoming Gertrude: How Our Friendships Shape Our Faith, 2018.

Eugene Peterson died October 22, 2018. He was minister at the Presbyterian church he founded in Maryland for 29 years, then a professor at Regent College. In later years he returned to his childhood retreat on a lake in Montana. Eugene Peterson is the translator/author of The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language and more than 30 other books, many of which are on my shelf.

Devotions Archive

How long to sing this song

Monday, March 25, 2019