O, for a Thousand Tongues

I have been reflecting this week on the recent visit by our Navajo sisters, Pastor Evelyn, Sharon, and Mariah, and brother Robert. Even with only visiting them three times, I feel as if they are family—which indeed they are.

How often during their visit did I hear phrases such as “Praise Jesus,” “Thank you, Jesus,” and “being in the Spirit!” coming from their lips! I was reminded of Charles Wesley’s hymn, “O, for a Thousand Tongues to Sing/My Great Redeemer’s Praise” and could imagine hearing our congregation raise voices collectively with the Navajos in that hymn. It did not take a giant leap to think of Christians worldwide singing along. What an auditory taste of heaven I received.

I recall how Pastor Evelyn commented on how our church worshipped quietly. Yet the smiles and joy abounded during her teachings and sermon. Hands were clapping along with the music, even though we could not understand the Navajo words. Hands raised in worship and “amen” became a part of each service. People were asking for prayer, some praying spontaneously with a friend. Could this be the work of the Spirit, I mused, as I considered how our cultures might be impacting one another. Throughout communion, I thought about those taking communion around the world, joining in a meal which, among other things, foreshadows the great banquet our Lord is preparing for us.

In my own experience, I remember worship services in India, and the eagerness to learn about Jesus, even under threat of persecution, of their testimony of miracles as a fact of everyday life. In Prague, I observed a wariness of Christianity, yet a curiosity, especially among young people, about a religion suppressed under communism.

Even with the simplicity of the forms of worship in the Navajo community, I saw a joy that brought radiance to faces and shouts of praise, at times overpowering the words of the preachers—although often they were shouting along with the rest. Spontaneity—I think that is the eruption of praise I saw even in everyday circumstances. The Holy Spirit was never so present in my life as he was during the service of foot washing. I may have thought my act of service was blessing those whose feet I washed, but they were the ones blessing me. Oh, the smile Pastor Evelyn gave me that night; even as I was telling her she was a child of God, her smile was saying that and more to me, surrounding me with a love greater than any human love, rather a “love divine, all loves excelling.”

These experiences have led me to a greater knowledge and respect of the many ways to worship, and God accepts the sincere and loving worship of his sons and daughters, no matter who or where. All too often, I confine God and make him too small by trying to fit him into the box of my denomination, or church, or preferred style. God continues to teach me, and he is using these experiences as I learn to trust and obey his will for my life, my acts of service and love.

Diverse, yet one—one body, the body of Christ, his church. Praise Jesus! Thanks be to God!