"I WAS THERE..."

“A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones. “ (Proverbs 17:22)

Yesterday afternoon, I attended the “Service Celebrating the 25th Anniversary of of the Ordination of Richard Hurst, Sr. into the Holy Ministry” which was held at the church he pastors, which is the Lutheran Church of Framingham. It’s located at 720 Edgell Road. About a year ago, I attended a similar event there, although THAT was the 50th Anniversary of the Lutheran Church of Framingham. Rich Hurst is truly a great guy. He has the privilege of pastoring “next door” to where he grew up in Natick, Massachusetts. (Rich previously pastored churches in Great Barrington, Massachusetts and Gloversville, New York.) I’m pastoring pretty close to where I grew up in Canton, MA, but Rich has me beat on that one!

Once again, I was quite impressed with the Lutheran Church of Framingham! One of their lay leaders referred to the church as “The Little Church that COULD!” and that’s exactly what they are. The meal after the service was wonderful and the service was enjoyable.

If you’re not too familiar with the characteristics of Lutheran worship, I find it quite liturgical and quite similar to Roman Catholicism. Lutherans even use crucifixes, which is unusual for most Protestants. (A “crucifix” depicts a Jesus on the cross, as opposed to plain crosses which are far more common in most Protestant churches.) There are vestments, and candles, and a distinctly Roman Catholic/Episcopal “feel” to the service. That said, the actual THEOLOGY of Lutherans is very Protestant. And, while most Romans Catholic priests are not good speakers, The Rev. Theodore Asta, who gave the sermon was a great speaker (as is Rich Hurst).

Prior to the start of the service, I began leafing through the paperback hymnal which had been handed to me along with a program when I entered the church sanctuary. I did not know about half of these hymns. I noticed the words of one hymn and was STUNNED. I read, “I Was There to Hear Your Boring Cry”.

“What?!” I thought, “How can THAT be? You gotta be kidding!”

Upon closer examination, I realized I’d INCORRECTLY read the title. The actual title is, “I Was There to Hear Your Borning Cry”. That’s a pretty unusual word, “Borning”. It means when you were born. The song is about the fact that God notices you, hears, you, and guides you all through life. Then, I kept thinking about “I Was There to Hear Your Boring Cry” and I had to fight to keep from erupting with laughter! As the service went on, my mind would drift from time to time to that song title; both the real one and the funny one. Well, truthfully, I spent more time thinking about the funny one. And I realized maybe it isn’t so funny after all.

We Christians can be real pains. We can feel sorry for ourselves. We can pray the same prayers over and over and over and over... We sometimes complain about the same stupid kinds of things the Israelites complained about during the Exodus. We can be so selfish, self absorbed and insensitive. Sometimes, we must just about get on God’s nerves.

But God still loves us. God still forgives us. God still ministers to us. God is still there to hear my boring cry!

Thanks, Rich, for a pleasant afternoon.

And, God, most of all, I thank You!