The Warrior Baby: A Different Side of Christmas, Courtesy of Benjamin Britten

My colleague, our organist and choirmaster, Douglas Macomber, introduced me to this glorious piece which is a part of Benjamin Britten's A Ceremony of Carols (Opus 28).  The text of "This Little Babe" is outstanding, ringing a seldom-heard bell about what Christmas ushers in--the paradox of a baby who conquers through weakness.  Our choir sang this at our Christmas Eve Candlelight Service.  It's a bit feisty, but I wonder whether we couldn't re-tune this text for congregational singing.  Don't get me wrong, the original tune and arrangement are spot-on, but they are meant to be performed by a choir and harpist.  It would be powerful, in my opinion, if congregations could sing it, too.  And, no, those aren't typos.  They're old English words.

This little Babe so few days old, is come to rifle Satan's fold;
All hell doth at his presence quake, though he himself for cold do shake;
For in this weak unarmed wise the gates of hell he will surprise.

With tears he fights and wins the field, His naked breast stands for a shield;
His battering shot are babish cries, His arrows looks of weeping eyes,
His martial ensigns Cold and Need, and feeble Flesh his warrior's steed.

His camp is pitched in a stall, His bulwark but a broken wall;
The crib his trench, haystalks his stakes; of shepherds he his muster makes;
And thus, as sure his foe to wound, the angels' trumps alarum sound.

My soul, with Christ join thou in fight; stick to the tents that he hath pight.*
Within his crib is surest ward; this little Babe will be thy guard.
If thou wilt foil thy foes with joy, then flit not from this heavenly Boy.

*"pight" = pitched

Evidently the Devil Hates "A Mighty Fortress is Our God"

I'm relaying this story from my colleague, Douglas, who is the organist and choirmaster at our church.  I'm not necessarily sure what precipitated the conversation, but I found it fascinating.  I'm interested in the thoughts of others...speculations as to "why."  My up-front disclosure: I believe that the spiritual realm is real and quite active (Ephesians 6:12), and I believe that demon possession still happens today (though perhaps, as my friend Sharon Beekman reminds me, not always the way that we think).

Douglas told me that, on one occasion years ago, it was believed that a woman associated with their church was demon-possessed.  Douglas and his wife were asked to go over to her place and minister to her through music.  Unsure of what would or could be accomplished by this, they still went over, and they sat down at a piano and began to play and sing.  The woman sat and listened, and for a long time she remained basically passive.  She did not react much.  Douglas and his wife worked through, especially, a lot of praise choruses that were considered by many at the time to be "moving" and "spiritually powerful."  No change in the woman's countenance.  They went on like this for a long time.  No effect.

Douglas and his wife switched gears.  They opened up a hymnal and began to play and sing Luther's "A Mighty Fortress is Our God."  Almost immediately, the woman became visibly agitated, and as the song progressed she began writhing all the more.  The demon in her was obviously not happy.  Douglas said that as they sang, the woman's behavior frightened them, but they kept on...and she kept on.  (Douglas did not share what eventually became of the woman.)

To me, what most obviously would elicit a negative reaction from the prince of darkness is the fact that the hymn thumbs its nose at him.  Here are the offending lyrics (though, really, the whole hymn is offensive to him):

For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe;
His craft and power are great, and, armed with cruel hate...

And though this world, with devils filled should threaten to undo us,
We will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us:
The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him;
His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure,
One little word shall fell him.

That word above all earthly powers, no thanks to them, abideth;
The Spirit and the gifts are ours through Him Who with us sideth.

What is surprising about Douglas's encounter was that the praise choruses they sang did not elicit the negative protest of "the devils."  Critics of praise choruses would be quick to point out that this is confirmation of the spiritual impotency of modern worship music...and perhaps this is true, especially as a generalization and especially of early "praise and worship" music.  (I do want to remind readers that times have changed and that we're seeing a positive shift in modern worship toward more substance, rich theology, and historical connectedness, such that the broad-brush generalizations of yesteryear are fading in their applicability.) 

This all does raise an eyebrow to the lack of overt spiritual warfare themes in modern worship music.  Perhaps Redman's "We Shall Not Be Shaken" and the bridge of Tomlin's "Our God" are movements toward awakening about the need to "do" warfare in our worship music, but I don't know that I've ever seen anything as overt as "A Mighty Fortress" in a worship song.  For that matter, I don't know of many old hymns that come close to rivaling Luther's battle-hymn, either (perhaps some of you do). 

For some reason, the theme of "worship as warfare" just keeps coming up.  It's a fascinating and under-appreciated aspect of worship-thought.  One thing's for certain.  Whenever I sing "A Mighty Fortress," this story is at the forefront of my mind, and I end up singing a lot more forcefully in hopes that some of the shrapnel from my praise-bombs fly far enough to reach enemy camp.

Worship as Warfare

I don't believe in allegorical interpretation of the Scriptures.  I believe in understanding the Bible in its historical and grammatical context and interpreting passages of Scripture in light of human and divine authorial intent.  Some might think that applying how OT Israel struggled with their physical enemies to how NT Christians struggle against the enemy is allegorical interpretation.  Here's why that's not true.

First, OT Israel's struggle against their physical enemies (neighboring pagan nation-states such as Philistia, Ammon, Moab, etc.) was not purely physical warfare.  As Danny Carroll, my OT prof, would frequently point out as we walked through OT historical narrative, many times as a nation-state would go out to war, they would invoke their deity and perhaps even carry it (or its symbol) into the battlefield.  Israel had the ark as its symbol, and, as Dr. Carroll would say, they'd bring "God in a box" out into the fight on occasion.  In a real sense, when nation-state would fight nation-state, it was "my god vs. your god," and the victor could claim the superiority of their deity.  Was this all just primitive superstition?  Of course not.  God does enter the fray and proves Himself time and again.  Israel's physical warfare was spiritual warfare.

Second, individuals in the OT claimed struggle against physical enemies, but the Scriptures are quick to acknowledge a spiritual component even there.  Remember, for instance, Psalm 18; the heading of which acknowledges that its context was David's fleeing the hand of Saul.  David says, in an earthly sense, that he was saved from his enemies (v 3, the physical component).  But that salvation came about because God arose, flared his nostrils, came down, and went to work (vv 8-9, the spiritual component).  If that is not satisfactory, know that part of Saul's enemy-hood was because "an evil spirit" would come upon him (1 Sam 16). 

So, as many have noted, the line between earth and heaven is not so easily divisible, and perhaps it is our post-Darwin, naturalistic bent that makes us draw distinctions which are too sharp, causing us to lob accusations that applying OT physical war to our context of spiritual war is unwarranted allegorical interpretation of Scripture.

This morning, God spoke to me through the astonishing events during King Jehoshaphat's reign, recorded in 2 Chronicles 20.  What is eye-opening about this passage is that God brought together two seemingly disparate acts--corporate worship and war:

As they began to sing and praise, the LORD set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated.  The men of Ammon and Moab rose up against the men from Mount Seir to destroy and annihilate them.  After they finished slaughtering the men from Seir, they helped to destroy one another.  When the men of Judah came to the place that overlooks the desert and looked toward the vast army, they saw only dead bodies lying on the ground; no one had escaped.  (2 Chronicles 20:22-24)

Earlier in the passage, we read of Jehoshaphat's fear put to ease by a prophetic word from Jahaziel, who told him, basically, "Just stand here and watch how God will totally destroy your enemies."  Jehoshaphat, however, did more than "just stand there."  He ordered a worship service (20:21).  And the Scriptures are clear to point out that it was "as they began to sing and praise" that God defeated their enemies.

We modern-day Christians have real enemies today.  We've got physical ones and spiritual ones.  How can we wage war?  Corporate worship, baby.  In a previous post, I relayed Doug Wilson's comparison of the Maori ritual of "Haka"--taunting the enemy before battle--to Christian corporate worship.  Because of passages like the one above, I'm becoming more convinced that our primary battle-strategy, beyond spiritual disciplines, personal piety, and mission work, is simply to worship together, regularly and ongoingly.

Worship as Taunting the Enemy

Doug Wilson shares some valuable insights about worship as warfare.  He relates it to the Maori ritual "Haka," a ceremony which involves taunting the enemy before battle.

Wilson prophetically points out that we are quick to enjoy the benefits of worship without realizing that we are simultaneously called to war.  "You enjoy the blood rush, and no blood shed."  I am reminded of the fact that when Satan was tempting Jesus in the wilderness, his primary objective was to redirect the worship of God to himself.  The enemy has a job description, and task #1 is to rob God of the worship He so deserves.  He does it in so many ways, and we (especially those of us who are worship leaders) need to be vigilant in prayer and exhortation, reminding ourselves, our fellow musicians, liturgists, and worship leaders, and the whole flock, that the enemy is on the prowl.

I can't tell you how many times, just before a Sunday, I will experience "odd problems"--a fight with my spouse, something weird going on with one of my kids, a friend in trouble, etc.  The musicians and other pastors I work with often experience the same thing.  Our flock in Colorado is lured away to the mountains for hiking and camping in the summer, and skiing in the winter.  Sometimes these excursions are even spoken of as a different way of worshiping God, but the fact is that they are absent from the gathering of the local expression of the body of Christ.  Families have often noted to me how hard it is to get out the door on Sunday mornings.  "Coincidentally," a series of little incidences stack up to a wall that is hard to maneuver around--something spills here, someone tantrums there, a forgotten item.  Young couples or singles end up working late or partying late and find themselves exhausted, and they "just need a rest."  It's true that they need a rest, but it's also true that the enemy rubs his hands together in victory...one less voice to taunt him on Sunday.

Worship as warfare is not a new concept to me, but worship as taunting the enemy is.  Over the next several weeks and months, I will experiment and employ this notion into the way I gear up my heart and lead the people each Sunday morning.

------------------

To the enemy:

I am a weak, feeble soul.  I acknowledge full well that you are more powerful than I.  But that does not concern me, because I serve the Most High God, who is obviously infinitely more powerful than you.  Each Sunday, I will choose to fall behind my General, Jesus Christ, in fighting against you.  I will encourage the people to taunt you by giving themselves in increasing measure to the mighty duty and blessed joy of worshiping God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.  Christ stands victoriously over you, with His mighty foot pressed hard on your scrawny neck, and I await with eager expectation the day when He will deal the final death-blow and rid us of your atrocious work.

"The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet."  (Romans 16:20)

Your days are numbered.

traffic tickets, leading worship, and hardened hearts

I had a most interesting experience yesterday driving to church at around 7:30am.  My commute is about 20 minutes, which is just enough time to center myself and prepare my heart and thoughts for stepping into shoes I'm not worthy to fill--being a pastor and worship leader.  3/4 into the drive, a cop pulls up behind me and signals me over.  As most people do as they're being pulled over when they don't immediately know why, I started to replay the last 5 minutes of driving, but for the life of me I could not figure out why I was being summoned to the roadside spectacle of flashing lights (come to find out later, some of our church family were driving by watching their pastor apprehended by the law).  Well, I had expired tags, which I will go to resolve, just after I write this post. Needless to say, I was upset.  I was pounding my fist on the steering wheel, upset at myself for having been negligent with expired tags, upset at God for sovereignly ordaining an encounter which so wonderfully UNprepared my heart for worship.  I parked the car at church, muttering at God.  I muttered at God from the car to the door.  I muttered at God from the door to my office.  I plastered on a smile and said "hey!" in a fake, enthusiastic voice to someone I saw in the hall, and then I went into my office to "prepare for worship."  I had set in my heart that my worship preparation this week would consist of telling God how upset I was and how I wouldn't really be engaged today, thank you very much.  I picked up the worship bulletin and was reminded that I needed to spend a few minutes rehearsing the chant that would open our service...it was a setting of Psalm 95.  The chant's refrain was as follows: Harden not your hearts, as your forbears did in the wilderness. After about the third time through that refrain, it was obvious that God was talking to me.  I'm sure you understand the message I was receiving.  That transition state between being angry with God and being humbled by God is an awkward one, but that's right where I was when I said out loud in the empty choir room, with a nervous and bitter laugh, "God, are You preaching at me?"  I didn't need an answer. Yesterday, I re-learned a lesson that I am perpetually teaching to my brothers and sisters week-in and week-out: God is worthy of praise, irrespective of our circumstances.  His infinite worth demands our best efforts, our most enthusiastic worship, our loftiest thoughts.  The simple lesson of "your feelings don't matter, Zac...I have a summons on your life to gather with my people and worship me" was spoken by God once again, loud and clear. There is a divine grace in being a pastor and a worship leader.  Others can choose to evade God on days like that, but for us, it's our job to be there.  I count that a huge privilege.  It's almost a spiritual discipline.  Running from God as a pastor or a worship leader really is futile, because you're going to have to reckon with Him at least once a week when you stand before His presence in the midst of His people.  I've learned this lesson before.  It was good to learn it again. Well, off to the DMV.

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