Friday I went downtown Nashville to Photograph the Fireworks. I set up at an location I had shot from a few years ago ...and before the Fireworks began I was visited by the Police and asked to leave ..apparently they were concerned with my safety from the fallout from the Fireworks ..even though I pointed out ( nicely ) that there were several hundred people between me and the fireworks on the river ..my argument entered the logic zone and even thought the Beat policemen understood and agreed , management did not. So I was moved to an area that was closer and more hazardous for my safety.
On the way to this area I was heartened to notice that someone had taken the time and energy to clear an area close to the road where people could sit and enjoy without having broken glass under their bottom and brush up their nose.
I had no such Luxury but I did get tolerable view of the display.
When I left at the end of the Fireworks ..I was disheartened to see that the people behind me who had been able to sit in relative comfort had left the area filled with garbage , empty beer cans and broken glass.
That and the confusion about where I could or not stay , started me thinking about the Fourth of July ..Why do we celebrate ? and has the Celebration lost its meaning ?
I started to think about something Lori had pointed out to me ... a large church in our area was planning a worship service that included the largest indoor firework display in the area ... I now plan to digress ...please bear with me ...
For one thing I do not understand why a Church would choose to place a flag in the Sanctuary ...Before you send me hate mail , let me offer this ..only in the United States , and in the State allowed Christian Church of China will you find National Symbols ( flags ) in the Church.
In the not so distant past Nazi Germany also did the same ...but that is something else.
I believe that the Sanctuary is where we worship God its HIS house and He is not bound by any one state or nation. In His house we can give thanks for His blessings and that certainly may include the blessing of our Nation ...but it is HIS house. The United States Government has rules about this sort of thing ...the rules for the display of the flag allow for a Church to not display it at all ..its not required to fly the flag in the sanctuary ...but if you do ..it has to be more prominent than any other Emblem ( not just another flag ) such as the Christian Flag.
So I wonder if its questionable having a flag in the sanctuary ...then what about a worship Service and fireworks ?
does this seem kinda out of place ? perhaps an inappropriate use of Gods House ...after all remember why God didn't allow David to build the Temple ?
And this ongoing discussion in my mind brings me to today's Worship Service in our new Church. Which was wonderful By the way. We discussed spider monkeys because they have an interesting habit that makes it easy for them to be captured ...they are stubborn and greedy. The trappers hollow out a large gourd and leave a hole just large enough for the Monkey to place his hand in , then the trapper places a piece of fruit or candy in the gourd. The Monkey investigates the gourd sticks its hand in grasps the prize but finds that when the gift is grasped he cannot remove his hand He is stuck and the trapper can easily capture the monkey. Obviously for the monkey to have his freedom all he has to do is drop the fruit and remove the hand and scamper off ..but the monkey will have nothing of that.
The point was made in church ...what is our fruit , what is our piece of candy that we hold so tightly to it we miss the freedom of Christ ? Some obvious answers would be our money , our cars , our toys , our addictions ...but what about some of the things we almost hold sacred , like our flags , our patriotism , our weapons of mass destruction ?
When I discussed the flag issue with my former pastor I was told that Romans 9 gives the scriptural foundation for this practice ...
Does it ? Romans of course was written by Paul a Roman Citizen imprisoned in Rome. Does this mean that the Gentile Believers the Persecuted Church in Rome brought Roman Standards into the Caves and worship places with them ..did they begin their Worship with a Hail Cesar ?
There is nothing wrong with Celebrating the 4th of July ...especially if you pick up your trash. But doesn't it make sense to worship God in House house and leave the fireworks to the parks and river banks and lakes ?
This has led me to a curious paradox that I wish to address in the next blog ..
Kenn
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