Passion

If you’re reading this week’s texts and thinking, “Wait, I thought preparation was last week?” don’t worry. You’re right where you need to be. Yes, Luke and Malachi both call us to watch for and notice the ones who “prepare the way” for the coming Messiah. We may even notice in their words a call to us to be the ones who answer the call to prepare the way. But Malachi and John the Baptist (via Luke) share something else—passion. Now, passion may feel like a dangerous word in the context of worship. We may be okay with strong feelings in worship, but passion? Passion sounds like something combustible, easily out of control, and uncontainable. How do you make passion fit in a well-ordered plan of worship?

First, you plan so that passion can take root. Malachi speaks of the refiner’s fire in the context of refining silver, a process that requires close attention. When we speak of passion in worship, we are not talking about emotions run amok with no direction or purpose. We’re talking about directing our hearts to God, whose love and grace inspires, directs, and shapes our passion. Our job as worship planners is not to manufacture emotion or whip people into a frenzy, but to craft every moment of worship in a way that calls the congregation’s attention to the work of God in our midst. And then, we leave it to God. It is not ours to judge whether passion happened for anyone else. All we can do is discern our own passion that went into the planning, crafting, and performance of worship and evaluate afterward with other worship leaders. What do you think might happen if every worship planning or worship committee meeting included a team to discern how worship cultivates passion in the people of God? If a class or small group in your church uses this week’s small group materials, follow up with them to see what they learned and reflected on about where emotions show up in the body. How might those reflections inform your approach to cultivating passion through worship?

Today’s scriptures also give us a wonderful starting place for imagining visuals. As you add light to the Advent wreath each week of the Advent season, consider adding more light to the altar each week so that the altar/chancel creates a visual crescendo into Christmas Eve. This week, consider using tea lights floating in clear vases or bowls of water. Not only will the water catch and reflect the light, but the water is also a visual tie to John the Baptist’s ministry of baptism. You might even consider adding silver tinsel to the water to further reflect the light and reference the refining of silver in Malachi 3.

Also, take this opportunity to consider your congregation’s heart songs—not the congregation’s favorite Christmas songs, but the songs that speak to the congregation about who they are and how God is at work among them. Consider how you might incorporate one or more of these heart songs into this service to inspire and encourage the congregation to remember that we can abide the day of God’s coming because God is at work in us and among us.