"Amazing Grace"

One of our favorite hymns but a good example of the problem of language.

Must blindness continue to be equated with damnation?

Not too long ago, I suggested during a worship service that the congregation sing one of our popular hymns but with a few words altered. It was an attempt to be more inclusive of diversity.

I thought it went quite well and so I was more than a little surprised at how some of the folk made it clear to me that changing words was frivolous and unnecessary.

For whom?

For us, perhaps, but Christianity isn’t about taking care of ourselves. It is about serving others. Christianity isn’t about being guardians of the past. It is about celebrating God’s presence now.

We do not live in the First Century and it is vital that we employ language, symbols, actions that proclaim our faith alive today.

Can I do that with a Bach cantata, an ancient prayer, an archaic symbol? Of course. Such gifts from our tradition can remain rich and rewarding but I must also be open to new ways...to the Swahili hymn, the Asian silence, the feminine voice.