Richard W. Steffen: “Bookends

Bookends

by Richard W. Steffen, Minister of Music

I love bookends. In my office above Field Hall, I have lots of hymnals on my shelves. 75 actually. I use bookends to help the hymnals stand tall and to center them on the shelves. One set of bookends has the symbol of treble clefs; another has sixteenth notes. I can look at my shelves and say: “Oh yes, the song I want is in THIS one.” I find bookends not to be stifling or oppressive; not constraining or inhibiting. Bookends give me structure; a frame in which I can become centered and focused.

I experienced “bookends” during our Christmas Eve service in December. Our sanctuary was aglow with light that evening before the most important candle was lit. The light on the cross in the baptistry; the candlelight of the 4 Advent Candles; the lights on 3 Christmas trees; the ribbon lights along the sides of the sanctuary; the light of the 14 candles being held by the Worship Choir members surrounding the congregation; and the 43 candles on our candelabras. But we needed one more. The candle that was going to proclaim the message of the Good News: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life” (John 8:12, NRSV). The Christ Candle.

Our “bookends” at that precious moment came from scripture. Ben Dillow read the Old Testament prophecy: “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness on them light has shined. For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:2, 6, NRSV). Anne Sandel read the New Testament fulfillment: “All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it” (John 1:3-5, NRSV). And we began to sing: “Silent night, holy night; all is calm, all is bright.” Then that most important candle was lit.

That Babe, represented by that final, most important candle, doesn’t stay in the manger; the candle doesn’t only represent a Child. It tells the world that Jesus, who is revealed through his baptism, his words, and his ministry, is the light of the world.

This has been an exciting Epiphany Season. During this season we commemorate the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River. We see water changed into wine at a wedding. We hear sermons preached on the character of the people of the Kingdom of Heaven. We read how to be “blessed” or “happy”.

And the color of the season is green: new life, new growth, additional learning, maturing, and further developing. We don’t reach the final celebration this season: we will experience that glory later on Easter morning. But we are given and we use the tools necessary as we travel.

I am excited as I learn more about Jesus through you, as we move together during this epiphanal journey through conversation, study, and worship. Let us use the “bookends” of Christ’s birth and His glorious resurrection to lead us.