During the seventh inning stretch at many baseball parks, those in attendance sing “Take Me Out to the Ball Game”. This became a deeply loved tradition at Wrigley Field in Chicago when former television announcer Harry Caray brought his own unique flair to the moment. Since his death, each game a different famous guest singer leads the crowds. One of the more memorable singers was Mike Ditka, who at the time was the rough and rowdy coach of the Chicago Bears. He arrived late to the booth, and was out of breath when he began. When he sang, he did so at a rapid, breathless pace, easily racing past the organist who was desperately trying to keep up. In music, in life, and in faith, tempo matters.
The writer of the Letter of James, believed by many scholars to be one of the earliest writings in the New Testament, agreed. “Let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger; for your anger does not produce God’s righteousness.” As “emotional intelligence” theorists tell us, when our brain speeds ahead, we get caught up in reactive process, typically fight or flight.
There is no one right tempo for faith. But in a world in which we stay too busy, and in a culture that is increasingly angry, perhaps one of the gifts of grace would be to find a way to slow down. Perhaps our music can help us reflect, and to attentively engage our friends and neighbors.
We’ll talk about that in worship on Sunday. The sermon is titled “The Tempo of Grace”, and flows from James 1:17-27, which will be read by Cooper Tucker. The Sanctuary Singers, accompanied by Matthew Wachtman, will present the anthem. We’ll have a moment for children, hymns and prayers. We will also have a blessing for our new sanctuary piano.
If you have been part of the St. Mark’s community for decades, or will be joining us for the first time, we look forward to connecting with those of you here or on the live stream at www.smumc.church at 10:30am this Sunday!