Hello,

     If you missed the Bungee Cord last week, it was because I was on vacation on an island off of Puerto Rico, Vieques.  Seven days of torture!  80 degrees, sunny, beautiful beaches, snorkeling in a coral reef.  Life was rough.  Peaceful. Serene.  Quiet.

     Except for two occasions.  The first was a dinner meal at an Italian restaurant.  We went there on the advice that the food was good, and it was, but the noise level was ear drum breaking.  The place was packed.  The walls were plaster.  The floor was ceramic tile.  The ceiling was low, and at the bar was a congregation of very loud and piercing voiced people.  As a matter of fact, it seemed like everyone in that restaurant was a loud and piercing voiced person.

     Granted, my hearing, and the hearing of the other three who I was dining with (my wife being one, and the friends who invited us to come to the island with them were the other two) is not what it used to be, but even though we were sitting at a small table we could not hear each other.  “What?”, was the most spoken word by each of us as we tried to carry on a conversation.  Truth is, the noise was so loud that we couldn’t hear a thing.  

    

     The other break in our quiet, serene, and peaceful week came on Sunday when we went to worship in an Episcopal Church…Iglesia Episcopal Todos Los Santos- All Saint Episcopal Church Vieques, P.R…

which advertised bi-lingual services for us English speakers (the common language of the Island is Spanish).  The church even posted a picture of us on the facebook page, the above address.   We arrived a little early, and we were warmly greeted by a woman who helped us find a seat and tried to explain the oscillating order of worship between English and Spanish. The format of the service followed the Book of Common Prayer.  The red book, English.  The light blue book, Spanish.  The hymns were in a three ring binder.

     Now, I have been to some Episcopal worship services, and even though the worship followed the same order as I was accustomed, the worship was quite different.  It was loud! Not ear drum breaking, but given the small size of the congregation, there was plenty of volume when songs were being sung.   The small church was packed.   A couple of the older ladies in the congregation had tamberines.  The lead musician played an amped guitar, the choir of nine were all mic-ed, and the congregation belted out the songs with gusto!  Not being a Spanish speaker, I wasn’t able to sing along as the songs were not bi-lingual, but I certainly was caught up in the music.  An interesting part of the service was when we came to the Lord’s prayer. Everyone, including us, joined hands. And before we prayed, a song to the tune of Simon and Garfunkel’s “Sounds of Silence” was sung, then we prayed, first in Spanish, and then in English.  Once finished with the prayer, the “Sounds of Silence” song was sung again, and when it concluded everyone raised their joined hands above their heads.

     Unlike our noisy experience in the restaurant where were couldn’t hear a thing, in that noisy little church we could hear only one thing, the grace of God.  The grace of God that exploded from the lungs of the singers.  The grace of God that was amplified in the hugs that we received during the passing of the peace.  The grace of God that rocked our hearts as we received Holy Communion.  It was loud!  It drowned out everything.  As a matter of fact, I can still hear it ringing in my ears.

     The world, like that Italian restaurant, can be a very noisy place.  So noisy that you can’t hear a thing.  Let me invite you to a place that is equally loud….in a wonderful way….a church…a place where you will hear only one thing….the grace of God.  And that is a noise that you’ll be glad, amidst the noise of the world, to hear ringing in your ears.

     Have a great week.

God’s grace and peace. (ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger