Tintinabulation

from my message on 5/18/14 from Exodus 28:31-25, honoring our Handbell director, Susan Finnigan

Belle was her name.  I know that Belle means "beautiful," and she was in every way.  She was beautiful physically, emotionally, spiritually.  She was my first cousin.  Uncle Tom K. and Aunt Ruth adopted Belle as a baby.  She was of Navajo descent.  Grew up claiming her biological and cultural heritage by becoming a master Navajo weaver.  She was the one who taught my wife Cathy to weave.  She was so highly regarded that she acted as a consultant for museums and art galleries, often doing repairs to ancient rugs.

Belle married Greg.  They had 2 children, a boy and a girl.  They were coming back from visiting my Uncle and Aunt in Colorado Springs, headed for their home in Timnath, Colo.  It was at the end of the Thanksgiving holiday.  They were only  a few miles from their home when a drunk driver hit their car.  Greg sustained massive injuries which took months of rehab.  The children in the back seat were largely unhurt.  Belle died in the accident.

It was tragic.  She was too young.  There was a memorial service for Belle at the chapel at Colorado College where my Uncle and Aunt taught and where Belle had gotten her undergraduate degree.  Everyone who attended the service was invited to bring a bell with them.  If they didn't have a bell, one was given them as they entered the service.  At a particular point in the service, everyone was asked to do this (ring a handbell).

This is one of the oldest uses of bells:  to mark grief, a loss, a death.  It is called tolling.  You know the book by Ernest Hemingway, For Whom the Bell Tolls.  We still do this today, even in this church.  On All Saints' Sunday, we don't just read the names of those who have died, or light a candle, we also toll a bell for them.

My hunch is that you may still be grieving someone today like I miss Belle.  In just a moment I am going to toll this bell.  May you remember that person (ring a handbell).

There are others we could ring a bell for today.  Some of the deaths make the headlines, like 301 miners killed in Turkey, so preventable.  We could ring a bell for all of those refugees who have been killed by the civil war in Syria.  How many years has this war drug on?

There are others that don't make the headlines.  Who will ring a bell for them?  I started looking up statistics for those whose lives were cut short because they were born into poverty or without access to clean water or adequate food or medical care.  Who will ring a bell for them?

You may be called to ring a bell, to call attention to some of these tragic situations.  I know the United Methodists started ringing a bell about malaria.  Most of the cases were among children in sub-Saharan Africa.  We can't address all of the world's issues, but we said, "Imagine No Malaria."  We have raised millions of dollars to purchase mosquito nets and and other aids.  The mortality rate has been cut significantly. More needs to be done.  Who will ring a bell for them?

The ringing of bells calls us to awareness.  The ringing speaks to us on a visceral level, beyond words.  Ringing resonates with our souls.

Think of all the bells.  There are school bells, dinner bells, door bells, cow bells.  Clocks like Big Ben tell us what time it is by the chiming of bells....Ding dong ding dong....Dong Ding Dong Ding...Bells can announce happy times like when a couple gets married, we have wedding bells.  The war comes to an end and all of the bells ring out peace.  We have the Liberty Bell.  Lords and ladies on PBS on Sunday night ring a little bell to call the servants in.  University of Texas has the Bell Tower.  Little towns used to ring bells to call people to the meeting place.

Bells have been found in China dating back to 500 B. C.  So on every continent and in every age, we have had bells.  Bells started showing up in the Christian Church around 400 A.D.  Bells became a part of cathedrals, reaching the height of popularity in England in the 1500's.  These were large bells that were rung by pulling a rope.  Groups would practice ringing a pattern, over and over again.

You may smile at this, but the nearest neighbors didn't always appreciate these loud practice times.  Also these bells couldn't be transported.  So handbells were developed, and practices could take place indoors, quietly, at any time.  Then music, melodies were developed for handbells, more than simple patterns rung over and over again.

Different techniques were developed to produce different sounds.  There is the tower swing.  One can dampen a sound by bringing the ringing bell up to the chest or down on the cushioned table.  Bells can be plucked or struck with a mallet.  Aren't you glad you came to learn all of this about bells?

The Bible doesn't have too much to say about bells.  There are only a handful of passages that mention bells.  Our today is part of a long detailed description of everything that goes with worship at the tabernacle, that moveable tent which went with the Hebrew children in their 40 sojourn in the wilderness.  Almost 1/3 of the book of Exodus is spent in excrutiating detail about tabernacle worship.  Today's passage talks about the proper dress for the High Priest.  The hem of his robe was to have bells hanging down.  That sound would let others know, "The High Priest is coming."  More importantly, the bells would be ringing letting the LORD God know that the High Priest was entering the Holy of Holies, the place where God was thought to dwell.  Do you see what the scripture said,  upon entering or leaving "so that he will not die."  This being a priest is a high risk occupation!

How many times have we been ushered into the presence of God with the ringing of bells here?  It is awesome!  If you have been part of Susan's handbell choirs over these last 19 years, would you please stand?  Susan, you have had a big impact on us and our faith.  You have helped us enter into the presence of God.  You have added to our worship.

Here's the thing about playing handbells.  You can only play a note or two by yourself (yes, there is even a technique of playing 4 at once).  Handbells are best played in groups, with each person playing his or her own part.  It is a good image for the body of Christ.  We can't solve all of the world's problems, but we are called to play our part.  For whom will you ring today?

And that word tintinabulation?  When I was pastor at St. John's here in Austin, they had bought their first set of handbells.  They had a contest to name the celebration of receiving these bells.  A high school youth found this term, tintinabulation.  It means the ringing of bells.

The good news is that you were made for tintinabulation.  What part do you play?  For whom will you ring a bell today?  Amen.