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[Back to index of December articles] Word to the City By Lucy Chumbley What does a revival at the National Cathedral look like? Welcoming approximately 400 people to the opening night of the cathedral's first revival, "Word to the City," the Rev. Susan Newman, senior advisor for religious affairs for Mayor Anthony A. Williams, said she wasn't sure what to expect. "I've lived here 40 years and I've never been to a revival at the National Cathedral," she said. "So when I asked, they just said, 'Pretend like it's a revival at your church!'" In revival style, the evening was structured around prayers and preaching, Scripture and singing. It began, at Newman's invitation, with spontaneous testimonies from members of the congregation, continued with uplifting music from the Union of Black Episcopalians Gospel choir, and gained momentum from the high-spirited singing of the Gospel group Performing Artists Under the Lord. The evening's centerpiece was a sermon by the Rev. James Alexander Forbes Jr., senior minister of New York City's Riverside Church and a widely acclaimed preacher, who spoke on two seemingly disparate stories of revival: the Old Testament tale of Gideon's commission from God to deliver the Israelites from the hands of the Midianites; and the New Testament account of Christ's appearance to Mary Magdalene on Easter morning. (Judges 6: 1-18 and John 20: 1-18). As the cathedral inches toward its 100th anniversary, the time is ripe for a revival, Forbes said from the Canterbury pulpit, resplendent in flowing robes. "Washington, D.C., is a city of destiny," he said. "What happens in this our town impacts the world... So if indeed God has heard the cries of our nation and come down it would not surprise me if a spiritual revival broke out in Washington. Maybe even the beginning of another great awakening." God, he said, is like a mother who can withstand many challenges but who can not be still when her children cry out. Time and again in the book of Judges, when the Israelites begin to prosper, they start to forget about the God who brought them over the Red Sea, the river Jordan, he said. Trouble comes, and the people cry out. And God comes to their rescue. Today, in this country, Forbes said, trouble is here again. There are hurricanes and rising gas prices, widespread poverty and crime, and a war in Iraq that is not going well. "If you are concerned about what's happening in our town, and if you cry out, chances are that Mama God, Mama Eternal will come down and revive her children," Forbes said. But first must come the crying, the crying out. "You want our nation to change? Do something," he said, making it into a mantra and inviting the whole congregation to join in: "Do something." When the angel of the Lord came to Gideon, Gideon was vulnerable, Forbes said, like this nation is vulnerable today. The youngest son of the smallest tribe, he was hiding in a wine press threshing wheat, in order to keep it from the enemy. "God sends an angel to say, 'The Lord is with you, mighty warrior,'" Forbes said. And Gideon says: "But Sir, if the Lord is with us, then why has all this happened to us?" It's no secret why bad things happened to the Israelites, Forbes said, pointing to the pattern in the book of Judges that still describes human nature today. "This is where the revival part starts; when you get ready to tell the truth about your condition." And when you cry out for help, God will come, he said. "When God gets ready to revive a nation, God commissions somebody for a role," Forbes said. "It's not just one man's story in Gideon. It's not just one of us. God will need a lot of people to say, 'Here I am, Lord. Send me.'" In the Gospel story of Mary Magdalene, God also responds to a crying out, Forbes said. "[Mary] started crying, and when God saw that, he just couldn't stand it any longer," Forbes said. "Jesus revealed himself to Mary and said, 'Mary, I've got somewhere to go and I've got a lot of revival to do.'" "Jesus loves us too much to leave us beating our wheat in the wine press," he said, explaining that it's never too late to turn back to God. "When you think you are finished, look at Jesus. Jesus was finished. F-I-N-I-S-H-E-D. Period. But there - that's where the resurrection people live. In that tiny little space between the D and the dot, Jesus lives. I believe we are crying out, and I believe God is going to bless you tonight." [Back to index of December articles]
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