REFLECTION: Importance of Praise/Song in Worship

Augustine of Hippo – He who sings, prays twice.

Know that a theologian couldn’t say it that simply.

For he who sings praise, does not only praise, but also praises joyously; he who sings praise, is not only singing, but also loving Him whom he is singing about/to/for. There is a praise-filled public proclamation (praedicatio) in the praise of someone who is confessing/acknowledging (God), in the song of the lover (there is) there is deep love.

“This is a very interesting passage. Augustine is saying that when the praise is of God, then something happens to the song of the praiser/lover that makes it more than just any kind of song. The object of the song/love in a way becomes the subject. Something happens so that the song itself becomes Love in its manifestation of love of the one who truly is Love itself.” -- Fr. John Zuhlsdorf “Slavishly Accurate Liturgical Translations”

When the sermon is boring, or the liturgy dry – music takes us to a different place, an emotional place. As a geeky preacher, there have been sermons that have brought me to tears, but not nearly as often as a song.

Therefore, musicians have a special place in church worship. They are not here to simply perform music beautifully. They are here to help us deepen our love for God as we either sing or hear God’s praise. Those who are joy-filled in their craft help us to move beyond themselves as the subject to hearing God as the subject of the music. Love becomes known through the voices, the instruments, and the passion of the music.

A dozen or more of the Psalms explicitly talk about singing or playing music as one of the ways we offer our praise and thanks to God. In other scripture readings as well, hymns and spiritual songs are some of the very earliest expressions of humankind’s religious impulse. Though music continues to evolve and change over time, musical expression as an act of love for God remains constant. Praise God with shouts of joy, all people!

CHARGE TO ARLENE:

Arlene, for you, I know there have been mixed feelings about this day. Your service to this congregation has been more than just a job; it has been your ongoing gift to the people who worship here and to God. Letting go has not been easy.

But I want you to know the kind of legacy that you have passed on. You leave this congregation with an incredible love for music. In times when other leadership in this church has been lacking, the music was a sustaining factor in keeping the spirit of this church connected with God. You have teased out the gift of singing in some who didn’t know they could sing before they met you, and a number of our young adults credit you and this church with giving them a life-long love for singing hymns and praise to God. You have created a vast music library not only of the traditional composers that you love but with new music carefully selected at Montreat or through recommendations of other musicians who feel as you do about the importance of bringing quality and depth to sacred music. This is your gift to us, and your influence over this congregation’s music program will have a lasting impact even as pieces of it grow and change under new direction.

We thank you for all you have given, and today I encourage you to know that you have fulfilled your calling in this place, not so much in a sense of something being over, but in a sense of being complete. You can retire and rest knowing that you wrote full and long chapters into the history of this congregation. Many of us have had a growing awareness that the time has come for you to spend more time with family, to take the kind of care and dedication that you have given to this choir, and give that energy to other needs and pursuits in your personal life. Letting go for us also brings a time of grieving. There are those who would have gratefully held your arms up in front of this choir forever and a day if you would let them. But when the time for letting go is right, it is also time to let God show us what is next. “Let go, and let God” was a favorite saying of a dear elderly friend of mine. She knew what she was saying.

CHARGE TO THE CONGREGATION:

In theological circles, much like in musical circles we can tend to idolize the old. We love old, dead theologians just about as much as we love old, dead composers. If a scriptural interpretation or a song has staying power through many centuries, it almost has to be better than what’s new today, right? But that ain’t always so. As I’ve heard it put many times over, when it comes to tradition, it’s far better to stand in the living tradition of the dead than in a dead tradition of the living. It all depends on what we do with our tradition that will make a difference.

This congregation has a love for music, for good music, performed well, and given fully to the glory of God. I don’t see that changing any time soon. Nevertheless, I pray that you will take the very best of what gifts Arlene has given us over the years and maintain a living, breathing, growing, and developing tradition of sacred music from that point forward. This church can continue to strive for the highest degrees of musicality we can attain, and at the same time welcome singers of many ages, abilities, and scheduling conflicts to allow that to happen. Joy-filled music given in love touches the heart, and we worship best when we can worship God with all our heart, with all our mind, with all our soul, and with all our strength.

As this transition happens in our congregation, again we step out into trust that God has a plan for us that is not going to shake our foundations but will build steadily upon them. We have the opportunity put before us to bring together the best of old and new – in good time – and without dissonance and rancor. With God, all things are possible, right?

Today is a day to let go. Celebrate the joys of our past together, and let go of any grief or grudges that might prevent us from going where God is directing us. Today is also a day to let God. Let God move in us and through us – swaying us to the heartbeat of God’s love that remains with us our whole lives long.