Dear Friends in Christ at Peace Grue,
Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty firmament! Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his surpassing greatness! Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe! Praise him with clanging cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals! Let everything that breathes praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!
Psalm 150
Along with coffee, communion and potluck suppers, music constitutes a big part of community life in many Lutheran churches. This all changed with the pandemic. Singing, the most basic human impulse, suddenly came with a warning label.
The same breath that animates the song spread a deadly virus that took away the breath of over half of a million people in the United States alone. Out of love for our neighbors, our songs were temporarily stopped at least in the ways that we had known and loved.
Now that we are beginning to come back together for in person worship, I encourage you to reflect on where we have been and where the Spirit may be leading us. Think about your favorite hymn, least favorite, the hymn that brings back the most memories, the one you never want to hear again, the hymn that makes you smile or always makes you cry. What role has music played in your faith journey? How has it contributed to the vitality and congeniality of our congregation? There is life in music.
Martin Luther’s hymn, “A Mighty Fortress” was only one of dozens of hymn Luther wrote. Like many hymn writers Luther saw music as a way to teach, inspire and gather God’s people. These hymns are all about 500 years old, yet the faith, wisdom and insights contained in these hymns continue to spiritually nourish faithful Christians today. There is power in music.
We Lutherans treasure the Christ who became flesh and is now present and embodied through the Holy Spirit. The spirited gift of music is an embodied art that depends on breath and heartbeat, as your voice blends with others. This is why singing on Zoom will never replace singing together in person.
Music brings people together. Choirs and praise bands gather for practice sharing their skills and gifts as they inspiring us with song. If you ever been part of a choir you know how that experience increased your appreciation for music’s ability glorify God, proclaim the gospel, and form relationships with your faith siblings. There is community in music.
We grieved the loss of physical connection to our communities of faith in this COVID time. We not only missed the embodied act of singing—we dearly missed those with whom we sing. Holy spaces, tied to memory and devotion, minister to us in ways that are hard to express. But as with so many of our songs created during times of difficulty, beauty has risen from the ashes of suffering. We mourn, yet we live in hope: for there will always be song. Praise the Lord!
Enjoy Summer,
Pastor Dan