Advent: The Gift of Singing...

Week Three: Gifts of Faith Community...

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude let your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God.
Colossians 3:16

God’s people are commanded to sing. “Sing to the Lord a new song.” The earliest biblical texts we have are songs, Miriam’s song in Exodus and Mary’s song in Luke. But while everyone has thousands of songs on their digital devices, the practice of public singing declines. Budget cuts have eliminated it in many schools. And our assumption that we can only sing if we sound like Adele or Sinatra keeps us from participating.

We miss a lot if we don’t sing. Recent studies have been done that show singing is scientifically beneficial. An article in Huffington Post titled “Choir Singing may be Good for Your Heart” describes some of the benefits scientists are finding in the practice of singing in community.

The author of the study says that the controlled breathing synchronizes the participants’ heart beats, resulting in better physical health. Studies also indicate that group singing results in better mental health and stronger social connections. In the church, singing teaches our story, enables us to praise and pray together, and connects us to each other and to God. St. Augustine says, “Singing is praying. When one sings, one prays twice.”

When one sings. Unfortunately, in many congregations a worship band has taken over the music and people watch, or congregants assume they can’t sing well enough to participate, or they think they can’t sing at all so they just stand and wait for the singing to be over.

But singing is a gift. And God, in God’s infinite wisdom, gives us congregational singing as miracle. Never in the Bible are we commanded to sing well, or beautifully. We are commanded to make a “joyful” noise...to sing out in the presence of God. If everyone sings, we become one...not a group of weak voices, but a body singing praise, thanks, prayer, and joy to our God! Individual voices are carried and absorbed into the community and we actually sound good together!

I love this text as we take this Advent moment to re-orient our understanding of sing-to-the-Lord. With gratitude let your hearts sing. Not with fear or embarrassment or concern. Not with pride or criticism. With gratitude we let our hearts sing.

Once again, God gifts us with our centering moment. We sing not because of who we are or what we can do, but because of who God is and what God has done.

With gratitude...SING!

Praise God from whom all blessings flow! Praise God all creatures here below! Praise God above ye heavenly hosts! Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost! Amen!!