Health and Transfiguration

I feel like I'm recovering as much from a week of the winter blahs as from a touch of the virus that's been going around campus. It reminded me that we sometimes forget how much of our lives we do spend "on the peak" (to continue the theme from Pastor's Transfiguration sermon again).

Good health, a good home and family, friends and loved ones, work and hobbies - we all have many daily blessings in our lives. It can be difficult to maintain a sense of gratitude and celebration, so in some ways it's good for us to have less-than-perfect, off-peak days to remind us of how good our lives are. It's too tempting and too easy to fill into inspiration cliches on this topic, but it's still worthy of our reflection and notice.

This Sunday is the first Sunday in Lent, and we'll be singing hymns to remind us that the season ahead is one of repentance and reflection. Among them will be ELW 319:

O Lord, thoughout these forty days you prayed and kept the fast;
Inspire repentance for our sin, and free us from our past.

We'll also be singing one of my favorites: "Life Every Voice and Sing." It's such an inspiring anthem of social change and hope for the future. It's music that can accompany us on our march toward the peaks of Palm Sunday and Easter!

Mood music

The New York Times has an article today on how a country's mood has a symbiotic (or at least reciprocal) relationship with song lyrics and blog entries. One of the social scientists who is interviewed mentions that those sources actually reflect our mood more honestly than opinion polls because people don't know that their opinion is being examined.

Of course, popular culture is a mirror of the politics and moods of a people, because it originates from the artists' daily lives. However, no one would dispute that the media shape opinions, moods, and actions. (Isn't that what advertising is for, after all?) Of course, the repetition of most media also creates a sort of running mantra or placebo effect.'

What does this have to do with church music? Well, I was thinking about how singing hymns of optimism, hope, and contentment can affect the lives of worshippers. It isn't that different from the studies of aging nuns and other studies that try to demonstrate the health benefits of faith. Whether your favorite hymn is "Shine, Jesus, Shine" or "A Mighty Fortress" or almost any hymn in the ELW, it will in some way address God's love, omnipotence, and steadfastness, as well as hope and joy in daily life. Singing such songs can only improve physical and mental health.

More healing music

ELW 871:

Sing praise to God, the highest good, the author of creation!

O God of love, you understood our need for your salvation.

With healing balm our souls you fill;

All our lament with peace you still.

To God all praise and glory!

There's a strain of "new age" thinking that posits when you are thinking of something the universe responds with an answer, and there are pyschologists who say it's simply a matter of heightened awareness of things that were already there. Either way, I'm still hearing and reading more about the healing effects of music.

First, this study purports to find a link between listening to favorite songs and stroke recovery and therapy. It reminds me a bit of the "Mozart effect" (about which I think most scientists have become quite skeptical of any major effects). But there remains a fascination and ongoing study of a certain je ne sais quoi that lies embedded in the power of music. We may not be able to quantify it, but our mood and our health seem improved when we listen and sing music we love.

Also, I received a program in the mail today from my grandmother. Her 50-voice choir (all senior citizens) recently performed a Broadway tribute concert. I'm sure they all had a great time singing well-known tunes with friends, and I wish I could have heard them. She'll be turning 80 this year, and she and my grandfather (and my other grandmother who also turns 80 this fall) continue to amaze me with their health and vitality - playing golf, biking 10 miles at a time, travelling, going to church, and singing! I wouldn't say music is central to their lives, but it certainly has a place.

Music has an almost infinite variety, and it seems like everyone has some tune that enlivens their soul. Joanne shared a beautiful story in response to my previous post about the power of music. It's something to think about - what tune gives you the greatest sense of healing - is it something calming and soothing in a time of struggle or something energetic and lively to get your foot tapping?