To my ears, it sounded like the Gloria went better for the congregation as a whole this week. I hope that hearing David sing through it as the prelude was helpful, and thanks David for agreeing to do so.Too often, people say that they "can't sing." Perhaps they were even told that by a music teacher or a friend, and what a shame! In my years of summer stock theatre, I often worked with actors who had never before been in a musical and came in calling themselves tone deaf. Two weeks later they were competently contributing to the chorus. We can't all sing the lead roles, perhaps, and we may not be comfortable as a solosit, but that's no excuse to avoid joining the congregation in song or singing in the shower or whistling while you garden.
We read one of my favorite psalms today, and it's truly a shame that we didn't sing this text:
You have turned my wailing into dancing;
you have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy.
Therefore my heart sings to you without ceasing;
O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever.
On a similar note, Pastor's message for the children about the uniqueness of every shell and grain of sand and person reminded me of some song lyrics from the Mamas and the Papas:
Nobody can tell ya
There's only one song worth singin'.
They may try to sell ya,
'cause it hangs 'em up
to see someone like you.
You've gotta make your own kind of music;
Sing your own special song.
Make your own kind of music,
even if nobody else sings along.
And that reminded me of a concert version by Barbra Streisand, where she paired it with another song:
Sing, sing a song.
Sing out loud; sing out strong.
Sing of good things, not bad.
Sing of happy, not sad.
Sing, sing a song.
Make it simple to last your whole life long.
Don't worry that it's not good enough
For anyone else to hear.
Just sing, sing a song.
The hymn that stuck with me today is "All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name!" I've been humming it around home all day. I hope everyone else is following the psalmist's injunction to dance and sing praise to God.
Being in the pew, I have found that even those who claim tone deafness, when singing, manage to make many of the notes work in harmony to whatever we are singing. It may not be intentional, but it sure comes out that way!
ReplyDeleteThere's a story out there of a boy who sang with all his heart praises to God - in a monotone (maybe he was born deaf - I don't remember). Somehow he died an early death, and when he got to heaven, they wanted to put him in the heavenly choir. Having heard from a young age that he could not sing, the boy protested, but God showed him singing on earth with his mates in the earthly choir, and his voice was the most beautiful, ringing richly and clearly over the mumbles of the others. The moral of the story was that God hears how we sing in our hearts, not the noise we make on the outside. So, go ahead and make that joyful noise! Praise God with all your might and don't be afraid to sing!