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The Theology of Voice and Sound
Psalm 66:1-12; Psalm 98
For forty six years, from<=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> pulpit and lectern, from ch=
ancel
and table, I have watched and listened as Presbyterians in various places h=
ave
sung hymns and listened to service music. And in all that time of I have be=
en impressed
by a single observation, that for the most part
Presbyterians are quite lacking in expression! As I come to know a
congregation, I learn to look in certain directions. For
there are those who will show expressions of joy when the choir is offering=
an
anthem of unusual delight. I also know where to look for expressions=
of
connection with the Spirit, when the music strikes deeply into the soul of a
particular worshipper. I also know where to look for s=
ings
of amusement or bright affirmation when there is a zinger in the text of an=
them
or hymn that brings a sharp perspective on the theme of the particular serv=
ice
of worship.
That is why I have not wanted to discourage the
rather new development of applause in Presbyterian congregations. I just wi=
sh we
would do that when it needs to happen in the praise of God, and not as an
automatic response as if we were in the concert hall. You see, I believe wi=
th Aldous Huxley that silence and music are closely conn=
ected
in worship. He once wrote: “After silence, that which comes closest to
expressing the inexpressible is music.” Often the most appropriate
response to an offering of music in worship is a time of silence. Noise and
words can destroy the connections we are making with the presence of God.
I have never been impressed with the so-called
“worship/music” wars in congregations. They have always seemed =
to
me a silly waste of energy and always counter-productive. Wise are the chur=
ch
leaders who recognize that each person in a congregation can be in a differ=
ent
place at a different stage of their Christian life. We can be born into one
expression of the Christian faith and embrace it forever. It is more common
today that we will transition from one to another, or
even transition in and out of the faith, as we continue our spiritual journ=
ey.
Our unity within the church is not based on our sameness.
Rather it is based upon our love for and worsh=
ip
of the same God. I believe
we need the benefit of our diversity to keep us individually challeng=
ed
and growing in faith. When we attempt to invalidate or demean another’=
;s
sincere connection with God, we inflict pain and suffering, as well as place
ourselves in the role of God.
John Buchanan, Fourth Church, Chicago, puts it
well: “It is not surprising that something so primal and powerful sho=
uld
become a topic of controversy. Church people can get steamed up about the s=
tyle
of music used in church – whether it’s pipe organ or praise ban=
d,
traditional hymns or praise choruses. The conflict for me is not between
contemporary and traditional but between high – quality and shoddy,
between interesting and boring…at the church I serve, the organist mo=
ved
from J.S.Bach to Scott Joplin during the postlu=
de one
Sunday and people are still talking about it.”
The Psalmist made a similar observation when he
wrote: “Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous. Praise befits the uprig=
ht.
Praise the Lord with the lyre, make melody to hi=
m with
the harp of ten strings. Sing to him a new song and play skillfully on the
strings, play skillfully, with loud shouts!” (Psalm 33)
“Play skillfully on the strings with loud shouts!”
The entire history of the Judaeo/Christian
tradition emphasizes a theology of sound and voice in worship. Musical
instruments of every sort are indicated;
human<=
/span> voice of every quality, raised in praise of God, the creator,
redeemer,
the source of all life, the sustainer of every human soul.
Why do we do this? We are created for fellowship with=
God;
we are created in God’s image. Jesus said the first and greatest
commandment was to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and wi=
th
all your soul and with all your mind.”
That’s what the liturgy is to be about. God is the focus of our praise
and worship. The word liturgy means, “the =
work
of the people.” It is not the professionals performing for us. It is =
not
the professionals entertaining us. It is all of us working together, choir,
preacher, congregation, instrumental musicians, to praise the God of creati=
on.
There is unity and&nbs=
p;
power in coming together to praise God. In times of pressure =
and
anxiety; in times of loss and pain; in times of great joy, it is not good t=
hat
God’s people should be alone. It is important to find the power of
healing and the joy of affirmation as together we work at the worship of Go=
d.
Henry David Thoreau wrote: “When I hear
music I fear no danger, I am invulnerable, I see=
no
foe. I am related to the earliest times, and to the latest.” Contempo=
rary
author Kurt Vonnegut who died early last year, wrote: “No matter how
corrupt, greedy and heartless our government, our corporations, our media, =
and
our religious and charitable institutions may become, the music will still =
be
wonderful. Let this be my epitaph: THE ONLY PROOF HE NEEDED FOR THE EXISTEN=
CE
OF GOD WAS MUSIC.”
Music is the great healer and encourager in li=
fe.
Healing requires wholeness and balance. Listen to what someone has written:
“The cure of a part of a human being should not be attempted without
treatment of the whole. No attempt should be made to cure the body without =
the
soul…the great error of our day in the treatment of the human body is
that physicians first separated the body from the soul.” Now that sou=
nds
like a lot of contemporary thought and theology, does it not! But it was
written by Plato in 380 BCE!.
What Plato says can be found in Biblical Theol=
ogy.
It is fundamental to our understanding of God’s design and purpose for
creation. Health is an attribute of the created order as God intended. Heal=
ing,
then, is the process that leads to experiencing something of the essence of=
peace
and wholeness. Even if a “cure” does not happen, in the Christi=
an
community caring is a moral act that brings wholeness in our suffering and
darkest moments, and changes our being, through compassion, and the
preservation of our dignity and worth, and that is the ultimate healing.
Praising God, with voice and instrument, has the power to bring that balance
and wholeness, which is the healing for which we long, from the beginning to
the end of our life.
“Sing aloud to God our strength; shout for joy to the God of
Jacob.
Raise a song, sound the tambourine, the sweet lyre with the harp.
Blow the trumpet at the new moon…
I heard a voice I had no known:
I relieve your shoulder of the burden…
In distress you called, and I rescued you;
I answered you in the secret place of thunder.”