Church newsletter pastoral column for St. Peter Lutheran Church, Greene, Iowa, for February, 2020. Second of a series on “Worship Whys” exploring why we do the things we do in worship. Two more resources to read that I found helpful and drew from on this topic here and here. Read part 1 & part 3.
Worship Whys: Singing and Music
“Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery; but be filled with the Spirit, as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts.”
– Ephesians 5:19
As we continue exploring “Why do we do that in worship?” in this month’s newsletter column, I want to look at one of the primary things we do week after week in worship services: Singing.
Have you ever wondered why we sing in church? Other than in a school choir or perhaps at karaoke night, church is about the only place in our culture where people sing in public. And we do it every time we gather to worship. Sometimes the words are from the hymnal, other times a screen, but still we sing.
Singing forms us into community. Voices join together to form something of beauty, illustrating the way the Body of Christ is made up of diverse people with many different gifts and talents. Voices meld together in harmony, and together, we are joined into the body of Christ. Everyone has something to offer, and when people are missing, the song is incomplete.
In contrast to so much of what our culture values, singing in worship is a communal action. While we do often have special music in worship, it’s not a performance or a concert in the same way a pop star might perform, or even in the way a high school student might perform a piece at solo and ensemble contest. Special music is an offering of someone’s musical gifts to enhance the beauty of worship for everyone. To help the congregation worship, we have accompanists and worship leaders, but their role is always to equip and lead all of us in singing together.
On a spiritual level, singing is practice for heaven. John’s vision of heaven in the book of Revelation describes the angels gathered around God’s throne, “Singing with full voice” (Rev. 5:12) and joined by all the saints redeemed by Christ (that’s us!) in praising God forever.
Singing is a means for us to express our joy and gratitude, as well as our sorrows and laments. Somehow, adding a tune allows us to give voice to emotions in a way words alone simply cannot match. Often in people suffering from Alzheimer’s or dementia, recognition of music will last longer than words. Sometimes people can even sing after they’ve lost the ability to talk.
Singing is also educational. For me, reciting the alphabet without the song is a challenge! Setting words to music is a wonderful memorization tool. Even if you don’t consider yourself as good at memorizing Scripture, you probably know more than you think, because much of our worship music is from the Bible.
In the Lutheran tradition, music also is a way to proclaim the Gospel. The hymn or song of the day following the sermon is connected to the day’s readings, serving almost as a second sermon. The idea is that if the preacher’s sermon is a dud, at least the gospel will be proclaimed in song!
Whether you’re a trained musician able to read music and sight-read four-part harmony, or whether you’re more like me trusting that if others can hear your vigorous singing they’ll sing louder to drown you out, God’s instructions are clear:“Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises.” (Psalm 98:4)
A parting thought from Martin Luther: “[Music reminds] us of a heavenly dance where all meet in a spirit of friendliness, caress, and embrace…A person who gives this some thought and yet does not regard it as a marvelous creation of God, must be a clodhopper indeed and does not deserve to be called a human being; he should be permitted to hear nothing but the braying of asses and the grunting of hogs.”
-Pastor Daniel Flucke