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SERMON “The God who Sings” Jeanette Mathews INTRODUCTION Over the last few months when I have had the opportunity to preach I have been working through a series of reflections on God and work - in particular I have been lifting some biblical metaphors which describe GOD as a worker. So we’ve thought about God as the creator shaping forms out of the earth, as a builder, as a gardener, as weaver, as the owner of a vineyard, as a burden-bearer. Today I want to talk about God as musician - the inspirer of music, as one who composes, and who performs. A God who sings. CAN WE “TALK” ABOUT MUSIC? At one level this is a straightforward image. After all, so much of our relating to God, particularly in the context of worship, is through song and music. It is an integral part of the preparation of each service. Much thought and care geos into selecting music which will enhance the theme of worship, and help us meet God and share with each other. The church through the ages has taken the biblical model found in the psalms - Israel’s book for worship which covers a range of moods and concerns, but which clearly uses music - instruments, singing, choirs, as a central part of its content. I’m aware that there has been a non-instrumentalist tradition amongst Christian churches, but these have still used song. For the most part, though, in our services we follow the direction of the psalm used as the call to worship today - “Make a joyful noise to the Lord”. At another level, though, using a sermon to explore this theme is an almost impossible task! At the very least I feel I should sing to you. But what would probably be more edifying would be to just let you listen to music for 20 minutes - to let the music itself bring its message. Because to TALK about MUSIC is almost a contradiction in words. Music begins where words leave off. Music doesn’t NEED words to make sense, to move us, to evoke a response. I mentioned to Graeme Garrett when he was here recently that I was planning to preach on God and music, and shortly afterwards a chapter from philosopher George Steiner’s autobiography landed on my desk. Its a chapter about this very issue - whether it is possible to describe music with words. And I think he ends up saying that it is not - although he takes a whole chapter of words to say so! When we DO begin to think of words and music, though, our thoughts turn fairly quickly to poetry. George Steiner says poetry is “haunted by the music it has left behind”. In similar vein someone in this congregation suggested to me that poetry is “words arranged to make speech sing” So rather than sing to you now, I’ll read a poem from the “Anthology of Australian Religious Poetry” by David Lander. It’s entitled “All he managed"
GOD’S CREATION IS MUSIC A well known hymn begins “Let all the world in every corner sing”. And indeed, creation itself sings. Have you heard music in the winds, the rocks, the dunes? Water in its many forms sing - the sighing ocean, the babbling brook, the raging river. Those who watch the stars say the night skies sing. Certainly the stars and the planets have inspired composers to write symphonies. The non-human world is full of song too - it would be a high compliment to be told one sings like a bird. Birdsong marking the coming dawn can be a very welcome sound. Cicadas, frogs, marine animals: the list could go on. In nature song is irrepressible - it manifests itself everywhere. And as Lander’s poem attests - this music is integral to the very act of creation. Did you hear the passage I read to the children from the Narnia chronicles? That passage could be a sermon in itself - the music of creation. And there is an echo in it of the prophecy of Zephaniah, where the REcreation of Zion is described - “the Lord your God is in your midst. He will rejoice over you with gladness, he will renew you in his love, he will exult over you with loud singing” (Zeph 3:17) But you may have been taken aback at the final stanza of the poem I read -
The bible speaks of Jesus as THE word of God - which would seem to say that God managed a lot more in the way of words. I think there is an important idea here though - the person of Jesus was much MORE than words. It was not just what he said that was remembered as important, but who he was, what he did, how he lived his life. In the same way a song is more than just words, or lyrics - otherwise our worship would be just spoken verses in unison. The non-verbal part of a song is just as important; it is the music which is often the thing which stirs us. MUSIC AND TRANSCENDENCE This brings me to another important issue when we are reflecting on God and music: Music for some, perhaps for many, gives a sense of the TRANSCENDENT. It can take us out of ourselves and give us a glimpse into something beyond us and yet intimately sympathetic to our sense of ourselves. By this I mean that I can be transported by a piece of music, but it has to be music that for some reason touches a chord with who I am. It doesn’t seem at all surprising that John of Patmos heard music when he was caught up in the heavenly world (Rev 4-5). Steiner has a wonderful phrase describing the possibility of music taking us beyond ourselves - he says “Song leads us home where we have not yet been.” This transcendent characteristic of music has been often portrayed in literature & films: If you have seen “The Shawshank Redemption” you will undoubtedly recall the scene where beautiful symphonic music is illicitly broadcast throughout the prison for a short period of time - giving each of the prisoners a glimpse of another reality and producing a profound sense of well-being. Bryce Courtney’s book “The Power of One” also has scenes showing the significance of music in a prison setting - especially where a choir is formed to sing a chorus incorporating the many tribal traditions represented by the members. In fact I have read somewhere that in South African prisons a person on death row would be accompanied all night before their execution by a chorus of singing voices from other prison cells. It is interesting, isn’t it, that while music is integral to the life-affirming acts of creation, it is equally prevelant in stories of dungeons and darkness. Remember Paul and Silas singing in prison in the middle of the night? The music in that story evoked another world too - resulting in an earthquake and freedom. “Let all the world in EVERY corner sing” - singing can happen anywhere. Music evoking another world of freedom confesses that no matter how cruel and oppressive the ruling regime, its power is not ultimate nor eternal nor impervious to the power of faith. The music and the singing we saw so often while we lived in South Africa I think probably stands out as the most lasting impression of our time there. And when now I listen to a tape of South African freedom songs there is a real thrill to realise that the hopes expressed there have happened:
And one that I particularly enjoy as we literally saw it happening:
And so music can be a powerful force for change; music takes us beyond ourselves, music touches our souls. Our emotions can be heavily involved. And it is right that this should be so. Zephaniah encourages the praise of Israel to be with “all their heart”, that is, with their whole being. We have spoken of music as evocative of creation, and as a means of sensing the transcendent. Is there more that can be said about God as musician? GOD AS THE SOURCE OF MUSIC Many biblical stories portray God as the SOURCE of music. After Moses has received the law in Deuteronomy God tells him - “write this song, and teach it to the Israelites; put it in their mouths in order that it may be a witness to me.” (Deut 31:19). Ch 32 of Deuteronomy is the song if you are interested in reading it. And we have many other passages in the Old Testament indicating thatthe followers of Yahweh were inspired to write songs and music. This continues in the New Testament - I think this time last year I reflected on Mary’s Magnificat and other songs that were a response to the advent of the saviour’s coming. And the wonderful songs of praise in Revelation which continue to inspire our worship. So song is often used in celebration inspired by God, and not all cultures and traditions are as reserved as ours in the way they celebrate. Listen to this wonderful description of a Jewish synagogue in worship on a festival day: “The little synagogue was crowded and tumultuous with joy. I remember the white-bearded Torah reader dancing with one of those heavy scrolls as if he had miraculously shed his years. My father and uncle danced for what seemed to me an interminable length of time, circling about one another with their Torah scrolls, advancing upon one another, backing off, singing..... The noise inside the synagogue poured out into the night, an undulating, swelling and receding and thinning and growing sound. The joy of dancing with the Torah, holding it close to you, the words of God to Moses at Sinai. I wondered if Gentiles ever danced with their bible.” (from Chaim Potok’s “In the Beginning”). But whichever way we do it, to sing God’s praise is to do what we were created to do - to love God and enjoy God forever. MUSIC REFLECTS CHRISTIAN LIVING Reflecting on God as a musician can help us to remember some important aspects of our Christian faith. Like music, our faith puts us in touch with a greater reality, which is beyond us and yet intimately in tune with us. Music reminds us of the importance of creativity which can rely on solitude but which must be shared to enrich others. It gains value as it becomes a communal activity. Likewise, in our faith we are called to be in community with others. And music can touch the range of human experience from profound sadness and despair to exhuberant joy. Our faith is grounded in the person of Jesus, who became one of us in order to know fully the human experience. We have some wonderful musical talent in this church. But even for those who are not musically inclined, our songs of praise are a blessing to God. I was searching the passage in Revelation for a phrase that I could use as a benediction in today’s service. I was surprised to see that in the heavenly worship described in John’s vision it is GOD who is blessed by the singing of those around the throne: “Myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands singing with full voice, ‘worthy is the lamb that was slain to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honour and glory and blessing’”. Our singing will be a blessing to God, because God is a god who sings. Let me finish with a quotation from devotional writer Thomas Kelley: “We sing, yet not we, but the Eternal sings in us... the Everlasting is the singer, and not we ourselves... the song is put into our mouths, for the Singer of all songs is singing within us. It is not we that sing; it is the Eternal Song of the other who sings in us, who sings into us, and through us into the world.” (T. Kelley, A Testament of Devotion, 1941) J.M. |
