Today’s
Scripture Reading (June 3, 2012): Exodus 15
In the church that I grew up in, she sat every Sunday about the middle
of the church on the left hand side. I think she must have really enjoyed
singing, because she really could belt out the songs. And she hit all of the
right notes, but at the same time there was definitely something missing. My
grandfather would have told me that she could sing, but there was no music in
the song.
Every Sunday I watch a lot of people like that lady. The only difference
is that most of them are not singing. They just stand. Some of them might have
been told at some point in their lives that they could not sing or that maybe even
though they can hit the right notes, that there is no music in their voice. And
so they stand and watch – and to me it is one of the saddest things to have to
watch.
The song has been part of the church from the earliest times. It pre-dates
even the giving of the law. It seems to be a natural response to the things
that God is doing in our midst – and maybe the operative word is ‘is.’ Moses
writes a song and it is about the things that he has just experienced. The
horse and rider thrown into the sea just happened in the incident at the Red
Sea. And so he writes a song about the things that he has watched God do. The
song becomes his response to God.
The song seems to have been a part of the church from the beginning, but
it is not the music. The reason why watching people stand and be silent is sad
for me is because I know that they are squelching the response that they have
for what God is doing. Our singing, at its best, is always from the emotional
overflow of our hearts and not about the musical overflow of our talents. It is
simply our response to God for what he has done.
We have no way of Knowing whether or not Moses could sing. With all of
the information we have about him that one comment was left off of the list.
What we do know is that he did sing. He sang about what God was doing in Israel
– he sang from the overflow of his emotions about the way that God had moved in
his life. And it is this emotion that is preserved for us in the Psalms and
songs of the Bible.
Sunday is here again. This morning, whether you think you can sing or
not, just do it. Sing with all of your heart in response to what God is doing.
Come let us Worship!
Tomorrow’s
Scripture Reading: Exodus 16
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