David, together with the commanders of the army, set apart some of the sons of Asaph, Heman and Jeduthun for the ministry of prophesying, accompanied by harps, lyres and cymbals. Here is the list of the men who performed this service – 1 Chronicles 25:1

Today’s Scripture Reading (July 3, 2016): 1 Chronicles 25

It takes more muscles to frown than it does to smile. I am sure that someone has delivered that little piece of knowledge to you on one of those days when the world simply seems to be falling apart. Sometimes the advice works and a smile is produced. My suspicion is that more often it is a grimace that results. The message is received with more of a “just leave me alone” attitude than a rejuvenation of optimism. But is the saying true? It seems that, while it is hard to figure out just how many muscles are involved in either expression, there are more muscles needed to smile than to frown. Dr. David Song (University of Chicago Medical) did a study that revealed that it took an average of eleven muscles to frown while twelve seemed to be required to produce a smile. But there was a catch. Dr. Song also wondered if it was possible that, because we smile more than we frown, the muscles involved in a smile might be in better shape than the ones we use to frown, making a smile easier to produce. Looking at the people around me on most days, I wonder if that is true. Most of us seem to produce a mild frown when we are concentrating. The act of smiling seems far from being natural and it is something that we seem to have to intentionally attempt to do.

Frowns and criticism seem to be much more of our natural state. Which makes the church worship service a unique and counter-cultural experience. The worship service should be a place where we simply come to praise instead of being critical of the process. (And, yes, I understand that there are many within our worship experiences that haven’t quite figured that out. We seem to come to complain about the music and the rituals and the people more than to simply give praise to God for what it is that he is accomplishing in our midst.) But the purpose of the service is to simply give praise to God. We gather to thank him for his works and his creation, even the portions of his creation that gather around us as we worship. We praise (which should mean that we smile, no matter how much or little effort it takes to complete the task.)

This is the meaning of the word “prophesy” in this passage. David and his commanders (literally the princes of Israel, or the hereditary leaders of the various tribes of Israel) had gathered not to decide that a certain portion of the Levites should be involved in foretelling the future, our most common current definition of prophecy, but to ensure that there would be someone ready and qualified to lead the nation in the counter-cultural act of giving praise to God.

It is a practice that continues within the Christian Church today. We praise together, led by our sons of Asaph. And, in the end, we need to remind ourselves that the song really doesn’t matter. All that is important is that we praise our God – and a smile wouldn’t hurt.

It is time to gather for Worship.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 1 Chronicles 26