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Radio commentator Paul Harvey
recently told of a child who came home and proudly announced
at the supper table that he had learned all of his ABCs in
order. Asked to demonstrate his proficiency, the child began
singing the traditional song: “abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvw…”
He stopped, hesitated for a
moment, and then he tried again: “abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvw…”
Once more there was a
hesitation. But now came a huge attempt to get it right. He
started once more, “abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvw…ww.com.”
I suppose even the alphabet has
a new twist in this modern age.
There’s a new twist on music in
our text for today. This is a very strange little text, tucked
away in the Old Testament book of the prophet Zephaniah. We
know some things about music. We know that we sing to the
glory of God. We know that our choirs sing to the glory of
God. We know that in our music God is glorified. But here in
this text we are told that God exults over us with singing.
Specifically, “God will exult over you with loud singing.”
Is this a strange notion? Maybe
not. Two themes emerge here. First, God rejoices in the human
creation. The word exults means to leap for joy, or to
be extremely joyful.
The Genesis story of creation
was quite possibly written as a hymn. It was a story sung by
the priests of the temple, with the people responding in
antiphonal fashion. God sang his way through creation.
Humanity is the climax of that
creation story. On the sixth day God created man and woman,
male and female. I can almost imagine as the creation hymn is
sung there is a great crescendo at this point. That crescendo
is reflected in the text: “God rejoices! God is rejoicing in
humankind.”
The Bible is God’s song of
rejoicing. God created all that is, singing. God burst upon
the human scene with music at Christmas, in the song of the
angels. Easter is the song of God’s triumph over death. God
sings. God exults over you.
But the text also says that God
does so with loud singing. This is an interesting
expression. God does not just sing, but God sings loudly.
I think that probably proves
that God is a Methodist! The term “shouting Methodist” from a
few decades ago does not really refer to shouting, it refers
to singing. Methodists were known for their loud singing.
Three clergy were discussing the
details of the Second Coming of Jesus. The Presbyterian said,
“I hope the two of you are prepared to discover that when
Jesus returns, he will be a Presbyterian.” The Roman Catholic
priest said, “Not so. When he returns he will be Roman
Catholic, through and through.” Whereupon the Methodist said,
“Why would Jesus want to change his denomination?”
This text may prove once and for
all that God is a shouting, singing United Methodist!
The point of all this today is
that God puts music into the deepest fiber of our being.
Singing and music is indigenous to being human. Singing and
music is at the heart of the universe. Something about music
is supernatural and mysterious. God exults over you and me
with music, with loud singing, and we return the favor.
That’s why music is so important
to our worship. That’s why the music budget of this church is
a major component of our program. That’s why many people seek
a church, looking for good music. They do so not because of
some cultural snobbery, but because music is an expression of
the human heart.
When you hear the music of the
choirs… when you hear the music of creation, the music of
Christmas, the music of Easter… you join the singing.
And now our choirs will sing the
traditional final anthem of this day. At no previous time have
these words been more significant than they are today. God
exults over us with a loud voice. We return with our song of
confident trust:
Surely it is God
who saves me; I will trust in Him and not be afraid. |
