By Rev. Debra Jene Collum
Chatfield United Methodist
A young person recently asked me, “Why do we sing hymns in church?” This is a brave question. Considering how precious hymns are to people. I had to take a huge pause when I was asked this question because I didn’t have a ready answer. Think about this, why do we sing hymns in church? Strange songs that have strange words and even stranger messages?
There was a time when congregational singing was not encouraged in churches. Only the choir sang. And they sang words of the Psalms in Latin. If you watch “Call the Midwife”, you will hear the nuns singing beautiful hymns which are psalms put to music.
So imagine, the words of this Psalm sung by a choir of angelic voices. YHWH, you have searched me and known me…(Psalm 139) Voices and faces lifted to the heavens acknowledging the wonder and mystery of both God and humans.
YHWH, what do you see when you look at me. And not just look but look deeply, searchingly.
Now, this could either be interpreted as creepy or lovely. Probably depending on how your day is going. If you have been particularly nasty you probably don’t want to know God is searching you. If you are having a day that needs direction and comfort, these are encouraging words.
I think the psalmist is writing a psalm of praise and wonder and mystery, however.
God you know me. You who are bigger than anything I can imagine; yet, you know me. My rising and falling (notice God doesn’t prevent either rising or falling but is there in both circumstances) As the sign in my office says: God doesn’t give us what we can handle. God helps us handle what we are given. God, mysterious and infinite God, I want to praise you.
I think it is very important that we don’t lose this mysterious God in our empirical age. And by that I mean, this age where everything true has to be proven. You want me to believe something? Prove it to me!
With all the scams and schemes out there, it is wise not to just take someone’s word for it any longer. AI is only going to make this much harder. I know some have been taken in by the scheme claiming that their grandchildren are in danger and money is needed to help them out. We may have learned not to take that seriously. But what will happen now when the voice on the other end of the line SOUNDS like your grandchild? AI can do that now. How are we going to know what is true? What is fake? And how we can trust?
This makes believing in the mystery of God. God who is completely unknowable so very difficult.
We can’t prove it. We simply have to do what the psalmist and cantor does: lift up our voices and faces and souls heavenward and proclaim: “such knowledge is too wonderful for me, a height my mind cannot reach!”
This is one reason we sing hymns in church, with strange words and melodies so that the words and praise of a mysterious, yet knowable God can be embedded in our souls. So that we can believe.
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