Text: Psalm 98:4-6, Genesis 1-2, selected verses
Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth;
Break forth into joyous song and sing praises.
Can you hear the earth, the planet, the creation beneath and around us is bursting forth in song?
Do you hear the praise in the rustle of the wind in the trees?
Or the song of the birds?
Or the stirring of the crickets?
Many of us have spent more hours outdoors this year, walking on trails, taking bike rides, simply sitting on the porch.
When gathering indoors is risky, there is blessing in being able to take in a deep breath of fresh air and enjoying the world God has made.
It has been a great opportunity to take in the whole symphony of creation.
The interplay of sunlight and leaves.
The harmony of wind and wings.
The rhythm of footsteps.
I have read through the creation story in Genesis 1 numerous times, but it wasn’t until this past week that I was able to look upon it with fresh eyes.
I took a moment to focus just on the words of God in this text.
The commands.
The directions.
And I began to imagine God as a conductor, standing before an orchestra.
It was all a soup of nothingness, chaos, whirling, disconnected… like the sound of instruments as they each do their own thing, not paying attention to anyone else, but just on their own sound. No cohesion. No sense. No form.
But then the conductor raises their arms and begins to coax out unique voices and melodies…
Light!
Sky! Separate the water!
Land, appear!
Earth, green up!
Lights, come out!
Ocean, swarm!
Birds, fly!
Earth, generate life!
You see, God does not write solo compositions. God’s symphonies are complex and intricate. Each instrument playing its part, working together, creating harmonies.
Lyre and trumpets and horns…
Sunshine and cattle and fish…
They all have a part to play in the song of praise and goodness that God has designed.
And just when it appears to be finished, God adds one more part…
Humanity…
Us…
You and me…
Made in God’s image…
Reflecting God’s nature…
And God invites us to conduct as well…
I played the flute in marching band in high school.
Not only did we learn the instrumental parts, but we also had to learn our placements.
We had to learn to march and play at the same time.
We had to learn how to weave in and out of one another.
And although we couldn’t always see it, our patterns and movement created incredible forms and sound on the field.
But here is the thing.
Because of the direction we were moving, or our distance on the field, we couldn’t always see the conductor – the drum major – on the central platform.
And so we relied upon the other drum majors who were positioned a bit closer to us.
Their job was to keep their eyes on the central conductor and to keep in time with them.
Only then could all of us work together.
You and I…
All of humanity…
We are like those other drum majors.
Conductors with our eyes upon God, helping to shape the song of the universe.
Here is the thing I have learned about this song… this dance…
It doesn’t stay the same.
It moves.
It grows.
It changes.
Sometimes it soars triumphantly.
And sometimes it is a quiet whisper in the night.
As the world shifts and our situations change, the melody adapts as well.
You see, we are not called to inhabit only a singular tune.
We are called, to sing together.
Last week, I shared about how the Jewish faith found ways to continue singing, even though the melody had changed.
Sanctuary moved from the temple to the home.
The religious authority moved from the priest to the parent.
Prayer became less about sacrifice and more about an experience of God.
All around us, the melody has been changing and shifting and moving…
But friends, we are still singing.
And we are still singing together.
We transformed our week long Vacation Bible School into VBS-in-a-box and sent home packets of materials so that children of all ages could join us and learn what it means to be strong in the Lord.
We gathered to ring bells in a solemn memory of the lives that have been lost to Covid-19 – creating space for grieving and hope.
Whether you knew how to ring or not, all ages came together to help our neighborhood remember the lives of the people who have died.
Our Confirmation class adapted to a virtual format and continued to gather and learn together. They stood before the church in June to profess their faith and these amazing young people continue to offer their gifts through scripture and music and volunteering.
Bible studies and small groups have made a similar transition and we have lots of folks who are gathering to learn and pray and laugh together every single week.
We moved worship online and on the phone and recently outside. And in the process, we have found that there are people that we were not really able to connect with in the way we had done worship previously. Some of our homebound folks have felt incredibly disconnected, but now they are receiving a full order of worship and sermon each week in the mail. We have new people joining us online, and others connecting that have long been disconnected or moved away from our community. Each week, we have roughly 35 households connecting on Zoom, 40 on facebook, and 60 being reached through mail!
And, we’ve been able to take this opportunity to revitalize our organ so that when it is safe for us to gather together again, it is refreshed and restored and even better than it was before.
Your generosity continues to allow us to make decisions that are investing in the future of our church for years to come.
Diedrich Bonhoeffer once wrote: “It is not you that sings, it is the church that is singing, and you, as a member… may share in its song. Thus all singing together that is right must serve to widen our spiritual horizon, make us see our little company as a member of the great Christian church on earth, and help us willingly and gladly to join our singing, be it feeble or good, to the song of the church”
Over this past year, we have widened our spiritual horizons.
We have learned a lot about what it means to be the church.
And what we have discovered is that it is less about a physical space or a building.
It is about the community.
It is about relationships.
It is about keeping our eyes fixed on God even though the way before us has been uncertain.
It has been about leaning into the songs and the scriptures that provide us comfort and remind us we are not alone.
It has been about hearing the call to live out our faith beyond an hour on Sunday morning… but out in the streets and at the food bank.
We have remembered our call to look out for our neighbors and to do no harm.
We have challenged one another to see the beautiful diversity of our world.
Has it been comfortable? Or easy? No.
But have we been faithful?
Have we done our best?
Have we kept our eyes on the conductor, the author of creation, the Lord of our lives?
That, I think we have done.
We have stretched and sometimes failed and tried again and kept working at the task that is before us.
The task that has always been before us.
To join our voices together in the song of creation.
To praise God and make a joyful noise.
Amen.
No Comments