Our Sung Faith

This Sunday, Lord willing, we have two baptisms of toddlers who have been waiting quite a while for this big day. While it’s not yet meaningful to them, their parents and grandparents know the importance of this sacred event, of being knit into God’s family through grace. There is a lot of excitement and planning that has happened, including selection of music.

As I listened the other day to an interview with John Bell of the Iona Community, I loved what he had to say about the role of music in worship. He said that very few sermons are ever remembered, but the songs that are sung truly speak the theology of a church. We often sing them more than once a year and the beliefs embedded in the lyrics are usually what we draw from in times of challenge and sorrow. Music plays a pivotal role in faith formation.

I’m pondering his words as I prepare to preach about Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch from Acts 8. While faith communities have their unique and comfortable culture of song and loved hymns, Philip was drawn from his comfort zone. He was led by the Spirit to cross cultures and explain his faith to an outsider. The Ethiopian eunuch was so moved by what Philip had to say that he asked to be baptized on the spot. That’s a pretty quick conversion!

I’ve been looking lately at older beloved hymns of the faith, and considering when and how to incorporate them into worship. I’m learning that I need to balance those that speak to and represent the assembled congregation with those that do not presume biblical or theological knowledge or an appreciation for Elizabethan English. There are some hymns that as I read them even I don’t know for sure what they mean. If I don’t understand what I’m singing, what hope do the family of our members, other lapsed attenders and other visitors have?

Growing our congregations (and more importantly drawing people to faith) requires a willingness to go and run alongside those seeking God, ready to explain our faith and why we believe in ways they can understand. We need to be ready and to know how to welcome them into the family if they so choose. If they don’t jump on board, we need to know how to graciously respond to that too. But our intention needs to be other-centered, open to the experiences, questions, doubts and vulnerability of the ones God points us towards.

The songs we sing are often glorious and the choirs and harmony can lift our spirits, give us goosebumps and stir the deepest parts of our souls. The songs we choose to carry into our future are critical to who we are and how we will form disciples. They will provide the core to our identity as much or perhaps even more than spoken words of scripture. They will be the source of comfort and strength, the way we come together before our God.

May we honour the identity of our faith communities by how we hold on to what is meaningful and also by how we move forwards. May we choose music which reflects where we have come from, where we are now on our journey and also the ones who are waiting to have someone come alongside them and explain the faith to them and welcome them in,