Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

A Musing Amma

Home
Progressive Christian
Revisiting GracePlaces: Making Joyful Noise–Lent III

Revisiting GracePlaces: Making Joyful Noise–Lent III

Last updated on: March 22, 2014 at 7:10 am by Elizabeth Nordquist

Revisiting GracePlaces: Making Joyful Noise–Lent III 2014-03-22T07:10:04-07:00 Elizabeth Nordquist

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

I am so blessed to have been raised in a family, a faith tradition and an era in which singing praise to the Holy One was as natural and ordinary as brushing my teeth or doing my homework. Every day had our singing in it. My mother put us to bed singing, There is a happy land far, far away…where saints in glory stand, bright, bright as day. At Sunday dinner we shared offering grace by singing a capella in four part harmony, We thank Thee, Lord, for this our food… Every day there were family prayers at which we sang our way through the hymnal, year after year. The best part of the otherwise tedious Sunday morning service was the singing of old hymns from Baptist, Methodist, revival and English cathedral traditions, equally robustly, equally fervently, equally adeptly. And I experienced Grace in the singing.

As I entered Lent this year, I have sought to revisit former places where I have encountered God’s Grace, and surely singing is one of those places. Much of the Mystery that we call God is intimated for me in the songs I sang, and that I still sing. At the beginning of Lent, however, I became aware that much of that “singing” in me is like a silent radio, a songline flowing through my being but never expressed out loud. Any time of the day or night, I can check in with my heart and hear the melody and harmony of the song that is moving to the cadence of my days, but rarely do I let my lungs, my lips or my larynx join to in making that song audible to my own ears or those of others. I too often trust in the recorded music of others to do the praising.

Every time I have occasion to join in song with a gathering of faithful ones, my prayer and my appreciation for the Holy One is amplified in my body. My soul and body cry out for the living God. The journey that I travel with the Spirit begins to have breath, color and deep feeling. I know in my bones why the book of Psalms has been the hymnal of those in Judeo-Christian faith for centuries; they give voice not only to my sighs which are too deep for words, an appropriate exercise in Lent, but they expand my vision of God:

Your steadfast love is better than life: my lips will praise you. (Psalm 63: 3)

When I searched for Love, the Beloved answered within my heart and all my fears flew away. (Psalm 34: 4; Psalms for Praying, Nan Merrill)

El Shaddai build up her people, and gathers the outcasts in. She heals the brokenhearted, gently binding their wounds. (Psalm 147: 2-3; Swallow’s Nest, Marchienne Rienstra)

Singing images of the Holy widens my vision and deepens my trust of the one that Jesus called Abba. I am met in singing by Grace.

My Lenten journey thus far has been to revisit the practices where Grace has found me: the silence and walking the labyrinth. This week I continue with those practices while choosing to use those musical gifts I have been given: a voice, a piano, a memory of hymns past and a new hymnal of songs to learn as part of my Lenten action:

O the deep, deep love of Jesus

You have called us by name, and we are yours.

I am thine, I rest in Thee, O Spirit, come and rest in me.

Veni Sanctus Spiritu

His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.

God will delight when we are creators of justice…justice and joy!

Augustine has told us that the one who sings, prays twice! After my silence and walking this week, I will be singing, praying twice as I do.

Previous Post

March 20, 2014

Ignited by SACRED FIRE: a Book Review

Next Post

April 1, 2014 Revisiting GracePlaces: Loving my Neighbors-Lent IV

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category action Advent animals attentiveness Beauty blessing body Book Review Brigid Bruce Reyes-Chow celebration change Christmas church clergy misconduct community compassion creation David Hockney discernment Easter Eastertide election Epiphany faith faithfulness feminism forgiveness friendship God of all seasons Gods world Grace gratitude Healing hesychia Hildegard of Bingen Holy Spirit Holy Week hope hospitality humility inclusiveness invitation Jesus Christ journey joy justice kindness labyrinth Lent letting go Light listening Love Love & Salt making space marriage Mary Mechtild of Magdeburg memory Mothering mourning music ordination patience paying attention peacemaking Pentecost perseverance pilgrimage praising Prayer preaching presence reconciliation remembering repentance restoration sacred conversation sainthood Scripture reflection Seasons seeing clearly serving silence soul friend spiritual direction spiritual practice St. Francis storytelling suffering time Transfiguration Sunday transformation traveling trust truth-telling Uncategorized wisdom witness women Word work worship

Select a Month January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What happened to Jezebel as prophesied by Elijah?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Burned alive Eaten by dogs Drowned Struck by lightning