Your Heart's a Jukebox, God Has The Quarters

Reflections
August 16, 2009

In the play, Twelfth Night, by Shakespeare, the line is uttered "If music be the food of love play on." Indeed music would seem to be that which nourishes humanity. Old songs can bring back memories. Love songs can bring a tear to an eye. Music has a way of getting inside of us and sometimes comes out whether we want it to or not. Sociologists tell us that all societies and cultures have a central place for music especially in the gathered community. For those within the faith tradition this meant gathering and singing the Psalms. As modern worshipers this might seem a bit arcane, yet this was the common style of liturgical worship until the sixteenth century. At this time in the throws of the Protestant Reformation new styles of music began to be written and performed for Church settings.

As you might imagine not everyone was delighted with the "New Music." This is no less true today. Every once in a while a person will ask why we sing modern music in Church. The answer is twofold. First, if all the music we sing is from a long past century, we are liable to forget the era in which we reside, and more importantly, if we are to witness to the current generation we must do so in a manner relevant to modern ears. "Be though my Vision" is a moving hymn to me. It was part of the liturgy used when I was ordained so it touches me deeply every time I sing it. "Star Child," from The Faith We Sing hymnal is a Christmas hymn which I cannot sing without tearing up. Another from The Faith We Sing hymnal which touches me is "Cry of My Heart." Composer Terry Butler writes: "Teach me your holy ways, O Lord, so I can walk in your truth. Teach me your holy ways, O Lord, and make me wholly devoted to you. (The refrain) It is the cry of my heart to follow you. It is the cry of my heart to be close to you. It is the cry of my heart to follow all of the days of my life."

There exists within notes and lyrics a transformative and mysterious element. How else can I explain that at certain times, in certain seasons, when I sing certain songs I hear my parents' voices and sense their very presence. The why of music having such power is not very complicated for me. It seems to me that the gift of song is one bestowed on creatures by our creator. An internal blessing which when fed by grace comes out naturally.

Dr. Joey K. McDonald
First United Methodist Church
4832 Tujunga Avenue, North Hollywood, CA 91601