Hello Friends,
Greetings from the inside of the four walls of the Lee household. You are all in our prayers for health and safety. I think we're all learning a lot about ourselves these days: our priorities, our thresholds, our needs. Some of us have much more human contact in our homes than what we are used to, and others are lonely. Some of us are busier than ever, and our jobs have become a health vulnerability, and others are bored, looking to fill the time. We are all adjusting. After nearly a year of musical plans that did not come to fruition, I confess I am a bit numb to change, which seems to be the one constant in my life. I deeply appreciate the patience, encouragement, and flexibility of the staff, all involved in the music ministry, and this parish. Giving into defeat and despondency might have been tempting, otherwise. And why not just make it easy? Why bother rerouting at each new challenge? Even as a musician, I roll my eyes at the rather self-congratulatory language used to justify arts education and arts funding. It always sounds corny to me. ("Music is the language of the soul.") At the same time, my husband and I make our livings as musicians, and certainly paid a lot of money to be able and qualified to do our jobs, scholarships notwithstanding. As a military musician, Rick never questions the value and importance of his work. He and his group are frequently repaid by words and tears of gratitude. As a church musician, and the grateful recipient of many years of great church music experiences, I don't doubt the importance of my work either. But in a time like this, is it really essential? As Christians, we look to the Bible for direction and authority. To read the volume of search results on the topic of worship music in the Bible is to be occupied for a long time. The Scripture is full from beginning to end. Music is covered in narrative, command, invitation, personal prayer, exhortation. Interestingly, but not surprisingly, current research in neuroscience sheds some light on why music is so important to humans, and underscores the magnitude of this sacred gift. Without getting too technical, here's the Reader's Digest explanation. First, knowledge is embodied, meaning that information has to pass through the senses to be processed. While academic philosophy and colloquial usage have traditionally separated knowledge and feeling, intellect and emotion, the reality is that they are fully integrated functions of the brain. Second, we take in sensory information as it acts upon us, and understand through an "as-if," mimetic process. We entrain our thoughts to imagine ourselves as though they were engaged in what is conveyed to us sensually. This is how we understand each other socially. If I see your face fall, mine falls too, mimetically, in an effort to understand, by feeling, what it is you're feeling. Perhaps you see a pastoral or tropical landscape painting. Perhaps you imagine yourself there, but even before that, the horizontal line means rest to you, as though you were lying down, and the light colors, with smaller, shorter light rays, are easy on the eyes. In music, a rising line or high note may make you feel euphoric! Why? If you were very high, you might be floating or flying, or you might feel that you have transcended the earth, and thus your thoughts are drawn to the sacred. Thirdly, the sensory information immediately and pre-consciously makes changes in our physiology, tightening or loosening muscles, maintaining inner homeostasis in the presence of safety or danger. Fourth, and even more fascinating, is that this is a reciprocal relationship; anyone familiar with EMDR, dance therapy, yoga or similar practices, or walk and talk therapy knows that by retraining your physical reactions, you can learn to think differently and heal trauma. When we make or listen to music, even alone, this complicated, pre-conscious process takes place in a millisecond. We take it in, and we physically entrain to it. Our physiology adapts to the sense data, whether it is exhilarating, calming, meditative, sad, or something else. Before we've even begun to make conscious associations and employ higher-level, "top-down" thoughts about interpretation, we have united empathetically with the music. This explains why we sometimes have visceral reactions we can't explain, immediately hating or rejecting some song or style. And it explains our fierce loyalty to the music we love. We've united with it in our whole being, and by extension, the others engaged in it. When the music is for worship, it becomes a prayer and a connection of our entire being to God. When we are together in corporate worship, the unity of heart and purpose is all-encompassing. I remember having the realization at a young age that God did not have to make food (or anything else) good. It could have been some vitamin that we took to refuel. Instead, he made food a delight. He could have restricted our ability to connect with others or Him to conveyance of fact, and our relationship to Him could have been defined by duty. Instead, He gifted us with hints of His divine creativity and ways beyond our comprehension to love and be loved. During this season of isolation, I hope you will enjoy the online musical offerings here at ctkfriendsofmusic.com; and I look forward to joining you all in worship and praise as soon as we can safely be back together.
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My dad has brought many souls to Christ. One particular seeker accepted much of the Christian faith and witness, but got stuck at the doctrine of our sin nature. This individual just felt strongly that we are basically good, and the term "sinner" is extreme. My dad replied that, if we are honest with ourselves, we cannot say that every deed we've ever done, and every thought we've ever had, has been good, just and right. The individual conceded this point, and has continued to grow in faith in Christ over many years.
As we enter the season of Lent, sin and temptation take a front and center position in our liturgical focus. I find the variety of reactions to this interesting, especially as pertains to music. Parishioners asked a director colleague of mine, "Why does it seem like everything is in a minor key??" Ruffled, he replied, "Well, I mean, it's Lent." I know of a few families who returned to their Roman Catholic roots either temporarily or permanently, explicitly because they felt the Protestant denominations did not address Lent fully and properly. In general, however, I find that most of us get uncomfortable when we focus on our sin and temptations, and the suffering and sacrifice of Christ. Generally speaking, there is no mass mutiny on church music during Easter, Pentecost, and Christmas, where we joyfully celebrate the hope and fulfillment of God's promises. I find a couple different approaches to be helpful in sorting this out: one is moderation; another is understanding who God is, and who He is to us. Philippians 4:5-7 (KJV) says, 5 Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. 6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. In terms of our understanding of Lent, I believe we should moderate between our more extreme tendencies, either to be overly self-deprecating, allowing shame to dictate our sense of ourselves; or to be prideful and glib about our sin, ignoring the heavier aspects of our faith, in favor of the parts that feel better. Often, the extreme we tend toward is driven by personality, and/or upbringing, which includes our respective understandings of theology. Some of us, by nature and nurture, identify more with justice and fairness; others, with compassion and grace. We probably attend the church that speaks to our comfort zone with that regard. By exercising moderation, and praying for wisdom, we may avoid falling into characterizing ourselves or God in a way that is dishonoring to Him. This leads into the second approach that I find helpful in sorting out our attitudes toward Lent: understanding who God is, and who we are in relationship to Him. God is perfect and holy, and He sent His Son Jesus to be our Savior. We are His beloved creation, but we have estranged ourselves from Him through our sin (Romans 3:23). Truth and mercy characterize God's identity and ours. He is the perfect, sinless one, who is our eternal judge; but He lavished His mercy and love on us, "in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). We are separate from God because of our sin, but we are sought by Him, infinitely loved by Him, cherished by Him, saved by Him. It is not His will that any one of us should perish (2 Peter 3:9). Thus, to believe on the one hand that God is an angry punisher, or on the other, that His merciful sacrifice was not a big deal, is to greatly dishonor Him. Likewise, to believe that we are worthless, shameful beings on the one hand, or basically good people with no need of salvation, not only dishonors God, but it dishonors Christ's sacrifice, and dishonors ourselves as His beloved children. God alone holds the tension between justice and mercy perfectly. To understand this more is to understand Him more. Circling back to music during Lent: not every song or hymn will be in a minor key, that I can promise you. Music will overall be a bit more introspective, and as always, it will support the spoken word. It is my prayer that during this solemn season, your corporate worship and personal devotion will be filled with awareness of the gravity of Christ's sacrifice for us, the depth of God's love for us, and a renewed desire to live more fully to Him. Our closing hymn this past Sunday was a selection from the new hymnal, entitled “Not by the Wisdom of This World,” set to the hymn tune, JERUSALEM. I fell in love with this hymn tune after hearing it sung at Reagan’s funeral. Even though we are, especially at the moment, not equipped like a cathedral--complete with mighty pipe organ and vaulted ceilings--the expansive composition itself speaks to my heart. Through the expansive range and texture, God’s grandeur, strength, and ultimate glory are replicated musically. The momentary dip to a lower tessitura and color change to a neighboring minor key climbs out to a glorious return to the original tonality. As David explained in his sermon, returning to The Source is what our Lord asks of us, and the source of our hope. Joel 2:13b says, “Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love.” Music has a marvelously visceral way of helping us experience this truth.
I have a friend in the congregation who has two particularly bright daughters—no surprise, as she and her husband are erudite, accomplished, and keenly intellectual. The little four year old took issue with part of verse 1 in this hymn, where it references the coming of the kingdom of the Father as coming through the “foolishness of God.” If I understood correctly, she refused to sing it. (Speaking of hope for the future—wow!). I was tickled and impressed. This disconcerting language comes from 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 (emphasis mine). Paul writes: For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.” 20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach[b] to save those who believe. 22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. 26 For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. 30 And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31 so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” My doctoral studies have been engaging, motivating, and challenging. It is clear that, now as ever, the wisdom of God is foolishness to the world. My prayer for each of you this week is that our seeking, saving Lord equips you with His armor, and that through the joys and challenges of your week, you may rest comfortably, perhaps misunderstood by some, but wrapped in the love, protection, and wisdom of God. |
Ann leeDirector of Music and Worship, Christ the King Church Parish Archives
May 2022
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