The Sacred on the Street Devotion Two: Music
This is the Second of the Lenten Meditations by Deb Murphy based on her exhibit, “The Sacred on the Street.” This week’s Devotion is “Music.” You can download this devotion by going here.
“Thin places” are those places and spaces where we encounter God, the Divine, the Holy.
While not a place, music is a wonderful way to encounter God. In worship, music helps to set the tone, create a mood, convey a message, and enriches our encounter and experience of God. For me, there is a transcendent quality to sacred music.
O Sing to the Lord a new song:
sing to the Lord, all the earth.
Sing to the Lord, bless his name;
tell of his salvation from day to day.
Psalm 96:1-2 (NRSV)
What about the music that conveys the immanence of God, the Divine all around us? I’m not saying that worship music isn’t immanent, but this Psalm tells all the earth to sing, and do it on a daily basis. Unless you are part of the musical theater crowd, most of us don’t find ourselves bursting into song throughout the course of our day. I do think, however, that if we listen for it, we can find sacred music in the day to day. Most of it won’t be as obvious as a street musician – children laughing, birds singing, that ‘obnoxious’ thumping bass noise coming from the car going down the street, the chatter coming from a coffee shop. The Divine is everywhere. We just need to have our ears and hearts open to it. Bursting into song once in awhile, or at least telling others about our relationship with God and Jesus, wouldn’t be bad either.
Some questions to ponder:
•As we go about our day-to-day lives, where do we encounter the ‘music’ of the
Divine?
•What sorts of emotions does it invoke in you? What sorts of emotions are being
expressed by the ‘music’ you hear?
•What kind of ‘music’ do I create from day to day? How does ‘my music’ affect
those around me?
O Divine One,
We come together to encounter, worship, praise and thank you for all your love and care of us. Help us to encounter You in the day to day of our lives, listening for the song of ALL of creation and let the music each of us creates be pleasing to You. May we constantly and consistently show your love to a world that so desperately needs it. Amen.
