May 20, 2006

Singing Pentecost

PourMusic adds many layers of meaning - subtle or obvious - to the drama of scripture.

Take Pentecost for example. The story in Acts 2 is rich with allusion, imagery, history, narrative - all of which have filled many books and many sermons. If we frame the reading of the story with a musical response sung by the congregation, we encourage the worshipping community to glimpse more of those layers. More than glimpse: experience.

It is the prophet Joel's story: though he'd lived long before New Testament times, his presence continued to be felt. Repeating the refrain reminds us of the prophetic witness that informs this account of the event.

It is a Jewish story: there were many Jewish renewal movements before, during and after Jesus' time. The events described by Luke took place during Shavu'oth, the harvest festival, with Jewish pilgrims gathered in Jerusalem from all over the known world. The music below is in the form of a hora, a Jewish dance of celebration. Even though the composition is modern - and we of course do not know how the music of the time of Jesus sounded - the music itself can give us a flavour of the times.

This is our story: singing a response allows us to both listen and participate in it.
The music lives in our soul long after we've left the worship space, drawing us back into the story to experience new insight.

Singing also gives children an access into the scripture reading: they can remember short texts and repeated melodies and rhythms. Parents in my church community often ask me how to get their children to stop singing - over and over and over - music they learned in church.

For a downloadable .pdf file of this song, click here.  For an .mp3 file to listen to, click here.

AndrewDonaldson
By AndrewDonaldson
May 20, 2006 1:16:39 PM | Music

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RonRienstra

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