POST 46: "One Voice"
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“May today be peace within. May you trust your highest power that you are exactly where you are meant to be... May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith. May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you... May you be content knowing you are a child of God... Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise, and love. It is there for each and every one of you.”
Mother Teresa
The big surprise in all this is to learn that God has a discography too.
God sings about his love for us.
God sings to us to love each other.
God sings about taking care of those who are strangers in our midst.
God sings about feeding the hungry.
God sings about forgiveness.
God sings a lot actually. He’s got a good voice for being around so long.
So holiness is about embodying God’s songs. I don’t know what Mother T. would think of that, but I think she would approve of the helping bit. So every day we listen to God’s Top 40 and join in, we’re creating a bit of harmony. Dietrich Bonhoeffer noted something similar as a result of teaching for five years at the illegal, underground seminaries which began in 1935 at Finkenwalde, Germany:
“God has prepared for Himself one great song of praise throughout eternity, and those who enter the community of God join in this song. It is the song that the ‘morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy’ at the creation of the world. (Job 38:7). It is the victory song of the children of Israel after passing through the Red Sea, the Magnificat of Mary after the annunciation, the song of Paul and Silas in the night of prison, the song of the singers on the sea of glass after their rescue, the ‘song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb’ (Rev. 15:3). It is the song of the heavenly fellowship.”
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together: The Classic Exploration of Faith in Community
We can even get a whiff of that in:
Shoutin’ hallelujah
From the day ‘til the night
“Everything’s Gonna Be All Right” from 15 Minutes
The only way, I believe, we will overcome and heal is if we respect each other’s individual and collective stories. We all have a story of struggle and redemption, from the rock star of Fifteen Minutes, to Bonhoeffer, Mother T., Barry for sure, you and I. Together we find our way back to The Story.
It’s there.
Out in the endless sky full of stars.
Stars in the night.
It’s in the silence before we speak.
It’s here in the beat of our hearts.
It’s in all the songs we have sung, all the chants we have heard.
It’s a part of all the tunes we have hummed.
It’s there, waiting to be heard. Who knows? It might heal a relationship. Or a child’s heart. Can you hear it? Let us sit together and listen.
Together we can be a Song of Transformation – that song that came to Barry in a dream:
Just One Voice,
Singing in the darkness,
All it takes is One Voice,
Singing so they hear what’s on your mind,
And when you look around you’ll find
There’s more than
One Voice,
Singing in the darkness,
Joining with your One Voice,
Each and every note another octave,
Hands are joined and fears unlocked,
If only
One Voice
Would start it on its own
We need just One Voice
Facing the unknown,
And that One Voice
Would never be alone
It takes that One Voice.
Just One Voice
Singing in the darkness,
All it takes is One Voice,
Shout it out and let it ring.
Just One Voice,
It takes that One Voice,
And everyone will sing!
No matter our race, religion, class or creed, let us work to make it so!
Notes:
http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/838305.Mother_Teresa?page=6
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VEPisuL7
Give the gift of music to the next generation through donation to:
The Manilow Music Project
8295 South La Cienega Boulevard
Inglewood, CA 90301
info@manilowmusicproject.org
Click here to go to the next post or click here to return to the previous post.
Mother Teresa
The big surprise in all this is to learn that God has a discography too.
God sings about his love for us.
God sings to us to love each other.
God sings about taking care of those who are strangers in our midst.
God sings about feeding the hungry.
God sings about forgiveness.
God sings a lot actually. He’s got a good voice for being around so long.
So holiness is about embodying God’s songs. I don’t know what Mother T. would think of that, but I think she would approve of the helping bit. So every day we listen to God’s Top 40 and join in, we’re creating a bit of harmony. Dietrich Bonhoeffer noted something similar as a result of teaching for five years at the illegal, underground seminaries which began in 1935 at Finkenwalde, Germany:
“God has prepared for Himself one great song of praise throughout eternity, and those who enter the community of God join in this song. It is the song that the ‘morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy’ at the creation of the world. (Job 38:7). It is the victory song of the children of Israel after passing through the Red Sea, the Magnificat of Mary after the annunciation, the song of Paul and Silas in the night of prison, the song of the singers on the sea of glass after their rescue, the ‘song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb’ (Rev. 15:3). It is the song of the heavenly fellowship.”
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together: The Classic Exploration of Faith in Community
We can even get a whiff of that in:
Shoutin’ hallelujah
From the day ‘til the night
“Everything’s Gonna Be All Right” from 15 Minutes
The only way, I believe, we will overcome and heal is if we respect each other’s individual and collective stories. We all have a story of struggle and redemption, from the rock star of Fifteen Minutes, to Bonhoeffer, Mother T., Barry for sure, you and I. Together we find our way back to The Story.
It’s there.
Out in the endless sky full of stars.
Stars in the night.
It’s in the silence before we speak.
It’s here in the beat of our hearts.
It’s in all the songs we have sung, all the chants we have heard.
It’s a part of all the tunes we have hummed.
It’s there, waiting to be heard. Who knows? It might heal a relationship. Or a child’s heart. Can you hear it? Let us sit together and listen.
Together we can be a Song of Transformation – that song that came to Barry in a dream:
Just One Voice,
Singing in the darkness,
All it takes is One Voice,
Singing so they hear what’s on your mind,
And when you look around you’ll find
There’s more than
One Voice,
Singing in the darkness,
Joining with your One Voice,
Each and every note another octave,
Hands are joined and fears unlocked,
If only
One Voice
Would start it on its own
We need just One Voice
Facing the unknown,
And that One Voice
Would never be alone
It takes that One Voice.
Just One Voice
Singing in the darkness,
All it takes is One Voice,
Shout it out and let it ring.
Just One Voice,
It takes that One Voice,
And everyone will sing!
No matter our race, religion, class or creed, let us work to make it so!
Notes:
http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/838305.Mother_Teresa?page=6
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VEPisuL7
Give the gift of music to the next generation through donation to:
The Manilow Music Project
8295 South La Cienega Boulevard
Inglewood, CA 90301
info@manilowmusicproject.org
Click here to go to the next post or click here to return to the previous post.