The 
Singing The Story
Have you ever found yourself singing or humming a tune that just won't go away? The tune seems to grow and grow, until you find yourself forced to mouth the words, perhaps so you can get it out of your system.
Whether you realize it or not, the hymns that we sing when we gather as God's people, tell stories. Think of some of our favorites like: "What A Friend We Have In Jesus", and "Let Us Break Bread Together". These and other hymns tell stories
In many ways they tell how God, in the persons of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, is active in the lives of individuals, the Church and the world. Hymns, Spiritual songs are ways of singing the Story. Through this singing, the words begin to speak not only to our present minds, but also to our unconscious minds. Indeed, they speak to our Spirit.
After all, these hymns are actually poetry, a powerful form of communication. It's just that this poetry is set to music. And when we find a hymn that has a great tune, great rhythm, and a good lilt, it sticks in our minds. It even affects our behavior.
When we sing, it is a way of witnessing, a way of telling what God has done for us. It is a way of confessing that Jesus is the Christ. Sometimes we don't take this seriously. In some congregations, the singing leaves a good bit to be desired.
When the congregation is asked to stand, some stand but don't sing. Some simply half-mouth words and look up in the air, paying little attention to what they are doing. But if we would allow them to, hymns can do something mighty important for us. They can serve us. First, they serve as words of encouragment. The words of many hymns were written when the writer was in the middle of crisis. They are words of faith that sustained the writer in times of trouble.
Spirituals, which are culture-specific, can serve us as they proclaim faith even in the midst of vagaries of life. Some hymns and songs also can critique the way we act. They can raise questions about the ways in which we live in the world. In other words, hymns and music can touch us, so that our lives are lived differently. But whatever they do, they communicate.
The early Romans had several musical modes each of which can be built on a note of our present eight-note scale. The Romans found that music, played in these different modes, also had differing effects on people. They concluded that there were certain modes that encouraged creativity and sensitivity. And others that seems to stir up belligerence and combativeness. As a result, they decided that military troops were not permitted to hear certain musical modes. They weren't permitted to hear music that would make them soft. They only could hear music that would make them better soldiers.
Music affects us too. It especially has an effect on our worship. Music is a means by which the Word of God is communicated to each of us. It also is a means by which the Word is being communicated to the stranger, or the inquirer in our midst.
Perhaps we need to pay more attention to the hymns we sing and how we sing them. What are we really saying to, and about ourselves? And what are we saying to, and about God? Even for those who have been told they can't or shouldn't sing, singing the Story is a wonderful mechanism to shout out God's wonderful Word.
In fact, it might be a good idea to sing together in as many places as possible. How many times do we sing at meetings of the congregational council, music and worship committee meetings?
Perhaps we might sing before we eat and before we lie down at night. Certainly we sing when we shower, but what about all those other times?
The next time you are in worship, be mindful of what you are singing, and Who you are singing. And when you do sing, may the Song be with you all day long.
Christian-Charles Milton de Plicque Angel House International Missions Ministries Association r.f. Karleby Finland June 7, 1999 (also available in Swedish and French)
