Preparing for Worship – Dorrell Brown.
Have you ever gone to church, glanced at the order of worship and noticed you knew none of the hymns? Sometimes you get lucky when the organ starts to play and you find out you actually know a song or — is it being played to a familiar tune of a hymn you already knew? Then there are times when you hit the jackpot and know them all, sometimes including one on your top 10 list.
Today as we get ready, my educated guess is that “Holy, Holy, Holy” is an all-time, well- known and popular hymn for most, so let us in this particular act of worship perform for the Holy Trinity with all our hearts and minds and voices.
Our Scripture reading today from 2 Corinthians tells us to live in peace with each other. Amen. So breathe in, breathe out and keep that rhythm going while the God of love and peace helps us keep still, read Scriptures, pray silently, pray aloud, break bread and eat together, listen and sing some more, and may we be actively reminded of our sisters and brothers near and far who don’t have the freedom to worship, who are not welcomed at any table, who are excluded, who do not have a voice and who are mourning because loved ones are killed by guns or in senseless wars.
My friends, when I quickly scanned today’s order of worship, I clenched my right fist and said … jackpot! You see, although it is a relatively new hymn, “Let Us Talents and Tongues Employ” is one of my favorites. One, for the Jamaican folk music rhythm and two, for the lyrics. Here are some quotes and some I’ve inserted because the rhythm made me do it: Christ sets the tone at the table. He calls us in, comforts us, feeds us, then sends us out not to sit comfortably in our homes but to comfort those who are comfortless. Let us reach out to our sisters and brothers with shouts of joy as the song suggests. He gives us love to tell, bread to share, music to sing and for the brave or me, music to dance.
This we do again and again, but before we start the process all over, let us remember to … EXHALE.