Turn up the music
By Charles Christian
There’s something powerful about music.
It’s not just the fact that it is a multi-billion dollar industry worldwide. Nor is it that hundreds of millions of people in the world at some point in their lives have played or tried to play a musical instrument. Music has a kind of power.
Many see it as an intimate way to connect with God and with others. In fact, 18th-century composer Johann Sebastian Bach once said, “The final aim and reason and all music is nothing other than the glorification of God and the refreshment of the spirit.” He even famously signed his musical compositions with “SDG”, short for “Soli Deo Gloria”, which in Latin means, “To God alone be the glory.”
Music is its own language. It can cheer us, depress us, connect with us deeply and help us to remember. That is why Christmas has its own brand of music. This music, often played 24 hours a day on many stations during the holidays, is meant to put us in a hopeful, expectant and even reflective mood, noting that the time of year we are in is not just another season: It is special.
The Bible speaks highly of the power of music. The longest book of the Bible is the Psalms, which were originally a collection of poetry set to music and sung for centuries. Many churches sing a portion of these Psalms every week. The songs of the Psalms cover the whole range of emotions and experiences, from loss and despair to redemption and joy. Many other places in the Old and New Testaments record people singing, sometimes in the middle of despair, and at other times in times of great celebration. God apparently likes music.
So, turn up the Christmas music this holiday season. Let the songs remind you of the joys of childhood, the absence of someone who has passed and the hope we have for the future. For people of faith, these holiday tunes include words to praise, thanks and adoration to the God who comes near to us in the person and work of Jesus Christ, whose birth was ushered in by “choirs of angels.” The music that flows from this ever-present God keeps us going in the good times and in the challenging times. “O come, let us adore him; Christ the Lord.” Amen.
