Music and Religion in My World

     How are music and religion connected? Most forms of worship include some shape or form of music. I am a Christian and have attended church with my family all my life.
     Music is an important part of the service. The congregation sings hymns that are related to what the message is about. The choir sings, the orchestra plays, and, depending on the week, someone might sing a special solo.
     Music communicates ideas in a way that mere words cannot. Words put WITH music bring a greater depth. Our music is one of the ways that we worship God and minister to those in the congregation. There are many verses in the Bible about worshipping with music.

“Sing to the Lord, all the earth! Tell of His salvation from day to day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples!” - 1 Chronicles 16:

“Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into His presence with singing!” - Psalm 100:2.

     My church sings and uses a mixture of traditional and modern hymns. There are wonderful things about both types. There are many of both that contain wonderful text. Many times the styles show the time period of when they were sung. Some of the modern ones can have very lovely chord patterns that convey the text very well. There are also many older hymns that have wonderful tunes and words. Then, there are other older ones with text that is fabulous, but that is masked by a dated tune. The words are rich and meaningful, but one is distracted by the dissonance of the tune and forgets to think about the words. I enjoy taking some of these hymns  and putting them with different chords, keeping the original tune mostly, but changing the accompaniment to something that does not sound like something from many decades ago. I do not think of myself as “modernizing” them. I like to think of it as “classicizing” them, trying to make them more timeless, so the beauty of the words can shine through, without distracting the listener.
     Playing and singing music for church is not the same as performing. You prepare it in a similar way, but the attitude is different. When you perform, the attention is on you. You are there to share what you love and what you have learned, and show what you can do. Ministering with music is different. The idea is to communicate the message through the music, the attention is not on your virtuosity. That is reflected in the style of the music. This is not the place to end with a flourishing cadenza or the crazy high note you know that you can nail. You are not there to draw attention to yourself; you are there to draw attention to God’s truth. That truth needs to be conveyed and reflected in the music and in your attitude.

Here is my personal story about one of my favorite hymns: “Because He Lives.”

I was first introduced to this hymn when I accompanied my father’s solo at a funeral several years ago.

"Because He Lives"

God sent his son
They called him Jesus
He came to love, heal, and forgive
He bled and died
To buy my pardon
An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives.

Chorus:

Because He lives
I can face tomorrow;
Because He lives
All fear is gone;
Because I know He holds the future,
My life is worth the living just because He lives.

How sweet to hold
A new born baby,
And feel the pride
And joy He gives,
But better still
The calm assurance
That child can face uncertain days because He lives.

Chorus 

And then one day
I'll cross the river.
I'll fight life's final war with pain,
And then as death
Gives way to victory
I'll see the lights of glory and I'll know he lives.

Chorus

     It was in a different January when I was about 16 years old that I got a strange sickness. What started out as a cold settled in my eyes, and they began doing strange things. They became bloodshot, sensitive to light, were constantly oozing and dripping tears, even though I was not crying. Eventually, it hurt too much to even open them. I went to the eye doctor, but the medicine he gave me made me worse and my eyes swelled shut and wouldn’t open for several days. I had to feel my way around the house and live like a blind person. I couldn’t see anything; the pain was intense, and my eyes dripped like a faucet.
     One afternoon, my mom had gone into town and the rest of us were at home. My younger sisters were running around playing ringtones on the old cell phones they were allowed to play with. Then, they started playing the ringtones in a round. The jolting from the stomping hurt my eyes, and I asked them to stop, but like most younger siblings, they were not interested in obeying their older sister.
     I was relieved when my dad took them over to visit a neighbor. I was alone at last! I felt my way over to the piano and I sat down and put my hands on the keys. I tried playing one piece, but I had to stop, because there were hand crossings, and I couldn’t see my hands. Then, I started playing “Because He Lives.” I could feel my way around the keys for this without needing my eyes; I softly sang with it. The words were like soothing ointment to my soul, the chorus in particular:

Because He Lives, I can face tomorrow;
Becuase He lives, all fear is gone.
Because I know he holds the future,
My life is worth the living, just becuase he lives.

     My pain was excruciating, the non-tears kept flowing, stinging my eyes, and I felt miserable. The words were so comforting; all the pain and stress had built up, and I let my real tears fall along with the other ones. I was not alone. The Lord was with me; he loved me, and he had a plan for me.
     ...And He gave me my eyes back. That night, I tried using a different product on my eyes, and the next morning, my dog jumped on my bed while I was still in it. I wanted to see him; he is extremely cute... And I opened my eyes! I could see! The colors held a new vibrancy and I wanted to sing and dance. That day, I was singing the hymn Amazing Grace

Amazing Grace! How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found
Was blind, but now I see.

I had been blind, but I could see! I am so thankful for my eyesight, and for the fact that I have a God who cares about me and who does not abandon or forsake His children.