Musical Reflection :: Easter | Psalm 150 Praise Ye the Lord

"Psalm 150 Praise Ye the Lord" by Jessi Colter

I found this album thanks to an All Songs Considered episode with Lenny Kaye, who produced it. He got the idea when he came over to Waylon and Jessi's house, and Jessi was sitting at the piano. She was just playing whatever popped in her head and singing from a Bible open on her lap. In our Church, we have a long tradition of chant. Chant allows you to sing anything - and just like I said in my Holy Thursday reflection, singing adds another dimension to your prayer. Jessi Colter, whether she realizes it or not, participates in that.

I suppose I always knew that about chant, but I didn't really enjoy it. I was visiting my great-aunt one weekend at the Mount St. Scolastica convent in Atchinson, Kansas, when I got up for morning prayer with the community. I had prayed the liturgy of the hours before, but never chanted the entire thing. It took a long time, but it gave space to really internalize the words. And singing them gave a whole new dimension. I felt like I really understood chant for the first time, but more importantly, I really felt chant for the first time.

What better day do we have to praise the Lord than today? In our feelings, our own words, in the words of the psalmists, in dance or music or cooking or whatever we do to make our space more beautiful. Because today is beautiful. Our God loves us so much He died. God loves us so much He conquered death and brought us eternal life. How else do we respond?

Psalm 150 (King James Version)

1 Praise ye the Lord. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power.

2 Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness.

3 Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp.

4 Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs.

5 Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals.

6 Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord.

How will you bring some beauty to the world today? How will you express this psalm today? 

Musical Reflection :: Easter | Man on Fire

"Man on Fire" Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros

Only one desire
That’s left in me
I want the whole damn world
To come dance with me

Jesus has walked through all the murder, pain, heartache, shame, rage, panic, strange the world has to throw. He did it so he could shoulder our burdens with us. So that when we feel God by our side, we know it is a God who has felt the pain we carry. When we look to God, we should see love that understands the weight of our suffering. More than the platitudes we hear from other people: "I know what you're going through," "everything happens for a reason," "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger." Jesus does not waste those cliches on us because he did not want to hear them either, as he struggled to his death.

That love that feels our pain wants something for us: wants the joy an freedom that comes from embracing it. There is hope, there is love that encompasses our pain. That's our Easter: Jesus came through all his suffering to rise from the dead, defeating evil, opening heaven. What happens if we let Jesus do that? If we come dance with him?

Carol's Musical Easter Reflection: Easter Sunday | Sinai to Canaan, Pt. 1

"Sinai to Canaan, pt. 1" by Chris Thile

For some reason, I can't embed the video I want. So, click the link to listen to the song!

If you have started to listen to the song, you have realized that there are no words! That's right, I'm challengin' y'all to stretch your music appreciation muscles. You can do it. I believe that each and every one of you can listen to a 7 minute and 24 second song without any words. I believe in you. Also, Easter Sunday is nearly over. You are thinking to yourself, "Carol, how could you wait this long to give us your Easter reflection? The masses are clamoring for it!" Well...

Happy Easter to you! Alleluia Alleluia! Like most of you I celebrated by hosting friends at my apartment. That means I had lots to do today besides write - like cleaning. We all know my house isn't naturally clean. Easter is a celebration of phenomenal proportions. Alleluia is our acclamation and our adjective; it is the only word appropriate for the joy that bursts with the knowledge that our God lives. From here I could go on a lot of tangents, but one of the reasons I chose this song is that sometimes the best expressions of ourselves do not use words. Anyone who has studied linguistics knows the limitations of English, and therefore the limitations of any language. Language is representative and therefore never completely accurate.

So my presentation to you is this song, which from the title implies a journey. (there is also a pt. 2, I highly recommend it) I think it gives a wonderful journey through the Easter story. From here on, I will use time indicators to let you know where in the song I am referring. We can go on together.

START
"...Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark, and saw the stone removed from the tomb." (today's Gospel, from John)

This section of the song is soft and quiet and a little trepidatious. Every account of the resurrection starts with women going to his tomb early in the morning. They are sad, they are going with the burden of anointing the body of their teacher. And then they arrive and the stone is rolled back and no one is around. What could it mean? They go back to the men who are just as mystified as they are. The music starts to get a more hopeful quality after a couple minutes; "For they did not yet understand the Scripture that he had to rise from the dead." They had to feel something stirring, though. Something like the feeling you get when you know something is about to happen. You don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing, but you know it's coming. 

3:05

"Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went away quickly from the tomb,fearful yet overjoyed, and ran to announce the news to his disciples." (tomorrow's Gospel, from Matthew)

Doesn't this section sound like joyful running? Though it's not really a dancing song, this section always makes me want to get up and dance. It only gets stronger as it goes - the other disciples meet the risen Jesus and the group grows who know he is alive. JESUS IS RISEN! Run joyfully! Tell all! I don't know if you get this feeling, but I look over my last few sentences and they seem trite. They are words that have been spoken so many times that when I repeat them they mean less. Thank goodness for music, amirite?

6:14

"Then some of those with us went to the tomb and found things just as the women had described, but him they did not see.” (Wednesday's Gospel, from Luke)

The song ends a little bittersweet, with the same motif as the beginning. It's definitely hopeful, but subdued and with a few notes of indecision. The disciples were left with a strong now what? feeling. Many wanted to believe, but let's face it, the story is ridiculous, nevermind it was told by a bunch of women. Risen from the dead? What does that even mean? That's not something people do. That kind of power, over life and death, is terrifying. If it's true, what does this mean about their dear friend and teacher? And what are they supposed to do? 

So here at the tail end of Easter Sunday, I leave you with that question. We've eaten our ham, drank our wine, gone to church for four days in a row. We feel good because Easter gives you warm fuzzies and if the weather was anything like it was here near you it was impossible not to smile. If we really believe the Easter story, we really believe our God is a living God, one who conquered death for the love of us, what do we do now?