Prophetic Reverb

Music connects . . .
a time and place;
memories sweet and sour;
still images and moving pictures in our minds of people and relationships;
idea, ideals, and disappointments;
feelings to action;
the desert and oasis of spirituality and faith;
theology, belief, and ritual.
No matter how you play it or hear it, music connects.

This month, our DRYG (Digital Regional Youth Group) will explore how music can connect people of all ages to ideas of God and the way of Jesus. Do you have a favorite hymn or praise song? What are the lyrics saying, about God, Jesus, living by faith, living in faith, salvation, or Christians?

I grew up with the hymnal and folk music whose lyrics were a kind of critic, inspiration, and mentor for the way people who claim Christian faith where to live. “Be Thou My Vision” has always been a favorite hymn as well as “Just a Closer Walk with Thee.” At summer camp, we sang and sang, “One Tin Soldier” right out of existence though the lyrics continue to be relevant.

I don’t listen to music that identifies solely as “Christian” or “religious” too often. What I’ve heard has never stirred broad connections for me to creation, or to God, or to Jesus, or to the journey of faith. I do enjoy the “Gospel Train” on the Bluegrass station on SiriusXM on Sunday mornings. It’s not my soteriology anymore, but the authenticity of the human condition and struggle to do what is right, because it is right, reverberates. “Sit Down with Jesus” is a good example. Maybe that’s what makes music “religious” for me. The authenticity of the prophetic reverb.

I hear it, authentic prophetic reverb, in secular music from time to time. It can connect (reconnect) me to God, Jesus, the practice of Christianity, or the way of Jesus?(1) Do you have a morning playlist or a morning soundtrack. Do you have a spiritual soundtrack? The Youtube links below are from my “spiritual” soundtrack.

https://youtu.be/EcjAeWWGr-s

Rush. “Closer to the Heart.” A Farewell to Kings, Mercury, 1977.