Create a peaceful space to pause, and allow yourself to feel God’s presence alongside you, as near to you as your own breath. In following the reflection below, as a church we will draw closer to God and to one another as we grow in faith and deepen our sense of belonging to God.
Psalm 150 ‘Praise for God’s Surpassing Greatness’
1 Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty firmament!
2 Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his surpassing greatness!
3 Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp!
4 Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe!
5 Praise him with clanging cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals!
6 Let everything that breathes praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!
If you ever travel on the tube in London, you’ll know all about the long subterranean trek you often have as you change from one line to another, and the maze-like effect of all those passages leading off in different directions. You’ll know too how the music of the buskers is magnified as it echoes along the tunnels – sometimes beautifully, sometimes hideously, depending on the talent of the musician and the taste of the listener!
We were once in the Paris metro and it was no different, except that we seemed to walk a lot further and the sound effect was twice as powerful. One evening, down in this strange Paris underworld, we stood puzzling over our map trying to decide which way we should go when we heard music. It sounded like a mighty choir, singing – in English – ‘How great Thou art’. It was wonderful! As we made our way down the tunnels we seemed to be getting closer to the source. ‘Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee’ we could hear, ‘How great Thou art! How great Thou art!’ I wanted to find out who was singing with such joy and conviction.
But suddenly there was silence, just the echo of our footsteps and the memory of that joyous hymn of praise to God’s greatness and love. The witnessing community, whoever they were, had been swept away on a train and disappeared into the bowels of the earth. That music was a joyful and tuneful witness to God’s love. It was lovely to hear. But for me, it was sadly an anonymous witness. I knew nothing about those bearing testimony.
We are all called to be seen and known as witnesses to our Christian faith, by the evidence of our lives in deed as well as word. And it’s by that witness that many of those hearing and seeing our testimony will encounter the good news of God’s love for the first time.
Prayer:
We praise you, O Father, for all you have given us; for the gift of life itself; for all our joy and all our longing.
In this world you have given us beauty and love and music. You have also given us the ordinary necessary things of daily life.
We thank you, Father, not only for these things but above all for the gift of hope,
and for all that reminds us of your promise of eternal life bought for us on the cross by your son.For all these gifts we raise our voices and sing your praise: ‘How great Thou art.’
May we bear witness to you and your love for us in everything that we do in our lives.
All this we ask in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Reflection © 2020 Ann Caffyn.
Image freely available online.
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All material within this order of worship is reproduced by permission under CCL 1226356