"Playing" Procession

18Mar
They see your procession, O God, 
Your procession into the sanctuary, my God and my King. 
The singers go before, musicians follow after, 
In the midst of maidens playing upon the hand drums. 
Bless God in the congregation; 
Bless the Lord, you that are of the fountain of Israel. 
There is Benjamin, least of the tribes, at the head; 
The princes of Judah in a company, 
And the princes of Zebulon and Naphtali. 
Send forth your strength, oh, God; 
Establish, oh God, what you have wrought for us.

-Psalm 68, verses 24-29 


My three-year-old grandson Philip loves to play “procession”. He holds up his toy broom, and he wants me to hold a big candle, which he calls “the smoke”. We walk solemnly around and around the house. Philip likes sitting in the pews of the Basilica in Minneapolis, where his parents go to church, because he can stand on the pew when the procession goes by at the beginning and end of church, with the tall crucifix and the glowing bowl of smoking incense, and the singing and the big organ. Philip loves all the pageantry! 


The singer of Psalm 68 loved it too. As I read the description of this ancient worship service, I think of Trinity Church, the procession and recession of the choir and the crosses, and there is a feeling of timelessness. Across time, we join all the generations praising God in the sanctuary. 


Little Philip wants to be part of it, I think, not just an onlooker. We aren’t an “audience” at church; we are a congregation. It’s participatory, and it takes energy. We speak the prayers together, we kneel or stand together, we listen to the choir and the sermon with a serious attentiveness, and we take active part in the liturgy. People aren’t on their phones. 


And when we sing together, sometimes I stop singing for a moment, and I can feel the vibrations of all the voices surrounding me. It’s a powerful experience to spend Sunday morning at Trinity church! I forget that sometimes. 


It’s also very personal. As we take communion, we tend not to look at the people kneeling next to us. This is natural, I think–I don’t want to intrude on someone’s special time of taking the bread and wine. Yet I feel the unity of the others’ presence. We are not alone; we are a community. As the Psalmist says, God establishes what He has wrought for us. 


Musical Reflection - Siyahamba - Angel City Chorale


Almighty and everliving God, ruler of all things in heaven

and earth, hear our prayers for this parish family. Strengthen

the faithful, arouse the careless, and restore the penitent.

Grant us all things necessary for our common life, and bring

us all to be of one heart and mind within your holy Church;

through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Family LifePsalmsChildrenLent

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