Advent and Lenten Devotions by Goshen
College students, faculty, and staff - Welcome to Goshen College Advent
Devotions 2013: Wednesday, 27 November 2013
“Learning to sing in the company of
others” by Regina Shands Stoltzfus, assistant professor of peace, justice and
conflict studies
SCRIPTURE: Psalm 122: Song of Praise and Prayer for Jerusalem
A Song of Ascents. Of David.
1 I was glad when they said to me,
“Let us go to the house of the Lord!”
2 Our feet are standing
within your gates, O Jerusalem.
3 Jerusalem—built as a city
that is bound firmly together.
4 To it the tribes go up,
the tribes of the Lord,
as was decreed for Israel,
to give thanks to the name of the Lord.
5 For there the thrones for judgment were
set up,
the thrones of the house of David.
6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
“May they prosper who love you.
7 Peace be within your walls,
and security within your towers.”
8 For the sake of my relatives and
friends
I will say, “Peace be within you.”
9 For the sake of the house of the Lord
our God,
I will seek your good.(NRSV)
DEVOTIONAL:
I remember singing this Psalm of David,
clothed in a blue robe, swaying to the beat with the rest of the choir as we
entered the sanctuary on Sunday mornings. I am grateful for the rich diversity
of musical styles I was able to experience growing up in my home church. The
diversity of styles came about in part because we were diverse in other ways –
racially and economically were probably the most evident. We also had people
who lived right in the city, and people from the suburbs and surrounding rural
areas. With people from so many backgrounds, it would be strange if we didn’t
have a diversity of worship music.
The youth choir began when I was a
teenager, and we sang gospel music. Although representative of our church’s
African American membership, the choir was by no means limited to that group.
We loved singing gospel music together so much that, as young (and then older)
adults we stayed in the choir. The name shifted from “youth” to “gospel” choir,
and eventually became (and still is) an intergenerational group.
That home church with the diversity of
people and music is where I came to know and love God. Through worship, and
especially through singing, I learned the stories of God’s people, God’s love
and God’s call to be peacemakers. Here I learned to sing in the company of
others, “I was glad when they said to me, let us go into the house of the
Lord!”
SCRIPTURE: Psalm 122:A Song of Ascents.
Of David.
1 I was glad when they said to me,
“Let us go to the house of the Lord!”
2 Our feet are standing
within your gates, O Jerusalem.
3 Jerusalem—built as a city
that is bound firmly together.
4 To it the tribes go up,
the tribes of the Lord,
as was decreed for Israel,
to give thanks to the name of the Lord.
5 For there the thrones for judgment were
set up,
the thrones of the house of David.(NRSV)
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Goshen College
1700 South Main Street
Goshen, IN 46526 United States
(574) 535-7569
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