Kia ora te Whānau
This week we will light the Advent Candle of Joy when we gather on Sunday for our Carol Service. What could be more appropriate than to express our joy about the coming of Christmas through singing Christmas carols, both old and new. Singing is integral to the Christian tradition and indeed being human. Singing is one way in which we can express some of our deepest feelings, whether they represent great joy or sorrow or something in between. This is true of music in general. Last Saturday Ben and I had the great pleasure of attending Orchestra Wellington’s performance of View from Olympus by Greek New Zealand composer John Psathas. The middle movement is dedicated to his children. John writes: “II To Yelasto Paithi (The Smiling Child)…is the closest I’ve come to expressing – in a way not possible with the spoken or written word – the feelings inspired by my precious children”. The work was deeply moving and reminded me that we cannot always find a way to express ourselves through language, especially when it comes to joy.
Marcus Borg in The Heart of Christianity explains the place of music in Christian practice, amongst other traditions. He sums it up: Worship is about creating a sense of the sacred. Borg contends that ‘liturgical and sacramental forms of worship, ritual and sacred words create the sense of another world’. Different Christian traditions have varied ways of creating the sacred from the ‘enthusiasm of Pentecostal worship’ to Quaker silence. But it is music that reliably evokes the sacred and opens our hearts. Music is included in worship either through performance or participation – that is, congregational singing. Borg says that ‘more Protestants report being moved by hymn singing than by any other element in the service’. He adds that ‘the hymns that do this best combine two features: words that move us and music that can be easily sung. This explanation helps us to understand why getting the music right is critical to how we experience worship.
Music during Advent, then, is especially important as we progress towards one of the most sacred times in the Christian calendar: Christmas. Indeed the singing of carols at Christmas is one of the great traditions in the western world. There is something quite magical about people all around the world singing Christmas carols at this time of the year, be it in Wellington’s damp, cool summer or deepest winter in Europe. It reminds us of the universality of the Christmas message summed up by the ritual of Advent candle lighting: Hope, Love, Joy and Peace.
Come along on Sunday and sing your heart out!
Arohanui
Lynne
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