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| The Rev. Jarrett Kerbel |
When I sing along with the car radio, my son Tim likes to ask me, “Who sings this song?”
“Bob Dylan,” I answer.
“Let’s keep it that way,” responds Tim.
I laugh and, much to his chagrin, I keep on singing.
Even worse for my children is when my wife and I both sing along to songs we love from the 70s. We know every word of every AM radio hit of that decadent decade. Queen, Frampton, Bee Gees, the Spinners, Elton John, Fleetwood Mac, and Springsteen; we know every word, chord change, tempo change, and grunt. Never did we study or even glance at the lyrics. Yet we know every word.
This is the power of music. It is the same reason that School House Rock engraved the Preamble of the Constitution in my memory forever. Music is the greatest teaching device ever gifted to us by God. At church, our hymns serve to praise God and they also serve to form us, imprint in us the story of God’s love and grace. Hymns are marvelous delivery devices for knowledge of God, that, if we are lucky, stick with us through every stage of life.
Church attendance for my children was non-negotiable for just this reason. My wife and I wanted them to stew in the rich broth of hymnody and prayer so it would be there when they need it. More about God was communicated to them by hymn singing and choir anthems than any argument or testimony we had at home.
Our work with our children is to expose them to what we know is good food so they develop a taste for it that outlasts their love of mac and cheese. Baptism is the first step in the pickling process, where the new life of grace infuses their lives, and ours, transforming us from cucumber to pickle across a lifetime of growth. Be sure to immerse yourself and your family in regular baths of great hymnody and prayer so we will all be able to sing along with the angels and archangels when the time comes.
Blessings,
The Rev. Jarrett Kerbel
Rector
Check out these opportunities this Advent season to immerse yourself and your family in song. Don't forget to share them with your friends, too!
Carol Sing - 9:15 a.m. Sunday, December 16
Messiah Sing Along - 7:00 p.m. Wednesday, December 19
Read Erik Meyer's blog about Advent Hymns here
Christmas Worship - visit StMartinEC.org/christmas for the full schedule
