Be our Song in the Night
Here is part of an Evening Prayer from the Celtic tradition which I often use, and which I treasure, written by the Northumbria Community.
Keep Your people, Lord,
in the arms of Your embrace.
Shelter them under Your wings.
Be their light in darkness.
Be their hope in distress.
Be their calm in anxiety.
Be strength in their weakness.
Be their comfort in pain.
Be their song in the night.
I find that final line deeply comforting especially, perhaps, as someone who often sleeps badly. We can imagine God, like a mother offering a lullaby to a troubled child, singing to us even when all around seems dark, reassuring us that we are not alone, that we are never alone.
Music itself is, of course, often comforting or uplifting, and an exquisite piece of music will frequently be described as ‘heavenly’. The cellist and composer, Pablo Casals said: “Music is the divine way to tell beautiful, poetic things to the heart.” Through music God can speak to us and we, in turn, respond to God.
It is no wonder that music has always been, and remains, an important part of our church worship. Instrumental music can express that for which we have no words and help us to explore our deepest emotions. Choral music and hymns can serve simultaneously as both prayer and poetry, even serving as engaging sermons, made far more digestible and memorable thanks to their musical medium.
This is why Curious about Christianity, our open-minded discussion group, will take ‘The Place of Music in Worship’ as our next theme. Please come and join us at St Leonard’s, Semley, on Friday 13th February at 2.00pm.
As part of our meeting we will ponder which hymns have deepest significance for us, because of the power of their words, their tune, or the times it has been part of key events in our lives. There will also be an opportunity to consider what pieces of music, more generally, have stirred us most deeply spiritually and felt most ‘heavenly’.
So please join us if you can and, meanwhile, may God be ‘strength in your weakness, comfort in pain and, always, your song in the night’.
Revd Kate McFarlane