Join in the Song

"Go Cubs Go!"

Those simple red and blue words were painted on the glass doors of a restaurant I passed in downtown Downers Grove yesterday. Of course I couldn't just read the words as I walked by. I had to start humming the song they came from, the very familiar tune by Steve Goodman that will be sung over and over tonight by crowds in the Wrigley Field bleachers, and by fans gathered to watch Game 3 of the World Series in local establishments and homes. In quietly joining in that song, I entered a whole world of meaning and memories - seeing games as a child; remembering icons like Ernie Banks and Billy Williams  (back when the Cubs song was "Hey, Hey, Holy Mackerel"); hoping, every spring, with millions of others, that this year would be "the year."

A lot can happen in us when we join in a song.

The Bible has some great stories about "song" moments. One of them is found in Acts, chapter 16, the account of Paul and Silas being put in prison in Philippi because they helped a slave girl experience her true freedom as God's person in Christ. On the outside, circumstances are miserable for Paul and Silas -- they are beaten and put in chains. But on the inside, the power and love of God is still at work in them. And, even in their pain, they sing. They sing praises to God -- old songs they would have learned as children, new songs they would have shared as part of a faith community, songs that were ready in their hearts and in their memory to meet them at a time of great need. And what happens after they join in those songs...well, that will be the story we hear on Sunday.

A lot can happen in us when we join in a song.

We'll be dedicating the music ministry of our church Choirs at the special Together @ 10:00 Choir Dedication Service this Sunday, and will share in a worship time that is rich with music given by choirs of all ages -- children, teens, and adults.  We are so grateful for our choirs, and so blessed by the ways their music speaks to our lives and renews our spirits.

Come, and join in the song!