SUNDAY, November 7 24 Pentecost All Saints’ Sunday

Psalm 98. Shout with joy to the Lord, all you lands; lift up your voice, rejoice, and sing.

In the large city church where I worship, if you ask people what first attracted them to the parish they often say it was the music. Our people sing with energy.

Hymns are songs of praise and prayer. Sometimes, when it’s hard to find the words to pray, singing or even speaking the words of a hymn does the trick. When small groups gather, people are often too shy to say an opening or closing prayer, but when you ask someone to open the hymnal and read a verse of a favorite hymn, it’s another story.

Words put to music enter our memories more readily and are remembered far longer than words alone. At a funeral it is often a hymn that loosens us up and allows the healing tears to flow. In a nursing home, a familiar hymn can bring a smile to the face of an Alzheimer’s patient. And during the church year, the hymns teach us about the seasons. The occasional worshiper who stares blankly ahead while others sing is missing something of great power. Sing to the Lord! (2006)

PRAY for Iglesia Episcopal de Cuba

Ps 145:1-5, 18-22 or Ps 98 and Haggai 1:15b—2:9 –OR–  Ps 17:1-9 and Job 19:23-27a; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-5, 13-17; Luke 20:27-38

View the daily Lectionary Readings at Satucket.com.
Or view the Bible passages at Biblegateway.com.

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