A Life In Faith – Make a Joyful Noise

(My faith is an important part of my life.  I do not set up my life or my beliefs as anything other than my understanding of the Divine.  If they shine some tiny light on your journey then I will be happy for us both. YMMV)

⁴ Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth;
    break forth into joyous song and sing praises.
⁵ Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre,
    with the lyre and the sound of melody.
⁶ With trumpets and the sound of the horn
    make a joyful noise before the King, the Lord.

⁷ Let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
    the world and those who live in it.
⁸ Let the floods clap their hands;
    let the hills sing together for joy
⁹ at the presence of the Lord, for he is coming
    to judge the earth.

Psalm 98:4-9  (NRSV)

This is one of my favorite “rattle their cages”, iconoclastic, push back against tradition, rigor mortis passages from Scripture.

Bet you never thought of it that way, did you?

I come from a tradition with a love of doing worship well. Since how we worship is central to how we define ourselves, I understand. But it’s a short step to carving everything in stone and maintaining that nothing is allowed to change. We’re not alone in that, we’re not the worst about it either. There is a false security in proclaiming that we have perfected worship or theology or whatever. It’s the source of the “Frozen Chosen” vs “Happy Clappy” nonsense. It’s wrong and we need to stop.

Which brings us to Psalm 98:4

“Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth; make a loud noise and rejoice…:

It goes on to describe everything from music to the roaring of the sea. All of it is placed in the frame of joy. Not beauty or perfection, not classical forms or tradition. It says to make a noise. A loud noise, no less. Most of the churches I grew up in would have looked askance at making loud noises. As a child, I was largely discouraged from making any noise. It’s one reason why churches seem to be so uptight. Orderly, yes. Joyful noise? Not so much.

I’m not advocating for chaotic noise. The passage is clear. The noise is to be joyful and directed at God. That provides a lot of room to shake the dust off the cage bars. It’s an opportunity for some improvisation and spontaneity. There might even be an occasional surprise. The church could use all of the above.

At my current church home, there’s one section of the worship that has become the de facto “families with small children zone”. It’s something that came into existence spontaneously, I’m told. And it’s known for the joyful noises that sometimes erupt there. Giggles and shouts of joy that are just part of our worship. As they should be.

For adults and children, that freedom should be part of worship. And it should always be welcome. Stop worrying about “getting it right.”

Make a joyful noise.

This is a personal favorite and expresses my idea of all the world making a joyful noise.

Peace

J