Join Me in Glad Adoration

Praise to the Lord the Almighty the King of creation

Oh my soul praise him for he is thy health and salvation

All ye who hear now to his temple draw near

Join me in glad adoration

In the course of six days, I both sang and heard this choir piece in the context of two very different worship services.  There were tears on both occasions.

I sang it last Sunday in celebration of my friends Heather and Jess’ legal nuptials.  They had been illegally married six years prior, in defiance of both the national church that would not bless their covenant and the government that would not recognize their relationship.  Even so, on that day they assembled a choir and asked them to sing the F. Melius arrangement of Praise to the Lord the Almighty.

On Sunday, with the blessing of the national church and the legal recognition of the great state of Minnesota, they renewed their vows.  Before worship started, they came into the choir room to thank us for singing, and Heather gave basically the best pep talk ever.

“Six years ago today we were illegally married, and the choir sang this piece, and I said it would take an act of God for us to be allowed to marry legally… * tearing up * …today you get to sing about it.”

Praise to the Lord who will prosper thy work and defend thee

Surely his goodness and mercy here daily attend thee

Wonder anew what the Almighty can do

If with his love he befriend thee

Then yesterday, I heard this exact same piece sung by the St. Olaf Choir at my friend and mentor Jennifer’s funeral.  Jennifer, who beautifully embodied the grace of God, perhaps better than anyone I’ve ever known, who died at the tragically young age of 47 after a courageous and graceful battle with brain cancer.  The service was full of song, both choral and congregational, and was profoundly powerful in a way that I can’t quite explain, but we all experienced it, even out-of-state friends watching via livestream on the internet felt and commented about it on social media.

And then later last night, I was finishing up Nadia Bolz-Weber’s new book, Pastrix, and in the final chapter she writes, “Singing in the midst of evil is what it means to be disciples. Like Mary Magdalene, the reason we can stand and weep and listen for Jesus is because we, like Mary, are bearers of resurrection, we are made new. On the third day, Jesus rose again, and we do not need to be afraid. To sing to God amidst sorrow is to defiantly proclaim, like Mary Magdalene did to the apostles, and like my friend Don did at Dylan Klebold's funeral, that death is not the final word. To defiantly say, once again, that a light shines in the darkness and the darkness cannot, will not, shall not overcome it. And so, evil be damned, because even as we go to the grave, still we make our song alleluia. Alleluia. Alleluia.”

It made me cry all over again, but

YES.  EXACTLY.

Cancer be damned.  Join me in glad adoration.

Praise to the Lord O let all that is in me adore him

All that has life and breath come now with praises before him

Let the amen sound from his people again

Gladly for aye we adore him