November 13, 2016
Isaiah 12:1-6
“Finding Our Voice”
“Sing praises to the Lord, for God has done gloriously; let this be know in all the earth. Shout aloud and sing for joy, O Royal Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel.”
“Sing praises to God and sing for joy,” this is the heart of who are as a people of faith. We are a singing people. We have been given a song to sing and God invites us to sing that song with boldness for the whole world to hear. For many of us singing is a key component of what it means to be the church. Our United Church of Canada Song of Faith puts it this way: “Grateful for God’s loving action, we cannot keep from singing.”
Two questions for us to consider today; first: “What is the song we have been called to sing in this place and at this particular moment in history?” As a community faith and as individuals of faith we have each been gifted with a to sing. Secondly; “Have we found our voice?” Each of us have also been gifted with a voice and called to sing.
When I was thirteen I decided to join the choir at my church. I liked to sing and I thought it would be fun. Our music director at the time was a Mr. Charles Haskins. He was not the most pleasant man I had ever met. Mr. Haskins allowed me to sing with the choir for a few rehearsals. He then took me aside and suggested that I not come back. He told me I was not a very good singer, I could not hold a tune to save my life and that I would be a bad influence on the rest of the choir. I was crushed and I never sang in a church choir again until I became the minister at Knox United Church in Prince George. And then, the only reason I sang in the choir was to get their input on the choice of hymns and have some say about the anthem for each Sunday. I assumed when they complimented me on my voice it was only to humour me. I have spent most of my life believing that I have an awful voice and should not under any circumstances be heard singing.
I tell you that story not because I want some sympathy or some compliments about my ability to sing. I love to sing and it is an important part of how I express my faith. But, I am under no illusions that I will be leaving my day job for a career in the music industry any time soon. The purpose of that story is to remind us thatpart of our responsibility as a church is to encourage each person to find their voice and to sing the song that they have been called and gifted to sing.
When each of us were fearfully and wonderfully knit together in our mother’s womb we were given a song to sing. The sole purpose of our life is threefold;to discover our song, to find our voice and then to sing it out with boldness for our world to hear.
Many of us have been blessed throughout our lives with people who knew their song and sang it well. I think of Danny Saunders. I only knew him for a short period, but he struck me as a man who sang the song that he had been given with integrity and with boldness. He sang the song of his life well.
As a community of faith, we have a responsibility to encourage others to find their voice and to sing their song with boldness for the whole world to hear. I am reminded of my history teacher in grade ten. His name was Mr. Froese. By grade ten I was getting a little off the rails and Mr. Froese took under his wing. His care helped me find my voice again. He introduced me to a love of history and he helped me find my way back to the church and the song I had been given to sing.
Unfortunately, as a church, we have not always done that well. For instance, in the past children were told that they did not belong at the communion table because they were not old enough for the bread and the juice of the sacrament of Holy Communion. They were not old enough to understand. I have watched children take communion with their parents and I think they understand the meaning of communion much clearer than any adult.
For many years, gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and transgendered people were told that singing out the song that they were given in their sexual orientation was a sin and not welcome. The church has often been about silencing people into conformity rather than encouraging them to embrace the beauty of their unique song. The church has often stood silently in the presence of racism, sexism and abuse. We need to let go of these former things and embrace a new way of being, as the prophet Isaiah encourages us to do today.
As a community of faith, we need to stand with all those who live on the margins of our society. We need to stand in solidarity with those who seem to have no voice. We need to walk with them as they seek to find their voice and encourage them to sing the song that they have been called and gifted to sing. Our song is incomplete without all voices being heard.
The song we are called to sing as a people faith is a song about justice. It is a song about love. It is a song about forgiveness and reconciliation. It is a song about inclusion. It is a song that declares that all people are beautiful and have a place in God’s choir and a place at the table of God’s abundance. More than ever it is a song our world desperately needs to hear. We must never be afraid or ashamed to sing our song of faith with boldness for our whole world to hear. Let us sing out our joy to our God.
A special thank you to Carly Martin and her friends from the cast of “Sister Act” for sharing their music with us today. I appreciated the song that they choose to sing; “Raise Your Voice.” It was the inspiration behind this sermon. Let me conclude with the opening words from that song. May they guide us as an affirming community of faith that diligently seeks to encourage all to find their voice and to sing their song with boldness for the whole world to hear:
First rule of singin’ –
Get the rafters ringin’!
Toss everything in –
Dig down deep inside.
When you’ve got a song worth hearin’,
There’s one thing to do –
Just keep your fear from interferin’,
And let that sucker burst through
Raise your voice!
Lift, it up to heaven!
Raise your voice!
Amen.