Together we praise, together we love, together we praise.

Imagine you are at Starbucks, (or Peet’s or wherever) and you are in line waiting to order your favorite mix of coffee and sugar, when then the guy behind you starts singing. You don’t think too much of it, and can’t quite make out the song but you don’t turn around. Then someone else in line joins in, along with a couple of people seated around the tables. Now it’s just plain weird and you are looking for the hidden camera.

 And yet, every Sunday, we come together, and we sing. Why? It is normal in our culture for people to consume music. It is normal in our culture to see people with headphones on, listening to a song only they can hear and walking to their own beat. What’s abnormal is for us to share music, to participate in it together. And yet, every Sunday, we come together and we sing.

 Here are some genres of music listed on the iTunes store: alternative, blues, Latin, hip hop, electronic, reggae, country, R&B, pop, rock, soul, classical etc.

 And yet, every Sunday we may give up our music style of choice and sing songs together. Can’t we just praise God on our own? Ps 92 says “It is good to praise the Lord and make music to your name, O Most High”. Can’t I just do that in my car? We all like different music anyway, what’s the point of coming together and singing?

 As a church we state the importance of caring for one another and we give effort and energy dreaming about how we will love our community well. We hear sermons about serving the poor. These things are easier to discuss than actually achieve.

 But here’s a beautiful reality: when we have a foundation of consistently joining together in praise, we can accomplish anything together. When we sing together, when we praise together, we enter into a shared experience. This experience is not about the style of music, whether it’s classical or rock, or even whether or not I have a voice. It’s about the space we enter into together, a space where we are reminded that there’s a bigger story than our own, His story, and that this world doesn’t revolve around us as individuals, but around God. This is a space where music and praise moves from “mine” to “ours” and from observation to participation. We submit our individual voice to the collective voice of community, and in the process we learn to submit our individual actions of love and service and combine them in a multiplied expression that has a greater impact on each other and the community.

One of the beauties of community is how we carry one another. Maybe today I don’t feel like singing. Maybe today I don’t feel like I can even lift my head or open my mouth to utter a word of praise. Maybe it’s all I can do just to drag myself to church. But in community, my brother and sister to my left and behind me and in front of me can sing for me. They express to God what my heart longs to but cannot do on my own.

And maybe today I can’t see past myself to love another or serve someone. But my brother and sister reach out to me and lift me up and their example spurs me into action.

Together we praise, together we love, together we serve. It’s a gift, it’s beautiful, and I honestly dream that we continue to gain much, much more of the shared experience of living life together and praising together.