Thus to sing and thus to love, Alleluia!

 Thus to sing, and thus to love, Alleluia!

By Bobby Neal Winters

I’ve been attending a Bible study up at Our Lady of Lourdes that is being led by some friends I’ve had for more than three decades.  On the second Sunday of the study, a member of the class, at their request, led the group in the song “Holy, Holy, Holy.”  This was chosen because the lyrics are lifted directly from the Book of Revelation, which is what the group is studying.

I was surprised for two reasons. Number one, Catholics are much better singers than I’ve been led to believe.  Number two, the song is a protestant song; it was written by an Anglican clergyman in the early nineteenth century.

But this got me to thinking: Even though the Church, the Body of Christ, is terribly divided, we do have a certain unity when it comes to hymns.

We were never meant to have so many churches.  You don’t have to believe me; read Paul’s epistles. Jesus gave us one church, and the rest was done by man.

But we can get together around hymns.

Twenty or so years ago when I first became active in church, I became familiar with the hymn, “Here I am, Lord.”  It can really get your blood pumping.  It was written by a Jesuit, i.e. a Roman Catholic.  Again, so much for Catholics not being able to sing.

I’ve attended Easter Vigil with my Catholic friends.  They ended the service with “Christ the Lord is Risen Today,” which was written by John and Charles Wesley.  If that is not a Methodist hymn, then there are none.  And quite frankly, even if all of our churches crumble into pebbles, our hymns will be sung. (At Opolis UMC they sometimes sing six hymns during a service.)

I’ve been to church with my Lutherin grandsons.  They sang “Hark the Herald Angels Sing.”  Charles Wesley at his best.

I’ve sung “A Mighty Fortress is Our God” at the Methodist Church.  It was written by Martin Luther. Again, if that is not a Lutherin hymn, then there is no such thing.

I am sure that there is an interesting study to be made with regard to how much cross-pollination there is among the hymn books of the various churches.

Why is this?

Hymns are close to our hearts.  

There is a saying, “Those who sing, pray twice!”

It is true.

And we remember when we sing.  Some of the clearest memories I have of my mother are standing by her side singing in church.

My family and I have discovered the TV series Ghost.  We first found the series on CBS, and then we found the British show it was copied from.

The premise is there is a couple living in a haunted house, and because of a brush with death, the wife attains the ability to see and hear ghosts.  One Christmas, the husband’s family comes to visit. The one thing the wife wants to do is to get around the piano and sing Christmas carols, but the husband’s family isn’t interested.  Because of this, the wife goes to the piano and sings them alone.

But she isn’t alone.  Behind her, and invisible to everyone else, are the ghosts, who are more than happy to sing with her.  (I tear up just writing about it.)

My point: Like her, we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses. If we are divided on this manner of worship, or that matter of doctrine, at least we can sing together.

Bobby Winters, a native of Harden City, Oklahoma, blogs at redneckmath.blogspot.com and okieinexile.blogspot.com. He invites you to “like'' the National Association of Lawn Mowers on Facebook. Search for him by name on YouTube. )