Every morning I get the Daily Readings from my FlockNote subscription. I’ll be honest – there are some mornings I’m already too rushed, too busy to read them and give them the thought they deserve.
But this morning I opened the email and while reading the scripture, a song just popped into my head. I found myself singing while reading. Has that ever happened to anyone else or am I just weird. (Hmm, don’t answer that.)
The reading was Isaiah 40:25-31 Of course I encourage you to read the entire beautiful selection, but I’m only quote the relevant part.
…but those who hope in the Lord renew their strength,
they put out wings like eagles.
They run and do not grow weary,
walk and never tire.
I’m reading these last lines and without even thinking about it I’m singing the refrain from We Will Rise Again by David Haas:
We will run and not grow weary,
for our God will be our strength,
and we will fly like the eagle,
we will rise again.
The more popular, recognizable song used in Mass, and especially at funerals, from Isaiah 40:31 is On Eagles Wings, and I expect there are others. After a few minutes of singing in my head, I turned to today’s Gospel.
Jesus exclaimed, ‘Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened, and I will give you rest. Shoulder my yoke and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Yes, my yoke is easy and my burden light.’
Again, I found myself singing the line “And I will give you rest.” I wasn’t even certain which song it was from; it was just an instant reaction. After a moment of singing in my head I realized it’s from Be Not Afraid.
I’ve always loved the songs we sing in Mass. The songs I learned as a child are as much a part of the Mass as the readings and the prayers. In the 1970s we sang His Peace is Flowing Like a River, Sing a New Song, and Abba Father. I rarely hear those sung today. We still sing Be Not Afraid, On Eagle’s Wings, One Bread One Body, and Here I Am Lord. I’ve noticed our Parish music director likes The Servant Song, We Remember, Christ Be Our Light, and a new one from Chris Muglia, Our God is Here.
When I leave Mass, I sing the last song all day. My daughters sing with me in the car on the way home. It’s not unusual for the rest of the day that one of us will start singing a chorus and the others join in. We do hum through much of the song, but there are always 2-3 lines that we sing loudly with gusto. Maybe it’s time for me to buy a few CDs to keep in the car and at home so we don’t have to fudge our way through the lyrics.
On a slightly different personal note, this morning I spoke with Lisa briefly and she is pretty harried with her “to-do” list this week. I’m sending her today’s Gospel in the hopes that she finds a moment of calm and peace. It would be nice if you could offer up a prayer for God to reveal to find one of those Little Moments she likes to write about.
