Posts
Of all the things I can give up during the Lenten
season, it won’t be singing.
Even though there may be some grateful individuals
in my family (you know who you are), I refuse to “bury the alleluia”.
This tradition of burying the alleluia dates back to
the Middle Ages in Babylon. It’s a kind of verbal fast, a practice of intentionally
omitting “alleluia” from the liturgy.
The idea is, when the alleluia is removed for a
season, it rings even more jubilant at the Resurrection of Jesus. All that
holding back during Lent will just burst the banks – an anthem of released
rejoicing on Easter morning.
Liturgy or not; custom be scuttled! I will let my
alleluia ring out. All through Lent, and afterward, and forevermore.
Seriously. I think it will ring all the sweeter on
Easter Sunday, for not having squelched it at all.
The alleluia is my shelter in the storm.
It is my exclamation point in a world of question
marks.
It is my red umbrella in the gloom.
The alleluia is my cure for curmudgeonly lapses; my
go-to response for difficult people, pet throw-up and silent mailboxes.
It’s the alleluia that falls out of my mouth when God
flings another magnificent sunrise into the sky.
The praise comes naturally every time I hear the
sound of my children’s voices.
It echoes in my heart as a cry of breathless joy
when I hear church bells, or Beethoven, or John Denver, or when I sing the PSALM HYMNS.
“Alleluia” cannot be buried because it buries all
despair in four resounding syllables.
The Psalmist, David, knew it all along. So did
Handel, when he composed the Messiah. As do the birds, who fill the
not-yet-Spring trees with exaltation.
So does anybody who climbs out of the combat zone
into the sunlight, blinking dazedly into the surprise of a healing or a
reconciliation or a second chance.
Don’t withhold the hosanna!
Don’t lay off the litany!
Don’t shush the shout!
Don’t quench the canticle!
Don’t dis the descant!
Please,
don’t bury the alleluia.
Give up something else for Lent, if you so choose,
but not the very thing that keeps you upright and breathing. Keep the alleluia
and belt it out as often as possible; it will bolster you up and jolt the passers by.
or @ PsalmHymns
Lent has never been my thing. Life is full of regular rents, losses, sacrifices and lenton seasons. I love that you cannot hold back your singing and alleluias. I loved singing that one psalm with you the one time I saw you this year! In spite of the fact that there are well-meaning liturgical seasons of the year, God's messages bounce from them, rearrange them, and speak above them. Thanks for being part of that voice today, Kathy Joy. I'm raising a prayer for you, btw.
ReplyDeleteYes, Kathy. Our praise & adoration should not be held back. Many years ago, Peter & I had the opportunity to hear in person Handel's Messiah performed at the Orpheum Theatre in Vancouver. How thrilling to not only hear the Hallelujah Chorus, but to be able to sing along. Keep singing!! Reinhild
ReplyDeleteYes, Kathy. Our praise & adoration should not be held back. Many years ago, Peter & I had the opportunity to hear in person Handel's Messiah performed at the Orpheum Theatre in Vancouver. How thrilling to not only hear the Hallelujah Chorus, but to be able to sing along. Keep singing!! Reinhild
ReplyDeleteI'm shouting "Alleluia"!!!!
ReplyDelete