A charismatic gospel singer once said “all God’s songs for
all God’s children.” She was encouraging
the use of music from many cultures and places as a way to expand our own
awareness of who we are as Christians in this multi-faceted world.
You should notice a distinctly jazz or gospel feel in
worship today. The soulful “Kyrie” comes
from Dinah Reindorf, a music educator who worked for many years in Ghana. To my ears, the plaintive melody richly
imbues the call “Lord, have mercy; Christ, have mercy; Lord, have mercy” with a
keen sense of longing, or a cry coming from deep within the soul. Historically, the Kyrie eleison does not connote begging before God, but is rather a
gesture of submission or reverence before the One who merits awe. How does the subtle rhythmic repetition in
this setting establish a sense of plaintive reverence?
Mark Sedio subtitles his setting of “We Are Marching/Send
me, Jesus” a “marriage of Africa and American Jazz.” My question for you is: In this Epiphany season of Christ made manifest
(revealed), how does the sound of the jazz idiom cause you to hear and know
Christ in a new way? In other words,
when you hear music that is perhaps not normal to our worship, do you find
yourself contemplating the gospel from a different perspective?
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