I am a choir director. And I am sure that some of the choir members will be mortified to know this – but I can pick out each individual voice in the choir. I know when someone is not there because I miss the sound of their voice. That doesn’t mean the choir sounds better or worse because of who is or isn’t there; it just means that the sound it different.
I have been thinking a lot about our voices these weeks after Easter as church attendance typically, and predictably, drops a bit. I wonder why some people only show up at church for Christmas and Easter. Of course, if you are reading this, you are probably not one of those people. But perhaps you know someone like that – or perhaps there are some Sundays that you wonder why you are getting up and going to church.
Worship is about God. It’s not about you and all the benefits you may receive by coming to worship; rather, it is about responding and gathering to direct our thoughts and voices to God. To that end, you are the only one who can offer your voice to God. When we say prayers together and sing together, it sounds different to God when you are present. God can pick out your voice, and loves to hear your voice in the midst of the people.
God loves it when you are so focused on him, that you speak and sing without thinking about what anyone around you may be thinking. God loves to pick out the sound of your voice in the congregation. Your voice makes a difference.
