Song of the Universe
Make a joyful noise to the Lord,
all the earth.
Worship the Lord with gladness;
come into God’s presence with singing.
(Psalm 100:1-2)
Listen. Listen.
Listen. Can you hear it? Stop everything you are doing. Silence the commotion of your thinking. Listen.
If you listen widely and deeply enough, you will hear it. Faintly perhaps, yet ever-present. Through the cacophony of all the noise and busy-ness and chaos surrounding us, through the turmoil of emotions and relationships and events whirling around us, listen.
Listen carefully, completely. You will hear a melody singing itself in the vastness of creation. You will feel the vibration of life, the rhythm of life, which sings and pulses into our hearts and bodies and minds.
Listen. Listen and you will hear and feel the song of the universe holding and weaving us together. Always. Everywhere.
This song of the universe invites us to sing the songs of our own lives in rhythm and harmony with its music. As we sing along, we discover our own melodies and variations. We experience the rhythm pulsing deep inside us in our hearts. If we allow it to fill us and move us, we feel compelled to twirl and dance in the gift and beauty of this wild wonderful world in which we live.
We each have our own song to sing, our own rhythm to move us. Sometimes we are loud, other times we whisper. We sing proudly, we sing poorly. The song of the universe keeps on singing. Always we are sustained by its presence. Together, our melodies intertwine, creating new music and harmonies, surprising us with the joy of being alive. There are other times we are out of synch, out of tune, creating cacophony and discord. Our music seems to fall apart and disintegrate. And yet, the miracle is that the song of the universe continues singing in and through us, eventually resolving our great dissonances into new and more glorious music. Our calling is to listen fully, to sing whole-heartedly, to breathe into the silences until the music carries us on again. And always, always, allow the song of the universe to draw us in to the wondrous music we are making together in this and every moment of life.
My life flows on in endless song, above earth’s lamentation.
I hear the clear, though far-off hymn that hails a new creation.
No storm can shake my inmost calm while to that Rock I’m clinging.
Since love is Lord of heaven and earth, how can I keep from singing?
(My Life Flows On. Robert Lowrey. From The Faith We Sing, 2212)
Song of the Universe, sing deeply and fully into our lives. Break open our hearts with the gracious music of your precious love. How can we keep from singing? In the spirit of Christ we pray. Amen.
May this devotion provide you with a moment of faithful reflection and care. You are involved in ministries of justice and witness, in ministries of standing up and standing with people working to create better systems and communities, in ministries of learning and searching and researching to become more aware and awakened, more technologically savvy and proficient, more virtually and personally present in your churches and communities and world. Each of us who serve as members of your Wisconsin Cabinet write these devotions in grateful prayer for you – for sustenance and buoyancy, for strength and courage, for safety and just actions, and for faith and love to be full and fulfilled in your daily lives. God’s grace and blessings, God’s challenge and healthy discomfort, God’s Spirit and energy be with you, in the hope Christ offers us all.