We will have turkey and potatoes and an abundance of food – and, no doubt, a glass of wine to mark the occasion. And we will pause before we eat to do something very important.
He covers the sky with clouds; he supplies the earth with rain and makes grass grow on the hills.
Psalm 147:7-8
Rain - this psalm reminds us never to forget the most basic gifts of God –
Sky above, earth beneath, and the rain that connects them. Rain that brings the earth to life, that makes grass to grow on the hills to feed every animal on the face of the earth. What could be more ordinary, down-to-earth and easy-to-forget than water? What could be more important?
The gift of water deserves to be sung. Israel didn’t just think their praise to God in their heads; they didn’t just read it or recite it. Israel was a singing people.
They sang their faith both in gratitude and in grief. They sang with harp and voice because there was depth to their faith. They knew that all the world was made to vibrate in harmony with the glory of God. They sang their hallelujah as part of the chorus of all creation.
Their Shema taught them worship that was personal and expressive, not shallow or rote ritual.
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.
Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul
and with all your strength. Deuteronomy 6:4-5
When you try to express something with all your heart and soul and strength, Song is what you need. So Israel sang their gratitude for even the ordinary gifts of life.
However you celebrate this week, join in the hallelujah of this psalm. Remember to lift your heart and voice to the God of rain and sunshine, the God who makes things grow, the God who loves to sing along with the music of all his creatures.
Image Sources:
Thanksgiving Dinner - Ben Franske - WikiCommons
Clouds - Rosina Lamberti
Singers - New york Synagogue Choir
A great sing-along indeed
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