Tuesday, October 18, 2005
Reflections from the Psalm Festival
This past Saturday night I worshiped God in every style imaginable. I was stretched to sing words that I might not have meant at the time in styles that were unfamiliar and, at times, quite uncomfortable. I was forced to resonate with people of other times and places as I stumbled through new languages and music. I spoke and heard words that I did not always fully mean, and listened to the difficult words of Psalm 88. At the same time, the Holy Spirit enlarged my vision for the church, and I became more acutely aware of what it means to be a child of God within the community of the church. I heard, in the words of Walter Brueggemann, “the Gospel in a nutshell.”* I found myself in familiar territory, speaking to and about God using the language of God.
At 1:30am, the LOFT team introduced a gospel arrangement of Psalm 150. The entire chapel rose and began clapping. “Praise ye the Lord, Hallelujah, Everybody praise the Lord…”
After we sang, Laura Smit came to the front. There was nothing more to say. “This – all of this – is the Word of the Lord.”
We could not help but respond. “Thanks be to God!”
* Brueggemann, The Message of the Psalms: A Theological Commentary
**Update: From Music Department Chair and CICW Senior Research Fellow Bert Polman:
Laura Smit, the Dean of our Chapel, thanked all the numerous participants in
last Saturday evening’s Psalm Festival. On behalf of the entire Calvin
community, I’d like to thank her and the rest of the Psalm Festival Committee
(Emily Brink, Cindy deJong, Brooks Kuykendall, and Robert Nordling) for their
splendid work in planning and producing this inspiring event.Bert Polman
Professor & Chair of Music
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