In the 70’s through the 2000’s my sister and I sang in a folk and traditional choirs. We loved to sing and seriously my sister had the better voice. It was still an act of love. We would spend hours in practice. My mother never drove a car and when my father died in 1983, we would take my mom to church with us and because practice was before mass my mom went along. Our family loved to serve the Lord. My mom or my aunt who was her sister, as well, never drove a car and my mom being the shy person she was would never dream of asking my dad to take her to choir practice, but that is exactly what she wanted to do. No one ever knew that that was her secret wish. So when my dad died and since she would tag along with us to choir practice. Since she was already there, we would say “why don’t you join the choir and sing with us.” Those songs you may like or dislike take practice to do correctly for worship. She would say “Oh no, no I am too old”! Turns out that she always wanted to become part of the choir but was too shy to ask or impose on someone to take her to church for choir practice. It was her dream. Well when she started, she could not stop. She started at the tender age of 74 and died at the age of 86 and never stopped until she died. She had another life after my dad died with new friends and interests. I still miss her of course and, myself, do not sing in a formal choir anymore, I participate with gusto in the liturgy of the day. However, I still serve the Lord in other ways and other ministries.
I say this so when you read the reflection on the readings of today you will think of three songs:
“Here I am Lord” by Dan Schute
“Be not afraid” by Bob Dufford S J ( No relation – Note the spelling of the surname_)
“Holy is His Name” by John Michael Talbot ( One of my wife’s and mine wedding songs)
The obvious lesson from the first read in Isaiah and the source of the reading in chapter ISAIAH 6: 7-8.
“He touched my mouth with it (an ember). “See,” he said, “now that this has touched your lips,*your wickedness is removed, your sin is purged.Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?” “Here I am,” I said; “send me!”
Isaiah was so over joyed by his reconciliation with God that he said well of course send me to do your will. Think of the song. Many of the liturgical songs of these eras were based on scripture.
In the Gospel of Matthew we get a parallel message. It says yes, I will send thee but have no fantasy. The Devil is real and he has power to kill the body and the soul, but the real power is in everyone who “acknowledges me (Jesus) to others”
Then Jesus says”
“Everyone who acknowledges me before others I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father. But whoever denies me before others, I will deny before my heavenly Father.”
The Psalmist says “the lord is King! He is robed in Majesty”. Please think of the song “Holy is His name”
The message of the songs and the readings say, repent and accept that the Lord is with us. Do not be afraid because He goes before us and holy is His name. Jesus also says that the Devil is real and we should be afraid of the Devil, but also says that the Lord goes before us always, and be not afraid.
It seems so simple but follow the songs or the scripture and you still say, “Here I am Lord”, “Be not afraid.”, and “Holy is His Name”. If I die tomorrow, those will be my funeral songs and songs of celebration.
God Bless!
Readings for today: Is 6:1-8; PS 93:1AB, 1CD-2,5: Mt 10: 24-33
