Another look at Ephesians 5:18-19, with Kevin Antlitz

Ephesians 5:18-19 Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your heart.

Zephaniah 3:17 The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.

Life has been crazy. I simply haven’t kept up with everything, including this blog. The last time I posted was April 29, with a poem written by our daughter Rachel after the shocking death of our son’s best friend, Silas. Rachel’s poem witnesses our uneasy relationship with time, a struggle not one of us can escape.

Today’s post will be a bit longer than usual for me, but I hope you’ll take a couple of extra minutes to read it all.

Marsha’s roses

Ironically, traveling yesterday from Pittsburgh to Meridian, Idaho has given me a sort of reprieve—a chance to walk into a slower rhythm, a slow dance with time, if you will. I came to visit my sister Marsha, who lives in a different reality than I do. Delightfully, Alzheimer’s has not robbed her of music and praise. She seldom speaks. But she often sings! Her lovely voice captures a range of emotions, often acknowledging the tender care offered by her husband Vance. “He does all the things, alleluia!” she sings, gazing lovingly at him.

Yesterday Marsha surprised me by singing over me. I didn’t expect her to recognize me. But at one point she looked at me and sang, “My mother and my sister, alleluia!” Somehow, she seems to know I’m her sister and blessed me with her love.

It’s such a precious thing to witness Marsha’s repeated alleluias. There is so much she can no longer do or communicate. Yet her soul still resonates in harmony with her Lord.

On Pentecost Sunday, our church bid farewell to our assistant pastor, Kevin Antlitz, and his family. He has accepted an invitation to be senior pastor at a church in Atlanta. I will especially miss his thoughtful sermons.

I just did a search of this blog and discovered that I have recommended one of Kevin’s sermons six times. So today is number seven. You can listen here to “Why We Sing,” Kevin’s unusual discussion of the importance of singing together in praise to the Lord.

Kevin notes three reasons why Paul tells us to sing:

1. It’s evidence of the Holy Spirit active in our lives, drawing us into praise. The Spirit fills us with song. When we’re filled with the Spirit, love overflows. “Only the lover sings” (St. Augustine). A Christian is someone who sings.
2. Singing knits our hearts together into one heart and mind and soul.
3. Singing gives us an opportunity to bless and encourage and teach each other.  

Sometimes we lose our voice, whether in grief, discouragement, or shame. Sometimes we need others to sing over us, helping restore our faith, our hope, and our love.

As Marsha is doing for me.

I invite you to let Sing Over Me (The Porter’s Gate) touch your soul:

1.When I am lost inside my mind, Sing me the hope I cannot find

When my despair has left me blind, Sing me the tune I’ve left behind.

[Chorus] Will you sing over me? Will you sing over me?

Sing of the goodness I cannot see. Will you sing over me?

2. When all the grief pours through my hands, When I’ve forgotten who I am

I can’t feel anything but shame, Sing out and give me back my name.

[Bridge] When I sink down beneath the fear, The weight is more than I can bear

Keep singing though I cannot hear. Someday I’ll sing for you, I swear.

[Chorus] Will you sing over me? Will you sing over me?

Sing of the goodness I cannot see. Will you sing over me?