Saturday

“Glory in the highest!”

Read Luke 19:38.

“Glory to God in the highest and peace to God’s people on earth.” One of my very favorite things about the Lutheran liturgy is the regularity of responsive singing. I love the moments when we hear the pastor singing praises and thanksgiving, using the same familiar words we hear week after week, and then get to feel the swell of voices around me as the full congregation responds.

Those moments, beautiful as they are, pale in comparison to what I imagine the crowds experienced as Jesus approached them. They spontaneously began to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen. What power that corporate praise experience must have been, as the disciples joined together for one common reason: to praise God for Jesus and what he had done. And as amazing as that scene must have been, it cannot begin to touch what heaven will be like, as all believers from across time and space join together to praise God, together with the angels.

Even though I know we are human and flawed and self-centered and all that…doesn’t it seem like the worship we experience now together could start to approach this feeling? The Christian journey is so much more than just a feeling, but I know I sometimes lose track of the feelings…the joy…the thankfulness…the companionship I feel when with other believers. This is a reminder I will carry with me into Holy Week. -AB

Blessed are you, Lord. Peace in heaven and glory in the highest. Increase our joy in the coming days, even as we think about your death and resurrection.