People of God

By Tom Booth

I am here in the snow-covered hills of Vermont. It is so lovely, but what I find most beautiful are the people I have met here. They are open to God and open to prayer; at least they were the last two nights during the Lenten Mission. People stood when I asked them to stand, they sang when asked and we all prayed together as best we could.

As my friend Rob Spilla here in Vermont told me yesterday, "People are basically good, they want to do the right thing." That is so simple, and so true. We are good! We are made in the likeness and image of God. We are precious in God's eyes. And we need to keep this in mind when we prepare for liturgy and when we sing and serve at the liturgy: don't forget the people of God!

The people of God ARE the Church and it is them we serve, love and sing for. Of course, our prayers are directed to God and all we do is for the greater glory of God, but don't forget we are a pilgrim Church and a pilgrim people. You and I, he and she, them and those — they are "precious to God, glorious and he loves them" (Isaiah).

In music ministry we can focus on the song and sometimes forget the singers — them, the people of God, not us. It is their song we sing, not our own, and "God delights in the praises of his people." Amen!

So don't forget your capo, don't forget to tune your instrument, don't forget to warm-up, but also don't forget that we are called to love the people we sing for and serve. They and We Are God's People: the people in Vermont, the good people in New Mexico, those beautiful people in Florida, those wondrous people in California, those special folk in Minnesota and those precious people in Kansas. All over, everywhere, we are all God's people, all God's children in the choir.