On Sunday morning, we attended an English-speaking evangelical service. It was structured similarly to the church services we have at home - hymns, prayer, scripture readings, sermon, etc. - but there was something different. For the first time, many of us were able to experience “global Christianity;” during the communion, we surrounded the sanctuary and held hands as we prayed. People from all over the world had come together to worship the same God - America, Austria, Africa, Germany - and we were joined in one language to worship the Lord.
In contrast with this experience, though, was a German Catholic Mass we attended on Monday night. Here, as we sat in the midst of centuries-old artwork, the words of the German priest filled the sanctuary. We could only catch a few words. As soon as the music started, though, this language barrier seemed to be transcended. The rich soprano filled the church and the choir and horns responded, and for the first time the idea of “sacred music” became a reality. The study of sacred music in America seems one-dimensional, until you have experienced what it was truly intended to be. It is not entertainment, and it is not a time to show prowess, but it is a way to worship God using His own creation.
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