Over the years of reading the Bible and practicing my faith in worship, I have very much enjoyed the elegant words of the prophets and the Psalms. And because I love music, I can tune into how the prophets and the psalmists employ a rhythm of power and joy as they convey a God of faithfulness and love. I can sense it is a dance that God invites us to do in his covenant with us. I am not the only one who reads the Bible, especially the Old Testament in that way. That is why we have so many great hymns. I can hear a triumphant marching song when the Lord speaks through Isaiah, “I will never forget you.”  I can feel my steps lightened as the rhythm moves me forward. Think about that rousing hymn, “Lead on O King Eternal, The Day of March Has Come!” 

In contrast, God’s people so often respond inelegantly. It sounds like we have the blues. “The Lord has forsaken me: my Lord as forgotten me,” we grumble in minor keys. When we do that, we haven’t got swing in our faith. Remember that song, “It don’t mean a thing, if it hasn’t got swing.” But grumbling is a frequent problem for all of us from time to time.

And that is what I think Jesus has come to tell us. Jesus puts the swing in our faith. Can’t you just feel it in the words, “I am the resurrection and the life”? “Whoever believes in me will never die.”  Those words really swing for me! As we read the words of Jesus in the Gospel today, we can hear the upbeat. It is not about abandonment. It is about being saved. So, while we sing those down beat songs during Lent that remind us of our sins of despair, we can also sing the upbeat songs that lift us out of our darkness. Isaiah tells us, we can break forth into joyful sound and rejoice with all the earth for the mercy the Lord shows to the afflicted.

I pray this week that we can hear the upbeat way God speaks to us and that we can put some swing in our faith in the way we relate our faith to others. As the Lord comforts his people and shows mercy to his afflicted, we also can try a little kindness. Look up the old song, “Try a Little Kindness” by Glenn Campbell. It says it well, with swing!