The Angels Sang

[Cloudwalker]

The Angels Sang​

Cloudwalker​


Originally posted Dec 17th 2008 at 05:19 PM on BF.​


When someone tells the story of the first Christmas inevitably they come to where the angels announce the birth of the Christ child to the shepherds. It is almost a forgone conclusion that the angels will be singing. Almost inevitably someone will mention that the Bible doesn’t say anything about singing. In one since they are correct. The Bible doesn’t actually say they sing.

But I put it to you. How could they not sing. As a musician I know the power music holds. Music speaks to our hearts and souls in a way that nothing else can. Let me give you a few examples to show you what I mean.

Let us start out simply. How about the song Taps. Four notes. Eight measures. What could be simpler. Yet who among us can say that those four notes, played slowly over the grave of a fallen hero does not cause a tightening of the chest, a lump in our throat, and a tear in the eye. Certainly not me.

Or on the other side. Stop and listen to a band playing John Phillip Sousa’s Stars and Stripes Forever. Is there a heart among us that can honestly say that those strains fail to stir your heart and make you want to move. And while it was written for a war way before my time, I can’t remain still when I hear a group singing Over There. I just have to join in.

The same is true when I hear Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus. It is impossible for me not to sing. I absolutely can’t NOT sing. The same is true of the Star Spangled Banner or America the Beautiful. The list is practically endless.

No, music is powerful. Music can express a sorrow so powerfully that someone else hearing it will feel their own heart break, even without the benefit of words. Music can express a joy so strong that Just hearing it will fill someone else’s heart. Music can stir someone into action or calm someone’s fear, anxiety or anger. All with or without words, and even if you can’t understand what is being said.

Yes I KNOW the angels sang that night. They couldn’t help themselves. Their hearts were to full. Their joy over the birth of Christ was too great. They had to sing. They couldn’t help themselves.

David E. Cloud
12/17/08

copyrite 2008 David Cloud used by permission