Go and SING

Alleluia!  Christ is risen.  Christ is risen indeed.  Alleluia! 

This is our call-and-response refrain every Easter Sunday.  Because we’re not only witnesses of the resurrection.  We are more than mere spectators.  We are participants in the proclamation! 

Alleluia!  Christ is risen.  Christ is risen indeed.  Alleluia! 

We say these words even if we’re not sure what they mean!  What’s an alleluia anyway?  Well, the short answer is: it’s the Latin-ized form of the Hebrew word hallelujah which is a worshipful word for praising God.  Maybe you even say “hallelujah” whenever something good happens—ah, I found my lost keys!  Hallelujah!  After many hours of preparation in the kitchen, we are finally sitting down for a delicious meal—Hallelujah! 

Or when something really great happens, maybe you’ll even sing a few bars of Handel’s Hallelujah chorus: Haaaaallelujah!  Haaaaallelujah!  Hallelujah!  Hallelujah!  Hah-leh-heh-looo-yahhh![1] 

Sometimes it’s hard to convey a great level of joy without music.  It just makes sense to sing it.  Scientists will tell you that music is stored in your brain in a way that makes it easier to recall information, which is why it’s a great learning strategy to put our alphabet to music: ABCDEFG…

Right?!  The kids are already singing along.  Because they know it!  They know the song.  And even the littlest kids recognize the song, or they know sounds of the song, even before they can read or understand what the individual letters are. 

Learning songs by heart can be a real treasure.  Because when the going gets tough, when you’re deep in grief, when you’re so confounded by the world that you’re not sure how to take a step forward, sometimes music will cut through the noise and bring you to a place of peace or calm or wisdom to know what step to take. 

This is where old familiar hymns can be profoundly powerful, and this is why we sing the same greatest hits every Easter.  You think you’re here for the beautiful music, and yes that is true.  It’s beautiful and lovely in the moment.  But you’re going to walk out of here at some point, and what are you going to take with you?  What we’re doing here is rehearsing the resurrection songs that you are going to need to sustain you in the future.  We are practicing revolution.

Maybe you’re feeling great today and life is good and you have no troubles.  Good for you!  But someday you’re going to need some hope, maybe a reminder that God’s love is as persistent as plants sprouting up out of the earth.  And guess what, we’ve got a song for that (Now the Green Blade Rises, in our hymnal, Evangelical Lutheran Worship, hymn number 379).

“Now the green blade rises from the buried grain,

Whee-eat that in dark earth man-ny days has lain;

Love lives again, that with the dead has been;

Love is come again like wheat arising green.”[2]

If you’ve never heard that song, you’ll get a chance to sing it later this morning in worship.  Take the song with you!  You become part of the proclamation of resurrection, a reminder how God is always making things new. 

And all of you little ones who can’t read yet, I need your help with the second line of this song—sing it with me: ALLELU ALLELU ALLELU ALLELUIA!  PRAISE YE THE LORD![3]  (Yes the syntax is a little weird for us—"praise YE the Lord” means “y’all praise the Lord” but “y’all” doesn’t sound right in the song.)  Praise God all around your house!  Maybe it makes it more fun to sing while doing ordinary daily things like cleaning up toys or getting ready for dinner.  ALLELU ALLELU ALLELU ALLELUIA!  PRAISE YE THE LORD! 

And what if you’re not familiar with any of these songs?  Well, perhaps it will surprise you to learn that some songs in our hymnal are also counted as folk songs in our country or in other countries around the world.  There’s a much beloved hymn that some people used to even sing in their schools:

“Lift every voice and sing till earth and heaven ring,

Ring with the harmonies of liberty…”[4]

It’s a hymn about freedom, and for us as Christians, liberty means freedom from fear, freedom from sin and death—the freedom we know in God’s love.  We are not pledging allegiance to earthly powers.  We are not justifying violence because Jesus practiced nonviolence all the way to the cross.  War is not holy, and war will not bring Jesus back any faster.  So until Jesus returns like he promised he would do, we will sing while we wait. 

ALLELU ALLELU ALLELU ALLELUIA!  PRAISE YE THE LORD! 

And we’ll keep telling the story of Jesus’s resurrection.  And even if you’ve never heard this story before, I bet you know this story better than you think you do.  You might even know some songs that go along with this story.  Like (Three Dog Night, Joy to the World):

“JOYYYYYY to the world.  ALLLLLL the boys and girls. 

Joy to the fishes in the deep blue sea!  Joy to you and me!”[5]

Maybe you didn’t think that’s a church song.  Well, here we are in church, and you sang along, so we sang it, and now it’s a church song.  Let’s have some fun with this.  Whenever you recognize the song, sing along.  There’s bound to be a song here that you know. 

So as we read in the Gospel lesson, just as the first day of the week was dawning, and Mary Magdalene might have been singing (Dionne Warwick, I Say a Little Prayer for You):

“The moment I wake up

Before I put on my makeup

I say a little prayer for you”[6]

And Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were on their way to see the tomb, they said (Carole King, I Feel the Earth Move):

“I feel the Earth move under my feet

I feel the sky tumblin' down”[7]

And then an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the guards fainted away and the Marys were singing (Gloria Gaynor, I Will Survive):

“At first, I was afraid, I was petrified

Kept thinking I could never live without you by my side”[8]

But the angel was telling them, DO NOT BE AFRAID.  Remember how Jesus was like (Dolly Parton, I Will Always Love You):

“If I should stay

Well I would only be in your way

And so I'll go, and yet I know

I'll think of you each step of the way

And I will always love youI will always love you”[9]

DO NOT BE AFRAID!  (Bon Jovi, Livin’ On a Prayer)

"We've gotta hold on to what we've gotIt doesn't make a difference if we make it or not

We've got each other and that's a lot—for love

We'll give it a shot"

Whoa, we're half way there

Whoa oh, livin' on a prayer

Take my hand, we'll make it, I swear

Whoa oh, livin' on a prayer”[10]

Do not be afraid!  And COME AND SEE.  Come and see the empty tomb, because Jesus is not here!  Jesus is like (Chumbawumba, Tubthumping):

“I get knocked down

But I get up again

You're never gonna keep me down”[11]

And Jesus wants you to COME AND SEE him in Galilee!  (Oasis, Wonderwall)

“And all the roads we have to walk are winding

And all the lights that lead us there are blinding

There are many things that I would

Like to say to you

But I don't know how

Because maybe / You're gonna be the one that saves me

And after all / You're my wonderwall”[12]

Come and see!  (Beyonce, Halo)

“Everywhere I'm lookin′ now

I'm surrounded by your embrace

Baby, I can see your halo

You know you're my saving grace”[13]

And after you COME AND SEE, you’ll know something more about God’s love.  (REO Speedwagon, Can’t Fight This Feeling)

“'Cause I can't fight this feeling anymore

I've forgotten what I started fightin' for

And if I have to crawl upon the floor

Come crashing through your door

Baby, I can't fight this feeling anymore”[14]

So there’s one more thing to do: GO AND TELL.  That’s the next thing to do: GO AND TELL the other disciples what’s going on, about Jesus being like (Bryan Adams, (Everything I Do) I Do It For You):

“Don't tell me it's not worth trying for

You can't tell me it's not worth dying for

You know it's true

Everything I do, I do it for you”[15]

GO AND TELL the disciples about Jesus singing (Gloria Gaynor, I Will Survive):

“I, I will survive

Long as I know how to love, I know I'll stay alive

I've got my life to live

And all my love to give and

I will surviveI, I, I will survive”[16]

And those Marys, those disciples, with fear and great joy, they started singing (KPOP Demon Hunters, Golden):

“I'm done hidin', now I'm shinin' like I'm born to be

We dreamin' hard, we came so far, now I believe

We're goin' up, up, up, it's our momen

You know together we're glowin'

Gonna be, gonna be golden”[17]

Then all of a sudden, just as the women were on their way to GO AND TELL, something exceptionally crazy, scary, spooky, hilarious[18] happened.  Suddenly Jesus appeared and he was like (Adele, Hello):

            “Hello, it’s me”[19]

And the women were like (Queen, Bohemian Rhapsody):

“Is this the real life? / Is this just fantasy?

Caught in a landslide / No escape from reality

Open your eyes / Look up to the skies and see”[20]

So Jesus took out his guitar and started singing (Indigo Girls, Closer to Fine):

“I went to the doctor, I went to the mountains

I looked to the children, I drank from the fountains

There's more than one answer to these questions

Pointing me in a crooked line

And the less I seek my source for some definitive

Closer I am to fine, yeah”[21]

And the women were shocked, just speechless, so Jesus reminded them again to GO AND TELL (Semisonic, Closing Time):

“Closing time, you don't have to go home

But you can't stay here”[22]

Somewhere, there is a song for you, as well.  A song to remind you DO NOT BE AFRAID, COME AND SEE what God is up to in the world, and when you find out for yourself, then you also will GO AND TELL. 

God has a song for you.  Maybe it’s a familiar favorite that speaks to your heart, or maybe God has a new song for you to learn the words and the tune.  But the song goes on: death is not the end, life is ever-lasting.  Good news is still good, and it’s still news. 

ALLELU ALLELU ALLELU ALLELUIA!  PRAISE YE THE LORD! 

Amen!

Pr. Cheryl

[1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hallelujah_Chorus#:~:text=The%20Hallelujah%20Chorus%20is%20the,during%20Lent%20in%20Dublin%2C%20Ireland.

[2] “Now the Green Blade Rises,” Oxford Book of Carols, © Oxford University Press 1928.

[3] According to hymnary.org, this song is in the Public Domain.  Sourced on April 7, 2026 at  https://hymnary.org/text/hallelu_hallelu_hallelu_hallelujah_prais#google_vignette

[4] “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” text by James W. Johnson, music by J. Rosamond Johnson, Public Domain.

[5] Three Dog Night, “Joy to the World,” Naturally, Dunhill ABC Records USA, 1970. 

[6] Burt Bacharach, Hal David, and Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, “I Say a Little Prayer for You,” recorded by Dionne Warwick in 1967 for the album “The Windows of the World,” Scepter.   

[7] Carole King, “I Feel the Earth Move,” Tapestry, Ode, 1971.

[8] Freddie Perren and Dino Fekaris, “I Will Survive,” recorded by Gloria Gaynor, Love Tracks, Polydor, 1978.

[9] Dolly Parton, “I Will Always Love You,” Jolene, RCA Victor, 1974. 

[10] Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora, and Desmond Child, “Livin’ on a Prayer,” recorded by Bon Jovi, Slippery When Wet, Mercury, 1986.

[11] Chumbawumba, “Tubthumping,” Tubthumper, EMI/Universal/Republic, 1997. 

[12] Oasis, “Wonderwall,” (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? Creation Records, 1995. 

[13] Ryan Tedder and Evan Bogart, “Halo,” recorded by Beyonce, I Am…Sasha Fierce, Columbia Records, 2009.

[14] Kevin Cronin, “Can’t Fight This Feeling,” recorded by REO Speedwagon, Wheels Are Turnin’, Epic Records, 1984. 

[15] Bryan Adams, Michael Kamen, Robert John “Mutt” Lange, “(Everything I Do) I Do It for You,” recorded by Bryan Adams, Waking Up the Neighbours, A&M Records, 1991. 

[16] Freddie Perren and Dino Fekaris, “I Will Survive,” recorded by Gloria Gaynor, Love Tracks, Polydor, 1978.

[17] Ejae and Mark Sonnenblick, “Golden,” recorded by Ejae, Audrey Nuna, and Rei Ami, KPop Demon Hunters, Republic Records, 2025. 

[18] Kendrick Lamar Duckworth, Mark Spears, Jack Antonoff, Dijon McFarlane, Kamasi Washington, Sean Momberger, Larry Sanders, Jules Zaidan, Jimmy Webb, John Barry, Christopher Wallace, Christopher Martin; “tv off,” recorded by Kendrick Lamar, GNX, PGLang/Interscope, 2024.

[19] Adele Adkins and Greg Kurstin, “Hello,” recorded by Adele, 25, XL/Columbia Records, 2015.

[20] Freddie Mercury, “Bohemian Rhapsody,” recorded by Queen, A Night at the Opera, EMI Records, 1975. 

[21] Emily Saliers, “Closer to Fine,” recorded by the Indigo Girls, Indigo Girls, Epic Records, 1989. 

[22] Dan Wilson, “Closing Time,” recorded by Semisonic, Feeling Strangely Fine, MCA Records, 1998.