June 22, 2025 · Rev. Derek van Gulden · Colossians 3:12-16
On a Sunday celebrating music, Rev. Derek van Gulden shares Bonhoeffer's words on music bringing us back from confusion to joy, invites the congregation to name the hymns that move them, and tells of a praise service in Vermont, years before ordination, where 'Down to the River to Pray' carried him somewhere he still returns to. We sing to God, about Christ, and for each other.
Transcript
If you excuse me for one moment. I have not preached from the pulpit in so long. I'm not used to getting up there. And actually, after thirteen years, you would know that I prefer to be down here with you. But periodically I do something totally different, like write a sermon, which is maybe the third time. But.
There are some of the words I want to share with you today that I think are very important. Today we are celebrating music within all the prayers you heard within the Scripture. You heard sing, sing psalms, sings hymns, play music, music. Well, I can only say for myself, but I think for this congregation is a very important aspect of our faith, both when we gather together and when we're not together. Music makes things well. Music helps me remember. Remember times in my faith when I may have doubted. Remember times in my faith where I was just moved beyond compare. Because I couldn't express myself. In any other way than to sing. I think if you took music out of worship, worship would become a lot of words and not really have as much meaning as the music brings it.
I want to share with you a piece of writing by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Bonhoeffer was a German pastor, ordained Lutheran pastor and theologian, who unfortunately was executed just before the end of World War Two by Hitler's regime. But a lot of people don't know he was also a musician, quite the pianist. But I've heard this very often. But I went back to read it again, and there was a time that he was asked to baptize one of his nephews. And as he was doing it, he said these words, which he had written specifically for this baptism among the general improvisation, improvisation. This is why I don't write. Impoverishment of spiritual life. You will find your parents home a treasure of spiritual value and a source of inspiration. Has your parents understand and practice it? Music. He's talking about. Let me go back. Music has your parents understand and practice it. We'll bring you back from confusion to your clearest and purest self and perceptions, and from cares and sorrows to the underlying note of joy. Bring us back from confusion and bring us to a place of underlying joy.
Does anybody have that kind of experience? Is there a hymn that speaks to you when you hear it? No. One. One. Two. When you feel a certain way or when you hear a certain hymn, does it bring you back to a spiritual place, to a place of faith. So now I'm going to call out and ask you to share those with you.
I want to share with you mine as I share with everybody. I grew up a Unitarian, but my father was a YMCA executive and ran summer camps, and he would change exchange pulpits with the pastors out in the islands in Lake Champlain where he worked, and preach. And I never learned until he was in his late seventies that when he went to become an executive in the YMCA, you had to take a year's worth of seminary classes. And my father also could not carry a tune. He didn't know that most of the time. But when I remember chapel at church, which was right on the water and the only instrument we had were chimes. I don't know why, but they had a little closet out in the middle of nowhere. But when I hear I would be true. It takes me back when I hear Holy, holy, Holy, which we just sang recently. It takes me back to that place. When I hear this is my father's world. Which my mother was clear to say. Was okay, but it was also my mother's world. Women's world, men's world, youth, boys, everybody. She was very clear on making that known. But as I got older and I started to listen to that hymn more, for me, it was a world that I didn't get to see much from my father. Not that he didn't share it, not that he didn't quote Bible. And he is the one that taught me about Jesus. Even though in the Unitarian church we grew up with, Jesus and God were not spoken of much, but it was still a great place to grow up. Another hymn or song that really moves me is when I go down to the river to pray, and I'll share that later with you.
But do anybody else have songs that they like that mean to them? And it does not have to be a hymn. Jill. Lord have mercy. Lord of thy faithfulness. Great is thy faithfulness. J r. There is a balm in Gilead. Holy holy holy holy holy, holy. I didn't tell you this before, but I'm going to ask you each to sing the first line of I just want people to hear you. Anybody else? Oh, that was played at my ordination with my neighbor playing violin. Be thou my vision. The old version. The new version or version? The Van Morrison version, then? Yeah. It's a great one.
Anyone else? A mighty fortress. A mighty fortress is our God. I was going to say that too. A mighty fortress is our God. He is older than you, right? He is. Won't you let me be your servant? Oh, yes. How are you going to make me cry? Won't you let me be your servant? And Christina introduced me to a very old one this spring. The ash tree. And I loved it. I remember it from years ago, but I will always think of Christina. And we sang it. We sang it the Sunday after the ash tree out front was taken down. In the bulb there is a. Oh, is that right? In the bulb there is a flower. Oh beautiful one. You get what? Oh, pile of them. It's okay if you have piles of them. They have an interesting time with the congregation. We could all take five dollars for our favorite. We might have to increase it to ten or eleven.
Anyone else? There was a song that I think Ed Ames sung quite a few years ago called my cup runneth over. It's on his favorite hits album, which I have. Does anybody remember. Ed Ames. Throwing the Tomahawk. I blessed assurance. To spiritual songs, not hymns or Let It Be. And dust in the wind. Both of them very spiritual, very beautiful.
The reason I bring this up is you heard today in the Scripture that Jim read from Colossians three twelve to sixteen. If you listen to the last line, I'm going to read it for you again. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly. Teach and admonish and admonish one another in all wisdom and with gratitude in your hearts. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God. We don't often hear this piece of scripture, which I think we should hear more often, because three things are going on in that sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God about Christ and to each other, to God, about Christ and to each other.
In the beautiful sermon that I read earlier this week, written by Reverend Doctor Dwight Moody. He talks about that has everything we do in song, whether it's a hymn or a spiritual or it moves us no matter what it is. Last week we got to hear The Beach Boys, which is amazing. Powerful song. We always sing to God and praise God about Christ and for each other. It's not something we do for ourselves. Although singing in the shower usually is for ourselves, but it's always being lifted up and going somewhere else. I want you to remember that sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual psalms to God about Christ and for each other.
I will share with you because I am a storyteller, and probably because I've been here a while. You've heard this at least once or five times. But, there was a time before I, when I was trying to discern whether I felt called to ministry and a couple, a mother and a daughter. The father had died when the daughter was, oh, on her birthday, actually, when she was twelve. A very good friend of mine. And they invited me to come to the church that they'd been, I would say at the beginning, dragging me to it was a full gospel church in the heart of Vermont. And they said, hey, there's something going on in the church this evening we think you'd enjoy. It's it's a praise service, which I'd never been to before. And I said, sure. Now, the fact that the daughter was close to my age and I was taken with her. I don't know what that meant at the time, but she could have asked me anywhere. But I went and there was amazing music and the choir sang, and then there was a couple and they preached, and then they invited people to come forward and have laying on of hands. Now, for me, this was a new experience and as I watched it, people would go up to either one of them and they'd put their hands on their head and they would start to pray for them. And at any point, like immediately or a little later, bam, they'd hit the floor except for somebody was always behind them.
And the pastor came up to the three of us and said, wouldn't you like to go up? And I went, I'm good. And my friend said, I'm thinking about it. And then the pastor came to me and said, Derek, there's nobody left there on the floor. And there was this very large man. He was a farmer in his thirties, amazing guy, but he was about three hundred and something pounds in about six, six. And he said, there's nobody to catch him if he goes down. And the guy said, don't worry, I'm not going to fall down. And so I'm behind him. And she puts her hand on his head. Boom. Both of us were on the floor. Now, luckily I managed to not get crushed, but the part of my arms and my hands that held him started to tingle. And at first I'm thinking, well, I'm too young to have a heart attack, which is never true, but I didn't know what was going on.
And finally the mom, after her daughter was on the floor, said, squeeze my hand. What's it going to hurt? So I went up there and I didn't say, this is whatever I just said. This is new to me. And both of them put their hands on my head and they started to. Pray and to tell you the truth, the choir started to sing that song when I go down to the river. And the next thing I knew, I woke up on the floor underneath a pew in the front. It. And I woke up and I had no clue where I was. And there was the pastor and he said, oh, we're glad you're still with us. And I said, wow, it must be time to go. And he said, he said, no, it's been two hours. Two hours I was out. And I said, well, what about my kids? I'm the babysitter would have left. No, no. Don't worry. Bambi went down. She's with them. They're fine.
And he goes, what? What song? My hand was in a hymnal. And he goes, what page is that to? I said, I don't know, and pull it open. Great is thy faithfulness. And my thumb was in another one. Be thou my vision. The original, not the one. The new one that changes the words. And he said, you know, somebody's going to drive you home. Well, they drove me there and make sure you drink a lot of water. And whenever you're ready to talk about it, I'm here.
And from that day forward. I didn't feel a greater call to ministry at that point, but I knew there was something deeper than I'd ever thought. And whenever they sang that song. When I go down to the river to pray, or when I hear it on the radio, or I hear it on the car or someone singing it, it takes me that place. Of peace. And it becomes very contemplative. Now, if I'm driving the car, I turn it off. But that hymn or that song or whatever you want to call it, is one of many. Now that brings me back to that place. Where we sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God about Christ for each other. That's what really came to me in that moment.
May you be blessed this day and every day to hear the music, the words that touch you. And in these days, that can seem like there's no hope. Because every day seems to be crazier than the next. And you worry and you pray. May those songs, those phrases, those spiritual songs and psalms bring you hope. And in a moment of peace. And may you share that with all those around you. Amen.