In this week’s readings, we hear a call to “Sing aloud,” followed by a promise that the Lord “will exult over you with loud singing as on a day of festival.” The Hebrew רָנַן (ranan) means “to give a ringing cry,” an emotional rather than an intellectual act. In our French Church in New York, some sing along with us not always understanding the words. But we all know as Zephaniah tells us, that it is the heart that sings before the voice. In Advent, it’s comforting to hear that our songs are a part of the great song that the Lord himself is singing. Let us each rejoice in the unique part our heart sings in anticipation of the great song of the angels to the shepherds.
