Mark 14:21-26

TEXT When they had sung a hymn... Even if Mark could have known how much some of us would want a soundbite of that singing, there was no way for him to give it to us. Lyrics would have been nice, but unsatisfying. I don't think he had any access to a system of musical notation. But, even if he had, there is still so much left out. Who sang the loudest? Who was always a little flat? What emotion? Did Jesus's voice quiver? Did they all close their eyes? Was it a song of the synagogue with stirring lyrics and artful poetry? Or, was it a children's hymn like our Blue Skies and Rainbows and commonly sung at the family passover meal... loaded with memories. For now, it will have to be enough to know that they sang a hymn. Somehow, it makes me feel a connection to this ancient story. When we sing hymns like O Sacred Head or spiritual songs like Sing Hallelujah to the Lord, we connect ourselves to God's faithful.

May that connection be one of the things we can't leave behind.