Collective Effervescence (Lent)

Psalm 149:1

"Praise the LORD. Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise in the assembly of his faithful people."

Have you ever been in a group of people who are all in the same place for the same reason and felt the energy of the room gathering together? For me, it’s like you’ve taken a bunch of lightning bugs and scooped them up in a jar. It’s vibrant - much brighter than they would be on their own. You can still see each one of the creatures doing their own thing and shining individually, but the energy has become something of its own. Brilliant!

My friend said she had heard it called the “collective effervescence”, and I’ve never gotten that out of my head.

At a concert, it’s later in the show when the first few notes of a favorite song comes on, and there’s an audible cheer from thousands of voices across an arena. At a potluck, it’s when only a handful of people remember to bring something, but you always end up with enough. In choir, it’s when nervous altos with only a few solid notes blend in with the larger group to create beautiful harmonies that reverberate through the hallways into one song.

We all have our preferences and our specialties. Individually, we can do many great things, but I believe the praise and new song that we’re asked to “sing” here can only happen when we assemble. It’s the creation of our collective effervescence at that instance in time. Because the group changes and what we bring changes, every time we gather and put our energy into praising the Lord together it’s a new song.

Prayer

Thank you for connecting us with others in all sorts of ways. Help us find moments to come together and create new songs with what we have to give in those moments. Let the collective effervescence flow through us to you and back out into the world.

This devotion was written and read by Heather Davis.

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