Imagine If Christians Shouted More

A Reflection on the Psalm for Sunday, December 15th, 2024:
Third Sunday of Advent

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R. Shout aloud and sing for joy: great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.

Surely God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be a-fraid, for the Lord God is my strength and my might; he has become my salvation. With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.

R. Shout aloud and sing for joy: great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.

Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name; make known his deeds among the nations; proclaim that his name is exalted.

R. Shout aloud and sing for joy: great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.

Sing praises to the Lord, for he has done gloriously; let this be known in all the earth. Shout aloud and sing for joy, O royal Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.

​R. Shout aloud and sing for joy: great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

Growing up in the charismatic renewal had its definite perks. One of them is that it was totally commonplace in those circles to spontaneously vocalize various Scriptures and pious ejaculations: 

“God is good!” “--All the time!” 
“This is the day the Lord has made!” “--Let us rejoice and be glad in it!”
“Praise God!”
“Praise the Lord!” (or if you were super cool like me and my friends, you could simply say “PTL!”)

Something about the Holy Spirit-driven nature of that community created a culture where shouts to the Lord, loud singing, praising, dancing, and raising of hands were a normal part of the prayer. Of course, lots of people (including myself at times) were quick to insert that that kind of prayer “isn’t for everyone.” And certainly, people with a naturally exuberant temperament or who don’t mind having some eyes on them might take to boisterous forms of prayer more easily than the shy and quiet types. Silent and meditative prayers are also an integral part of the Church’s heritage of prayer. But we would be remiss—I believe—if we didn’t also remember the Biblical and ecclesial encouragements for shouting when it comes to praising the Lord. 

As I reflected on today’s refrain from Isaiah, I thought of the Israelites under Joshua’s leadership, being barred from entry into Jericho’s walls. And the Lord commanded them, “When they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, as soon as you hear the sound of the trumpet, then all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city will fall down flat” (Joshua 6). 

Or when the ark of the covenant came to Jerusalem in King David’s presence. We are often reminded of the dancing with total abandonment—which was somewhat scandalous to onlookers—that David did before the ark. But there wasn’t just dancing that day. The account continues: “So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting, and with the sound of the horn” (2 Samuel 6). 

And it wasn’t just the Old Testament worshippers who were given to wild exclamations of praise! In one of the passages we reflect on during Advent, the visitation of Mary to Elizabeth, there are all kinds of ways they voice their excitement and their awe of God’s goodness, not to mention leaping and dancing (Luke 1).

Shout aloud and sing for joy: great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.

As we approach Christmas, there is certainly a lot of noise in our culture. And most of the Advent season seems to combat this largely consumeristic over-stimulation by drawing into the quiet days of preparation for Christ’s birth. The deep purple of the vestments and the lighting of candles, the meditation on Christ’s hidden growth in the warm safety of Mary’s womb, the repetitive calling on the Lord to come, come, O come—these all draw us into quiet and longing and anticipation for the Lord’s humble Incarnation at Christmas. But on this 3rd Sunday, we rejoice! We light the rose candle and we are encouraged to shout and sing at the nearness of his coming! 

So as we near Christmas, let us reflect: what glories do you have to shout about today?



Sr. Angela Burnham

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