The Cheer

We went to a year end swim banquet last night at my daughter's high school. As would be expected, we had food, speakers, a slide show and awards. Good stuff. At the end of the evening the Seniors (12th graders) said a few words about how much they enjoyed being on the team and how sad they were to be graduating. Then they did something special. The captain said, "Lets all gather at the front and do the cheer one more time!" The student swimmers ran to the front and did just that. It was electric. It was loud. It was heartfelt. There were tears and cheers. The seniors knew it was the last time they would cheer together as a team.

It made me think, what a team! What a very close team. How can we as the church learn from that? Do we need a cheer? Maybe so. Maybe we need a verse, a saying that we repeat often together when we are in groups to stir our souls. I don't know what that would be, but I know that music (worship songs) can sometimes be like an anthem for a people. The Israelites sang the songs of ascent as they went up to Jerusalem. Paul and Silas in prison, Jesus and the disciples etc. Our people have always had singing and cheering in their hearts.

For those of you who are introverts like me, this may be wierd. Will we have to hold hands? Is he serious? I am just thinking out loud here and looking to capture the spirit of a team that has joy in unity and love in closeness. Maybe that is only for 12th graders and below, but it sure struck a chord. I do know this, that when we do meet to sing, we should know that it could be the last time for us to do it together as that group. Who knows what will happen? People come and go, they graduate and they die. So as we worship, perhaps we can remember the closeness of a high school swim team, or a group of disciples, or those on pilgrimage to Jerusalem.