They Will Know Us by Our Singing (and Our Love)

Earlier this summer, I was part of a group from church who had 5 weeks of ukulele lessons.  We had such a great time that we decided to keep meeting once a month.  Yesterday was our first meeting.

We could bring music to share or a piece to sing by ourselves.  My spouse spent some time yesterday afternoon looking for a piece we could present, him on violin and me on ukulele.  In the end, we just didn't have enough time.  He can see a piece and play it fairly easily.  I am still having trouble shifting chords.

We did find a version of "They Will Know We Are Christians by Our Love" with only 2 chords.  My spouse asked if I thought that everyone would know that song.  Given that our group skews somewhat older, born before 1968, I was pretty sure that we would.  And we did.

When I first found the chords and strummed them, I couldn't make them go with the song that I remembered.  But in a group, with more of us singing and strumming, with the upright bass and the violin, it sounded just fine.

I thought of how many groups I've been in who have sung this song.  Would they be surprised by our ukulele rendition?  Probably not.

It's no wonder we still sing that song--it's fairly simple, with lots of repetition, which makes it easy to remember.  The theology isn't troubling.

The minute I typed those words, I started wondering about the people who might find it troubling.  They might ask about creeds, about choosing Jesus above all.  They might argue that we can love each other without being Christian.

But if we're Christian and we don't love each other, I'd argue that we've failed in a most basic way.  We can still be redeemed, of course.  But we do need to love each other, in all the ways that we know how.

Sharing a meal and singing together is a great way to start.