When I read Troeger’s words, the thought it triggered is that while music is definitely composed of notes—hundreds and thousands of them put together in an infinite variety of expressions—the notes tend to run together if there are no rests, no times of silence that place emphasis on new beginnings.

If we are indeed musical beings, then we also need those times of silence, those times of rest. As worship planners or church musicians, we often fall into the trap of “being needed” and so finding it difficult to take the time away from our responsibilities that renews and rejuvenates us.

In his book Sabbath: Restoring the Sacred Rhythm of Rest, Wayne Muller spends significant time discussing the rhythm of life, a rhythm that occurs in nature, our daily activities--and ourselves. as our heart rests briefly after each beat and our lungs take a brief break between the exhale and the inhale. He acknowledges that we have tended to lose that rhythm in our need to be more and more busy, our belief that action and accomplishment have more value than rest and quiet.

We need to help our congregations understand that being constantly busy is not a healthy course of action. The Chinese pictograph for “busy” is composed of two characters: heart and killing. For us to help our congregations find their music in worship, we must have times of rest. That is not always going to be easy, but as we take our rest—take our Sabbath time—others in the congregation may be provided an opportunity to find and develop their own gifts.

Scripture tells us, “remember the Sabbath.” This challenge reminds us that everything we have is a blessing. If we become too focused on doing, we will not be able to take time in being--to enjoy it and to give thanks for it.

Yes, we need to learn the notes of our music, our lives, our worship—but we must also take time to learn the rests.