Repetition (noun)
1. The act or process or
an instance of repeating or being repeated.
2. A recitation or
recital, especially of prepared or memorized material.
In the past several months I've been approached several
times with questions about the music that we sing. While this isn't unusual, the comments that
have come from these encounters have been quite similar. “Why do we sing these songs that have all of
the same words again and again?” This
question has sparked a great, on-going conversation within some people in our
community. I've been told that people
would rather sing hymns, or certain praise songs because of their many words,
or rather, because of their lack of repetition.
I've discovered that people hate doing things over and
over without purpose. Personally, I say
that I would rather do something right once rather than do it mediocre multiple
times in a row. We define repetition as
something that a child should be doing to memorize multiplication tables or the
spelling of words. This probably
conjures up all sorts of not so wonderful memories in your head of long hours
of homework; lots of repetition. For me,
it brings back the fateful days of practicing piano. My mom and I fought for long hours about my
practicing. I HATED IT. She knew it was good for me. I threatened to quit. She wouldn't let me (much as she probably
wanted to).
It strikes me also that, when looking at the definition
of this word, the synonyms for it are words like continuity and dullness. Apart from the fighting with my mother, I
could relate my piano practicing to a rather dull experience I suppose. We've related the idea of repetition with
this notion of being worthless, wasteful, and dull. However, if you look into Scriptures, you’ll
notice that there is repetition everywhere.
Does this mean that a vast amount of the Bible is just repetitive
dullness? BY NO MEANS!
The Hebrew notion of repetition doesn't have anything to
do with being bored or trying to fill space.
There is no feeling of angst or thoughts of “why this again” for the
Hebrews in Scripture. Repetition in
Scripture happens because those things they were repeating are important! Jewish writers in the Old Testament didn't use punctuation (or vowels); they could place emphasis on a sentence simply by
placing an exclamation point after it!
So, to make sure people knew that a certain thing was important, they
would repeat it. Sometimes this would
happen in a sequence: God is “Holy Holy
Holy.” Other times, like in the creation
account or the story of Jonah, things were repeated throughout the narrative to
draw the reader’s (or hearer’s) attention to specific details.
Our culture today is vastly different from the Hebrew
culture. Words and word usage have
changed with it as well. However, the
meanings behind the way the words were used have not changed and this can be
true for us in the music that we sing as well.
God does not deem worship acceptable simply because the words were or
were not repeated. Jesus Himself said
that prayers are not heard because of their many words (Matthew 6:7). What is important is the heart from which
they are sung (Psalm 51:17).
Repetition, in the definition, points towards
memorization. I wouldn't be the piano
player that I am today without that practice my mom forced me into. Whether my heart was in it or not, the things
I played stuck with me. The next time
you hear something repeated, instead of asking why, think about what God is
trying to teach you through it… or what is so important in the repetition that it
bears repeating.
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