Hymn No. 606: a precursor to a heavenly choir
- col-dave-mast
- August 23, 2023
- 1015
“You may now turn to page 606 in your red Mennonite hymnal.”
Those words are music to my ears, literally, because that means that we as a congregation are going to sing “Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow,” also known as the Mennonite National Anthem.
For an eternity now, that song has been one of my favorites because it is stirring, it is infectious and inspiring, and it has some incredibly cool harmonies throughout, especially the bass part, that make it absolutely enthralling to sing.
Recently, I got to hear the song from a different angle, this time as part of our Mast family reunion.
OK, for those of you who don’t know my Mast family well, there’s two things we do: We sing, and we golf.
My cousin Richard Mast has been a professional golfer since Karl Malden was a teen (just kidding Dick, I have to make fun because you look closer to 40 than to the age of 70 that you are). His dad Kenny was a golf teacher. All of my cousins — or at least most of them — swing the club with great acumen. My dad Abe’s been a prolific golfer since I can remember.
And on the singing side, well, my dad’s siblings, including Kenny, Bertie, Wanda and Marilyn, were so gifted at singing and dancing that they placed second in the national Major Bowes contest in New York back in their younger days. My cousin Mike Mattevi — who goes by Mike Mingo professionally — makes a living singing.
My parents, Abe and Fran, used to sing annually at the Ohio Swiss Festival as Charlie and Katrina. I think each of the elder statesman in our Mast family passed down the music gene to their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and thus, every reunion features some sort of singing performance by some or all of the family.
One of the highlights of our gatherings is singing the prayer before mealtime. Sure, many families might pray before a meal, but singing families just knock out “God is Great and God is Good” in four-part harmony to give thanks for the meal and fellowship they are about to enjoy.
It is here where I insert the crux of this column.
“GiGaGiG” is the usual standby that is offered up as a prayer prior to our Sunday family meal, but this year my mom threw us all a change-up by rolling out “Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow.”
Like any good hitter, every single member of the Mast clan made an adjustment, and from the word “whom,” we were presenting our praise to God in four-part harmony, each chord growing in strength, the sound of every word erupting like it was written specifically with our family in mind.
The sound is so rich it’s almost difficult to sing at times. Too often I find myself simply wishing to rise above it all, hang in the air above my family and listen to the incredible sounds lofting heavenward.
But then again, I’m quickly drawn back to the music, wanting to be a part of something so incredibly special.
By the time we got to the echoing and mesmerizing “Praise him above” cavalcade near the end of the song, I was pretty sure there had to be three or four dozen angels singing along with us.
Which brings me to the point: To me, that is exactly what heaven is going to be like.
But instead of the Mast family belting out predinner tunes, it’s going to be a cavalry of angels banging out #606, and it’s going to be something special.
It kinda feels like my family is just giving me a head start on experiencing a little piece of peace that comes with experiencing what I believe will be the grandeur of heaven, and that is something I can sing along with.