Well, I don’t know when God created music.

I’ve sometimes liked to say that God created music on the fifth day of Creation (as it’s described in Genesis): “And God created the birds of the air (who sing!) and the fish of the sea (who sing in water!), and it was morning and it was evening, and it was choir night: the fifth day.”

That, of course, comes from spending time in several churches whose choirs rehearsed on Thursday night.

But in truth, I like to believe that God created music first.

I like to think that God created music by singing first into the vastness of the universe, one voice ringing in the void.

I like to think that the stars and galaxies came to be so that the music could echo from them – and become the music of the spheres.

I like to think that when the planets formed, the sighing of wind and waves carries the songs of God.

I like to think that birds began to sing so that they could join the melodies of God.

I believe that you and I exist so that we might harmonize with our Creator, that we might make the music even greater.

Sometimes we’ll join with instruments or voices, blending with each other to swell the chorus of the ages. Sometimes we’ll join with dance, with swaying bodies or lilting hands. Sometimes we’ll join by building other harmonies: with kindness, compassion, love, and care for people, creatures, and this created planet of ours.

I believe that when we make our harmonies, God smiles…

And keep on singing.