Reflection: A Lesson from the Cherubim: Sing When it Hurts

For us earth dwellers, the elevated Scriptural depictions of the mysterious cherubim whisper a bittersweet secret about worship. It is when we least feel like it, when it is most difficult, that praise is sacrificial, and therefore most potent. When circumstances have reduced your joy to a whisper, you must SING, for it is when life has hammered and beaten you down that you are nearest the seat of the mercy of God; there, He inhabits your praise. 

NASHVILLE, TN (Catholic Online) - "He put a new song in my mouth; a hymn of praise to our God" (Psalm 40:1-3).

Life is hard. Sometimes dark. There are times when troubles pile so high we fear we might suffocate under them. We are lonely. We are scared. We are burdened. These are wintry, cold spiritual seasons when there seems to be no light, no help, no relief, no comfort in any direction.  It's at these times, when we are most discouraged, most weary, that the angels teach us what we must do. We must SING!

Angels are actively engaged in the unceasing praise of God. At Mass several parts of our Liturgy come from Scriptural accounts of angelic worship. The Gloria begins with words sung by the angels at Christ's birth (Luke 2:14). The Sanctus is from Isaiah's vision of God surrounded by angels who sing, 'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory' (Is.6:1-3).

Some angels are called cherubim, thought to be from the root "to mount." The Psalms describe a majestic God "mounted" upon, or riding, the exotic winged cherubim: "And He ascended upon the cherubim and He flew: and He flew upon the wings of the wind" (Ps 18:10).

This sort of ascendance imagery is also used in fifteen songs which comprise one of the most precious and beautiful portions of the Bible, the Psalms of Ascent. Sung by the children of Israel as they ascended Mount Zion in Jerusalem during liturgical feasts, their worship was an integral part of the sweaty, joyful exertion and anticipation of arriving at the summit where God awaited.

Their physical climb up the mountain was a type, model and picture of the slow upward trajectory of the Christian spiritual life here on earth. It is a glorious, sweaty enterprise that will ultimately require our very last breath, but those same Psalms of Ascent lift and accompany us, too, up the grand, grueling mountain as we sing them in the Divine Office and our hearts ascend to God in daily prayer. 

Far from baby-faced, Ezekiel's vision of the mysterious cherubim reveals a strange, soaring creature. Part eagle, part human, part lion, and part ox, it is thought that each part represents a corner of the astrological zodiac at which cherubim stand guard: Scorpio (eagle), Aquarius (human), Leo (lion), and Taurus (bull). This enigmatic hybrid creature, then, symbolizes the cosmos which upon which God mounts and presides, enthroned.

Cherubim are first mentioned in Genesis 3:24 where God placed them at the eastern end, the entrance, of the Garden of Eden to "guard the way to the tree of life." Later, the entrance curtains to the tabernacle and the temple, models of the Garden, were decorated with beautiful weavings of cherubim, artistic renderings in vibrant colors and fabrics. Also at God's instruction, cherubim were on both the tabernacle and temple veils that screened the Holy of Holies where His presence rested.

Two golden statues of cherubim stood at either side of the Ark of the Covenant. Their mysterious wings covered their faces and spread completely over the ark, functioning somewhat as armrests on the "throne" of the invisible God of Israel. That God's presence was "located" above the Ark of the Covenant, over and between the cherubim, also suggests that the cherubim were "mounts" upon which he "ascended" and "ruled."

For us earth dwellers, these elevated Scriptural depictions tell us a bittersweet secret about worship. God's instructions for the craftsmanship of the cherubim over the ark's mercy seat were hauntingly specific. There would be two cherubim on the mercy seat, both the statues and the seat of one slab of hammered, beaten gold.

"The cherubim shall spread out their wings above, overshadowing the mercy seat with their wings, their faces one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubim be stationed at the two ends of the mercy seat above the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies" (Ex. 25:17-22).

In The Cherubic Hymn and Great Entrance in the Orthodox Liturgy it is said, "You are carried upon the Cherubic Throne by the grace of the Holy Spirit." Our Eastern brothers and sisters teach that we Christians "mystically represent the Cherubim-high ranking angels that carry the Lord upon His throne, praising His holiness in the thrice holy hymn to the life-giving Trinity."

God dwells in the midst of the praise of cherubim, and of men. Indeed, He draws near to it, so that He would be one with it, mount it like the wings of angels, and rule the heaving cosmos from it. He is seated enthroned upon your praise (Ps. 22:3, RSVCE). He inhabits it (Ps. 22:3, NJB). Like the cherubim, of beaten and hammered gold in the dark secret of the Holy of Holies, we must sing!

When circumstances have reduced your joy to a whisper, you must SING. It is when we least feel like it, when it is most difficult, that praise is sacrificial, and therefore most potent. Raise your voice in golden praise. Chant the glorious Psalms of Ascent that lift battered spirits to the divine summit.

Groan if you must dear one, if through weakness, awkwardness, anguish, struggle, or discouragement, but it is when life has hammered and beaten you down that you are nearest the seat of the mercy of God. There, He inhabits your praise, for He is near to the brokenhearted (Ps. 34:18). 

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Sonja Corbitt is a Catholic speaker, Scripture teacher and study author, and a contributing writer for Catholic Online. She is available to speak on the New Feminism, current events and your preferred theme. Visit her at www.pursuingthesummit.com for information and sample videos.

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