Symphony

I handed in my music folder the night before the concert, which is to say I wouldn’t be performing with the others in Christmas Eve concert. Too busy. I missed most of the rehearsals, and didn’t have adequate time to practice. The weekend is very busy with church, family and college activities. Two pastoral colleagues already sick this weekend. I need to lighten my load so I also don’t get sick.

Nevertheless, I was sad as I listened to the orchestra from the audience position. All the parts working together to create one harmonious sound. It is so fulfilling to be part of a group with that kind of purpose. Each person enters the group to contribute to the whole. Most of the members and guests playing in the Elite Symphoniker Orchestra are already accomplished musicians. They are all lovers of music and of their musical craft. Yet the members of an orchestra are not there to shine on their own. It is a wonderful irony that each person contributes her or his expertise in order to go unnoticed. Except in the case of solo lines, no one wants their instrument’s voice to be heard above all the rest. That would mean the instrument is out of tune or they are playing the wrong notes. Yet each participant must play with full confidence. So we are each challenged toward excellence so that the whole group will shine.

That is the ideal of Christian worship, that each voice and each action comes together in perfect harmony, bringing before God a single fragrant offering. No one in worship, pastor/preacher included, should stick out as the most important. We all work together as the body of Christ to create a harmonious whole. Of course, a number of ethical and practical matters are implied in this symphonic ideal. It means that we look to each other’s interests as much as our own, each member of the body practicing their roles to benefit others. Of course, that practice includes both individual self-care and spiritual practices as well as corporate rehearsals. After all, each Sunday is a rehearsal for that great heavenly worship and banquet.

I will miss being part of the performance today. God willing, I will find time for future rehearsals and concerts. In the meantime, I will be focusing this weekend on the rehearsals for that great heavenly banquet, where the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame will all have solo parts.